Kid Cudi @ Kings Theatre (October 13, 2023)

This show was billed as "Kid Cudi Presents: Cudder’s Clubhouse", an intimate and experimental performance for the fans before he goes on a legitimate tour next year. This was one of a few hastily arranged concerts (the announcement and on-sale were the week before the first show) where Cudi would go deep into his catalog, playing some songs for the first time in a while, or ever.

One particularly novel aspect of the performance is that he set up the stage like a living room of sorts, where he eventually hosted 6 fans from the crowd. He stopped at 3 different points during the performance to select the guests based on their energy and enthusiasm. He treated them to booze and weed that was set out on the table; and of course he also partook in the goodies.

The show was very interactive with the rest of the crowd as well. He paused after just about every song to introduce the next one, or tell an anecdote, or explain how he's finally happy in life, or gush about his special guest Chip tha Ripper, or gush about how great his forthcoming album INSANO will be.

Speaking of the new album, he played 3 new songs from it, and I have to agree that they were all bangers. The setlist from the show should be here, but has not been filled in at the time of publication; but the one from the first clubhouse show seems pretty similar (though longer), so you can get an idea of what he played. Some of the songs were only partially performed, so he went through more than would be played in a typical show. He included a few songs from his WZRD and Kids See Ghosts collaborations. Unfortunately I can't say that I'm a fan of most of his rock material. But the rest of it was pretty good. I suspect that I would have preferred a standard Cudi show with a more crowd-pleasing setlist, but it was still nice to hear some deep cuts (some of which I was not up to speed with); "Balmain Jeans" was a highlight for both me and Fran. I also appreciated his showmanship and smooth dance moves on the stage. Overall a solid show which Fran enjoyed as well.

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Rating: 4.0/5