Photos and review by Jennie Book
@jenniebookphotography

When Malcolm Todd played the first of three sold out nights at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles on October 28, a few things became clear fast: his fans love to shout-sing his music to him as he croon-sings to them, his lyrics are all about the ups and downs of romance, and his stage personality falls between cool indie musician and a kid who can’t believe he’s playing the Greek in his hometown for three nights. All these traits seem like they’re serving him well as a 22-year-old singer-songwriter, and have quickly taken him from recording music in his bedroom to the big stage.

Touring his sophomore album, Do That Again, his music draws from indie rock, alternative R&B, funk, and pop, and his four-piece band of brothers onstage brought everything to life, playing tight arrangements that sounded great in the autumn outdoors.

Todd delivered his songs alternately earnestly and with a relaxed happiness, smiling and interacting with the crowd, getting close to all the arms held high holding phones in the pit. He looked happy and loose as he was performing, looking excited to be there and at home on the stage.

We got to witness a great collection of songs, kicking off with “Jean Skirt,” “Breathe” and “Malcolm in the Middle.” The stage production looked great with a large screen behind the band, with everything from individual intros projected at the start to live closeups as he performed, to names of girls during “Obsessica.”

During the night there was a saxophone solo, there was piano playing in a spotlight, there was Todd going back-to-back with his guitarist and the guitarist moving and Todd saving himself from falling down with a heroic leap to safety, there was Todd laying down on the ground playing guitar. He’s young and he’s dynamic, just like his fans, and they love him for it.

During the hour and a half set we got more favorites like “X’s & O’s,” “Sweet Boy,” “Earrings,” and “Chest Pain (I Love)” with the crowd singing along to literally every song, with many wearing Malcom-red and sporting “I (HEART) MALCOLM TODD” t-shirts. The night closed with “Roommates” at the end of the encore, plus a confetti cannon with a bare-chested Todd playing guitar as he skipped through the raining red paper pieces.

There’s a big difference between having songs that do well on streaming and developing the kind of following capable of filling a venue like the Greek Theatre three nights in a row. Todd has accomplished both, and the enthusiasm surrounding Wednesday’s performance says that his connection with his audience extends way beyond a handful of viral tracks.

The third Greek show concluded the North American leg of Todd’s tour, but stay up to date at www.malcolmtodd.com for news and global dates, which kick off in late November.