If this reader happens to be one of the unfortunate souls who managed to miss seeing Malcolm Todd in the flesh when he allegedly visited Telegraph Avenue or Berkeley\u2019s own Kip\u2019s Bar and Restaurant, look no further than this article to receive your fill of Malcolm Todd.<\/p>\n
For an invigorating two days, Todd played at Oakland\u2019s Fox Theater. The maximalist qualities of the venue enhanced the experience for every audience member \u2014 but the immersion did not stop there. Todd was not only joined by his live touring band, but also by a large projection of himself on the screen. The stage screen was a member of the band in its own right, disappearing into a background for Todd to interact with or highlighting his facial expressions for those seated in the venue\u2019s upper balcony.<\/p>\n
In fact, perhaps unwittingly, Todd\u2019s concert utilized the space in the way it was originally intended to be used: a movie theater. A montage of famous movie scenes involving phones and phone calls served as the backdrop to Todd\u2019s performance of \u201cX\u2019s & O\u2019s.\u201d It was an extra layer of entertainment, as concertgoers gasped in surprise to see their favorite films featured, including but not limited to \u201cFerris Bueller\u2019s Day Off,\u201d \u201cNapoleon Dynamite\u201d and \u201cScream.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, Todd elevated his own discography by using the screen to display the music video for his track \u201cBleed\u201d as he sang along. Further paying homage to his music videos, in his performance of \u201c4Me 4Me\u201d a visual of Queen Elizabeth II is superimposed on Todd\u2019s own face. For newer fans, this may seem out of the blue, but older fans will remember the \u201c4Me 4Me\u201d music video in which Todd professes his love for the late Queen of England, even toting a lifesize cardboard cutout of her around NYC for dates.<\/p>\n
Todd kicked off the set with the opening track of his most recent record, \u201cJean Skirt.\u201d The sultry song beckoned the audience forward, progressively growing in intensity until the final payoff with an explosion of drums and Todd\u2019s own seemingly spontaneous \u201cWoo!\u201d Just as it served as an indication of what was to come on the album, it successfully served to whet the audience\u2019s appetite.<\/p>\n
The true magic of concerts is found within the subtle differences between a recorded track and a performed song. Todd purposefully slowed certain lyrics on \u201cSweet Boy,\u201d while a slight uptick in octaves occurred when Todd sang the latter half of \u201cbaby\u201d in the lyric \u201cIt\u2019s getting later baby.\u201d In the live version, he stripped back some of the synthetic noise, begging the audience members to peer deeper, both at the tracks and their relationship to it. This aspect was wonderfully paired with interludes of Todd\u2019s perfectly awkward dancing and almost comically petulant stances, Todd often looking askance with both hands resting on his hips.<\/p>\n
Musically talented and artistically inclined, Todd draws fans in with his endearing mannerisms. Throughout the concert, fans welcomed his quirky dance moves, some playful finger wagging and a little hip action here and there. One can\u2019t help but see the family resemblance to older sister and fellow indie artist Audrey Hobert, whose lively attitude at concerts includes whimsically flouncing about the stage. Fans of both siblings will be aware that the siblings narrowly missed being together by a week, as Hobert visited Oakland\u2019s Fox Theater the week prior to Todd\u2019s shows.<\/p>\n
Toward the end of his set, Todd included a cover of \u201cLeave It All To Me,\u201d the famous theme from the hit 2000s Nickelodeon show \u201ciCarly,\u201d even fully removing his button-up shirt at the song\u2019s midpoint in signature Malcolm Todd fashion. This dorky moment was certainly a stark contrast to the sultry start of the show, but one which was completely aligned with the image Todd has created.<\/p>\n
Altogether, Todd blended artistry through many different mediums, stringing together beloved movies and television shows as well as highlighting his own artistic vision by playing segments from his music videos. With the creation of a fantastically energetic show, audience members at Oakland\u2019s Fox Theater simply cannot wait to see Todd Do That Again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If this reader happens to be one of the unfortunate souls who managed to miss seeing Malcolm Todd…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509647,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[196539,44536,764,188499,196536,6554,196543,196541,196537,142471,143,145,144,196542,5294,13774,196540,196538],"class_list":["post-509646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-4me-4me","tag-audrey-hobert","tag-berkeley","tag-bleed","tag-do-that-again-tour","tag-fox-theater","tag-icarly","tag-jean-skirt","tag-kips-bar","tag-malcolm-todd","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-sweet-boy","tag-telegraph","tag-telegraph-avenue","tag-walk-to-class","tag-xs-os"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}