Boulevards performs at Natural History Museum
“I need some of my lubricant,” Boulevards announced midway through his show, taking a swig of his water. With no further pause—that having been the longest all night—the singer counted off his next number, a beat as tight as his leather pants. Boulevards collided with the crowd at the Natural History Museum on Friday with a sheer energy that kept all on their feet and moving at all times.
The sold-out show was the first set of a double-billing with The Hood Internet at the most recent installment of the museum’s First Fridays series. Boulevards, an alias of singer-songwriter Jamil Rashad, delivered an unforgettable set of just over 30 minutes. Supercharged drummer Jacob Tomsky and guitarist Leroy Clampitt joined the singer.
The band filled the room with adrenaline, each song punchier and a more compelling invitation to dance than the last. Attendees found themselves restless for more funk in the mere seconds between songs, and Boulevards delivered. At the concert’s end, leaving the museum generated withdrawal symptoms from the lack of Groove! — the title of the Raleigh, N.C. artist’s forthcoming LP.
Boulevards’ style is best, and inadequately, self-described as “funk.” Thick synth patches and low-low bass guide the feet of even the shyest listener to dance. The band’s sound invokes the dark intensity of the Black Keys with the rhythmic compel of Disclosure, but in a style entirely of its own. The artist’s hardcore and metal influences cut through in instrumental sections with close rhythmic interplay in the band. Boulevards never lets his rock-solid backbeat die, leaving the audience at the mercy of the dancing impulse. And the singer’s vocal skill in a live performance in no way falls short of that captured on his recorded tracks, including a 2015 eponymous EP.
Boulevards has clearly been around the block. He effortlessly delivered powerful lyrics and interacted naturally with the audience, seemingly directing the band with only his body. As the music picked up, Boulevards discarded his encumbrances one by one: first the mic stand, then his jacket. His irrepressible sexual charisma is essential to his act, which combines the obligatory hip-thrusting of the funk genre with lyrics that range from bashfully charming (“I’m sorry for the cold call, but you got it all”) to downright cocky (“Turn down the lights, don’t act surprised, your love is mine”). The songs make reliable party jams, but Boulevards’ lyrics and the tightness of the arrangements also warrant a close listen. Currently, Boulevards has only released an eponymous EP and the single, “Cold Call.”
The crowd was a hodge-podge of upperclassmen dressed to go clubbing after the show and older museum patrons who appeared to be out of their element and loving it. They were not prepared for the intensity of Boulevards. The band’s performance conveyed a frenetic rhythmic urge that might be unfamiliar to Angelenos accustomed to EDM. Even so, singable, infectious choruses render Boulevards an instant favorite to longtime funk and R&B fans and partygoers alike.
The full LP Groove! comes out April 1.