Last Monday evening, alternative R&B (with a tinge of electronic) musician Dennis Lloyd made a stop to in San Francisco on his MTFKR Tour at the Cafe du Nord performing to a sold-out crowd. Known for his breakout song “Nevermind”, Lloyd performed both fan favorites and brand new songs to the intimate scene. It seemed like the quickest show we ever attended, but it may be the fact that Lloyd’s songs are just so good, you really didn’t want the night to end. That and the setlist contained about 7-10 songs.
A Tel Aviv native, Lloyd has been making a name for himself in Germany, Italy, and now, the United States. San Francisco embraced not only Dennis with open arms, but his opening act Ezi who, according to a voice in the crowd, reminded many of Grimes a bit. By far my favorite performance from her had to be her impressive cover of Justin Bieber’s “Baby.” Honest to God everyone, it took me about the second verse to realize what she was singing, because it was that different. Let us know when we’d be able to hear that one online, Ezi.
Soon thereafter, the main event took his spot on stage alongside his bandmates (one of whom was celebrating their ten-year friendship) and went on for about 45 minutes without really breaking stride. From “Thinking About It” to “Leftovers,” Lloyd showed the vast amount of skills he has under his belt. This included busting out his trumpet, causing the crowd to go absolutely nuts and convincing tons of people to grab a video for their Insta-stories, naturally.
And since Ezi opted to go with Justin Bieber for her cover, Lloyd went for Britney Spears circa late ‘90 with “Baby One More Time.” This wasn’t a sped up, pop-like version of the song, though. Picture hearing a seductive version of it. Kind of wish Britney did a version like the one he did, if we’re being honest.
When Lloyd did finally get to “Nevermind”, we all knew that one of the two things would happen: one, the show was nearing its end, or two, people in the audience would soon trickle out, knowing they heard that one hit song. Sure, it IS his “blockbuster hit” (for lack of a better phrase) but hey, the songs he performed before and after should be enough reason to stay the whole night.
Dennis Lloyd was absolutely incredible live. He’s the type of guy where you just know he’s cool because he radiates all kinds of confidence. “You’re motherf*cking gonna sing!” he screamed in the middle of his set. If this was anyone but Dennis, (or another impressive artist), I would feel the disrespect. But oddly enough, for Dennis, he gets a pass. It’s just part of his goal to get the crowd going along with him.
All in all, if you ever notice Dennis Lloyd making a stop in a city near you, take the chance and go watch him perform live. It’s worth it.
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