HOBO JOHNSON/THE KALEIDOSCOPE KID – LIVE @ THE GROG SHOP

By Eric Rauert

Hobo Johnson brings his unique style of music to the Grog Shop with The Kaleidoscope Kid and “Drew” for support

Keeping the Grog Shop’s tradition of a three act night alive, first to the stage was “Drew”, a support tech of Hobo Johnson’s. He was allowed the stage for about 20 minutes to play some original short songs and poems. Songs were politically charged, quips about life, or about the end of the world; quick and witty. Poems were the same, sticking to loose spoken word and short. The set was intentionally very loose and felt more like a chance to test creative ideas in front of an audience. Still, the performance was funny and I found myself laughing several times, which made for great opening energy.

Phoenix based The Kaleidoscope Kid (Josh Murphy) appeared from behind the green room curtain and took the stage next, a lone man with a mic, guitar, and iPad. A short introduction later and he was into his set. While a backing track of his music played, Murphy layered vocals and guitar over his songs. The guitar was heavily distorted and I can see the psych rock influences here, which made for an interesting hip hop adjacent performance.

Sounding like a mix of 21 Pilots with a bit of Hendrix, Murphy has plenty interesting going on with his live guitar but tended to drown out the rest of the performance while shredding. I would love to see his tracks with a live band to support the bass line, drums, and a focused synth/electronic production for a more balanced mix. There’s plenty to love here in the tunes but the depth I could sense wasn’t coming out in the live performance.

Frank Lopes Jr., aka Hobo Johnson, stormed onto to the stage to great fanfare about half an hour later. Playing what even his fans describe as “cringy hip-hop”, Hobo Johnson used to be Hobo Johnson and the Lovemakers, at least live. We had tickets to see them back in October 2021 but a bout of Covid cancelled a few Midwest shows. Supposedly after Lopes took a break from touring in 2022, he simply didn’t get the band back together for this set of shows.

Regardless, Hobo Johnson’s appeal lies in his solo lyricism and and he started the bars right out of the gate. Shouting his heartfelt lyrics into the mic, “Happiness” was the opening song and it was hard to tell whether the crowd was singing the song to Lopes or he back at us. Two more singable hits, “Mover Awayer” and “Romeo and Juliet” quickly followed evoking the first jumps and fist bumping of the evening.

Lopes danced happily around the stage, interacting heavily with the crowd while he delivered his jolting, slam poetry reminiscent lyrics. This is truly music for the modern millennial, with Johnson belting his woes of the modern dating scene, expressing his budding love for a woman through metaphors about Benihana’s, and expressing regret for things we say being out of our minds and just trying to cope with the world.

An unreleased song titled “Metaverse” was up next. This would feel at home in a Bo Burnham special, a scathing review of Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse that anyone under the age of 25 is sick of hearing about (myself included). Unreleased music gave way to unreleased poetry shortly after, giving official space to the slam poetry vibe I had been feeling all night anyway.

“I Used to Think I’m Bi” is a title that would certainly fit in any poetic space and was a short expose explained entirely by the title. Sometimes rappers are faced with the reality of their finances or popularity and react negatively. Hobo Johnson embraced his come up with the next song “Subaru Crosstrek XV”. This song is for those times when you can’t afford a Lamborghini but instead buy a solid, reliable used car in your price range. Lopes’ stopped the tongue in cheeks lyrics to search for a mechanic in the audience to help him with “the whirring he heard whenever he was on the highway”, presumably for his vehicle parked outside.

Hobo Johnson’s unique lyrical style continued next with “All I See Is Poop”. This parody song is best explained by the lyrics “All I see is Poop: the world’s a piece of shit and I’m a piece of shit too”. Here, Lopes reflects on the common world view held by many in the millennial generation. And say what you will about his sometimes cringy lyrics and downright odd lyrical stylings (for the record, I LOVE this song), Lopes is a genuine performer because he isn’t afraid to put volume to the lyrics that all of us scream inside our heads everyday.

This point continued to hold true in “Creve Coeur 1” and “February 15 th ”, the start of which was signaled by Hobo Johnson timidly speaking into the mic that he was going to “do the sad songs now”. Speaking to familial trauma and how some love doesn’t work even with the best intentions, Lopes’ strength of wearing his heart on his sleeve continued to shine even with just a simple beat and microphone. The simple stage presence continued with “February 15 th ”, only featuring Lopes’ voice and
his guitar with a similar emotional gutting.

Keeping with the open mic night setup “Bird” was previewed from the upcoming album Hobo Johnson Tries Really, Really Hard This Time (only confirmed by Lopes’ on stage at this point, as far as I can tell). Unlike “February 15th “, this does not hit as hard emotionally as just a guitar and mic song. Perhaps it’s my unfamiliarity or Lopes’ timid lyricism and chords but this debut did not do it for me. I look forward to seeing if my opinion changes with the studio release.

Another poem debut “Freakz” followed. This sex-positive poem about letting your freak flag fly felt fitting in the dimly lit punk bar where we find it easiest to be ourselves. “Sex in the City” was the penultimate song of the evening, lambasting the vanity of the modern dating scene with a simple piano and beat loop. Hobo Johnson stopped the song to remind us the reason he wrote the song (his terrible back acne) was still alive and well. Say what you will about his “heart on his sleeve” style, we wouldn’t have this song without it.

Going into his final song of the evening, Lopes’ most famous song “Peach Scone” closed the show. Without the previously mentioned Lovemakers as a backing band, he selected two audience members to accompany him. The bassist cranked out the simple bass line and the drummer kept great time, proving not only Green Day can pull audience members to play on stage every show.

As if rehearsed, half way through the two volunteers dropped the beat almost perfectly to let Lopes monologue before blasting back into the chorus expertly. While a simple song and a simple gesture to the audience, this really helped increase the intimacy of the performance and made for a very cool finale. He stopped to give a hug to each member before bowing, reminding everyone how Columbus audience members really did smell (I assume he told Columbus the same about us), and exiting the stage.

Somewhere between slam poetry, an improv rap performance, and a sold-out gathering of 400 friends, I would say this one man show was exactly what Hobo Johnson fans were looking for. I can’t recommend going to a performance like this blind unless you have a very open mind or have already checked out his music; this was more of a “performance” than a “concert”. But for budding or long time fans this was nothing less than quintessential Hobo Johnson and I certainly enjoyed it for what it was.

I’ll be excited to see if the Lovemakers or equivalent make it back with him next tour to add more complexity and depth. The raw emotion, crowd work, and carefully curated setlist are there but it still felt like it was lacking a bit of musicianship. Whether intentional for comedy or simply the growing pains of developing a solo act, several music mis-cues and an hour long show consisting of around 20 minutes of banter left me wanting just a little more.

Still, Lopes’ genuine and gracious personality really shine through in a performance that felt intimate and expertly crafted. As he plays bigger venues, I hope he can keep that feel that have drawn so many fans to his music. I’ll certainly be catching him, solo or not, the next time he drives his Subaru Crosstrek XV back to town.

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