Is there anyone else who sounds like Genesis Owusu? If there is, I would be fascinated to hear them. The more I listen to him, the less I can fathom how one man can create such musical diversity. How does he do it? When we spoke with him on the eve of this tour, he described how the evolution of any given song depends on the emotions it stirs in him. This is a man who clearly feels a lot of emotions.
He arrives on stage with an extremely minimal stage setup: absolutely nothing, except for a rectangular tower in the middle of the stage and a nightstand with a thick book on top; a Bible perhaps? Who knows. The speculation builds and builds until the lights drop, and Genesis explodes onto the stage to detonate the set with the thunderous “Leaving The Light” (the music provided by a backing track throughout the show). It remains dark, except for the tower, which suddenly blazes strobes from the minute Genesis whips the cover off it, and Genesis is simply a shadow barreling around the stage as the Ministry-esque industrial beats blaze out. “That’s Life (A Swamp),” “Balthazar,” and “Stay Blessed” have a similar industrial vibe, the latter of which sees Genesis jump down into the crowd to join the mosh. It’s not the last time either; on the main set closer, “A Song About Fishing,” he hops back down and beckons the crowd to crouch down on the floor while he is on his feet singing, singing from his “Bible.” By the time he commands us to “light this sh*t up!” it feels like an almost religious experience as angelic phone lights fill the room.
The show takes musical tangents from start to finish. “See Ya There” and “Waitin’ On Ya” are throwbacks to the bygone Y2K R&B era, while “WUTD” is so heavy on the funk I half-expect to see Thundercat appear from behind the strobe tower. On “Gold Chains,” gold light bathes Genesis as he furiously spits hip-hop rhymes reminiscent of an 8-Mile rap battle. “The epic “Get Inspired” reminds me so much of Kele Okereke’s first solo electronic record (2010’s “The Boxer”) that I swear I thought it was him the first time I heard it!
Genesis is a bundle of energy throughout the hour-long set, and the crowd responds in kind. He incites a riot on “Tied Up,” and as the pogo-ing starts to tail off, Genesis challenges us: “Are you guys tired?!” The bouncing subsequently comes back twice as rowdy! On “Don’t Need You,” the backing track drops off entirely, leaving the crowd to sing the breakdown a cappella in deafening fashion. The mosh that greets encore song “The Roach” needs no encouragement. It’s a fantastic set that absolutely flies by, and I already can’t wait for his next visit!
Setlist:
- Leaving the Light
- Survivor
- The Old Man
- See Ya There
- Waitin’ on Ya
- Gold Chains
- Tied Up!
- That’s Life (A Swamp)
- WUTD
- Balthazar
- Get Inspired
- Don’t Need You
- Stay Blessed
- What Comes Will Come
- A Song About Fishing
Encore:
- The Roach
Review & photos – Simon Williams
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