G-Eazy Live at The Wiltern, Los Angeles

Gerald Gillum, better known as Oakland native rapper G-Eazy, brought his The Beautiful & Damned Tour for three nights to Los Angeles. On February 23rd, Eazy was at The Wiltern for night two. And on that evening, Eazy brought a cinematic flair and all the love for Los Angeles. 

The performance was broken up into two parts. Act I: The Beautiful, no less, opened up with his latest album’s title track, “The Beautiful & Damned.” A projection of a fuzzy television screen counted down until the title appeared in a font reminiscent of The Godfather. Screaming ensued and smoke exploded before G-Eazy, dressed in black head to toe, swaggered onto the stage: “L.A., what the fuck is up?”

By the time he reached the third song, “Legen,” Eazy had thrown off his skull-embroidered jacket. Now in a plain black tee, the lanky rapper was in his usual greaser-like uniform. He was all about making the crowd feel good about themselves and revving them up. “I feel like tonight might be one of those nights,” he said. “Are you living your best life?” “Are you turning the fuck up?” he asked before plunging into “The Plan.”

Riding the hype of “But a Dream,” Eazy announced, “We celebratin’ life tonight.” He told a story of about how he thought he had made it the night he sold out The Roxy, a 500-person venue in West Hollywood, to illuminate his career still rose, for the show that night was also sold out. Another glow up for the evening: Eazy changed the lyrics in “Lotta That” from “7 Kate Mosses around me” to “Halsey’s around me,” referencing his current alternative popstar girlfriend instead of hypothetical models.

When Eazy came around to “No Less,” he must have been starting to feel a little romantic. “Ladies, make some noise for yourselves,” he encouraged. He followed with “Some Kind of Drug,” explaining it was his favorite song he made on the album. “We’ve got to respect women, for real,” he said. “Can I do another song for the ladies?” Eazy kept the mood mellow with  Marc E. Bassy’s reggae-tinged “You & Me” and ended Act I with “Fly Away.”

In all white, save for “Damned” written in black on the back of his jacket, returned to the stage for Act II: The Damned. The second half kicked off with “Leviathan,” “Pick Me Up” and “Random.” Eazy took the end of “Random” as a moment to get rid of his jacket, for “The Damned,” after all, is a fiery place. A beat hit and his arms went up as pyrotechnics went off, as if he instructed it.

It seemed Eazy might be hinting at a performance of “FDT, Pt.2” when he talked about the changing world and that “Donald might be the new Hitler,” but instead kept apace his hip-hop grandiosity with 2015’s “You Got Me” and “Calm Down.”

Toward the end, Eazy was fairly sentimental, calling the show “definitely the best night of my life,” even though he thought the same thing the night before. “I’m having a moment man. I’m trippin’ out,” he said, taking a note of the fan in the front all the way from Europe or the girl with multiple G-Eazy tattoos. It was a proper setup for “Easy,” a song that traces his narrative.

And though he left The Wiltern crowd for a moment, there was no doubt he would return. “Do you know this song,” Halsey questioned, entering the stage in a blinged out top and cutoffs. Their rendition of “Him & I” was dramatic and cool, gently lusting for one another while singing their Bonnie and Clyde tale. Eazy was just as excited for Halsey’s appearance (“my queen”) as the audience: “I need you to give it up for the most beautiful woman in the world.” His appreciation is understood, for the song did go platinum that day. He followed the hit with another, “Me, Myself and I,” though no sight of featured singer Bebe Rexha. Fire and smoke were going off and continued during the final song, “No Limit.” Eazy mentioned he was being kicked off, but still raged on: “This is L.A. You can’t cut us off!” Whether he was or not, Eazy finished big and cemented “The Beautiful & Damned” experience with an outpouring of white confetti.

Setlist:

1. The Beautiful & Damned
2. Pray For Me
3. Legend
4. The Plan
5. But a Dream
6. That’s A Lot
7. Lotta That
8. I Mean It
9. Order More
10. Sober
11. No Less
12. Some Kind of Drug
13. You & Me
14. Fly Away
15. Leviathan
16. Pick Me Up
17. Random
18. Buddha
19. You Got Me
20. Calm Down
21. Put Me on Somethin’
22. Say Less
23. Eazy

Encore

1. Him & I (with Halsey)
2. Me, Myself & I
3. No Limit