Keshi Showcases His Dynamic Artistry on ‘Hell & Back Tour’
Keshi’s “Hell & Back Tour” proved that he is a force to be reckoned with as he delivered a one-of-a-kind concert experience.
Keshi returned to New York for his third headlining tour, “Hell & Back Tour”. With an ever-expanding fanbase, he went from selling out two shows at Webster Hall last May on his previous tour, “Hell/Heaven Tour,” to selling out a venue nearly quadruple the size, Radio City Music Hall, on March 15 and 16.
Although the tour consisted of five opening acts who rotated throughout the stops, the two New York openers were James Ivy and Weston Estate.
Ivy, an up-and-coming alternative artist, kicked off the night one show. He did a phenomenal job performing songs such as “Under Tongues” and “Last Star.” Ivy gave variety with his song choices, even bringing out his guitar for some.
His songs were catchy and chill. Also, he was great at interacting with the crowd. It seemed he was new to many audience members, including myself. Not only was his music good, but the endearing interactions between songs made him extremely enjoyable to watch and personable.
He consistently thanked the crowd between songs, accompanied by some sweet waves, while also introducing the names of songs so that people could check them out if they pleased. His talent shined through and made him someone to watch out for.
Next on the setlist was the alternative band, Weston Estate. Quite a few people were familiar with them as they had some people up on their feet throughout their performance.
They performed many of their hits, such as “Daisies,” “Pears” and “Where Do We Go?.” Weston Estate also treated the crowd with a preview of an unreleased song, “Slowly.”
These men had infectious personalities and stage presence, especially one of their singers, Marco Luka, who did most of the talking segments.
Not long after Weston Estate finished their portion of the show, Keshi’s band came on stage and began to play along to the instrumental of the remastered version of his 2019 song, “blue.”
“Blue” then transitioned into Keshi’s entrance song, “GET IT.” Smoke flooded the stage, making Keshi’s entrance super eye-catching as he appeared out of it when “GET IT” began.
Since Keshi did not release anything new between this tour and the last one, the “Hell & Back Tour” was an extension of that one. He performed songs from his EPs and his debut album, “Gabriel,” some including “like i need u,” “atlas,” “SOMEBODY” and “MILLI.”
Although he has not officially released anything new since “Gabriel,” Keshi made sure to preview what is to come with an unreleased single, “Kiss Me Right.” Likely to heighten the anticipation and get fan reception on the song, Keshi has been performing “Kiss Me Right” since the Hell/Heaven Tour.
From the first listen, the fun, uptempo track seemed different from anything he has released, having a somewhat pop sound while also staying true to Keshi’s signature alternative and R&B sound. “Kiss Me Right” was super catchy, as though it was made for live performances.
I especially enjoyed how Keshi taught the crowd the chorus before starting the song and had them interact with him during the performance.
The best performance of the night came with “skeletons.” Not only did he bring out his guitar and extremely smooth vocals, but he evoked so much emotion.
He beautifully sang until the second verse before stopping to tell a somber story about where he was in his life when he wrote this song. At the time, Keshi worked as an oncology nurse, but he dreamt of being a full-time musician.
When telling his father about his aspirations to quit nursing and become a musician, they had a huge argument that temporarily created a rift between them. Despite his father’s initial disapproval, Keshi followed his passion, leading him to an extremely successful music career.
Keshi told this story not only to give context to “skeletons,” but to inspire those who have dreams to chase them. Although this is a story I have heard Keshi tell before, hearing him retell it in the middle of “skeletons” definitely made it more heartwarming.
After telling this touching story, Keshi continued to give a stunning performance of “skeletons” that undoubtedly left many people in the audience emotional.
Another standout performance of the night was “UNDERSTAND,” a gorgeous ballad from his album, “Gabriel.” Another monologue came before this performance, with Keshi asking the audience who believed in true love and who doubted it.
Although more audience members cheered in response to not believing in true love, Keshi wanted to encourage them that true love exists. He then let us know that the inspiration for “UNDERSTAND” was the “person he loves the most in the whole world,” his fiancée Mai.
The ambiance of this performance was entrancing as Keshi sang with assistance from his pianist and graphics of raindrops showing on the screens.
His last performance before coming back on stage for an encore was of “ANGEL.” This performance did not disappoint as Keshi passionately belted the lyrics before giving a powerful electric guitar solo alongside his phenomenal band.
His encore was one of his earlier hits, “2 soon.” This song was a great encore piece since it was evidently a crowd favorite.
Keshi may only be a few years into his career as a musician, but his live performance showed that he will be around for a long time. The “Hell & Back Tour” brought multiple elements of a great show, including great opening acts, a strong band and an artist with immense stage presence, amazing live vocals and a true appreciation and attentiveness for his fanbase.
