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Devon Thompson headlined Moroccan Lounge (review)

Photo credit: Kelly Walsh

"I'm moving on up," stated rising Los Angeles alternative rock artist Devon Thompson at their headlining gig at Moroccan Lounge last night. At only the young age of 22, the artist has been turning heads in the region with a slew of performances alongside artists such as The Hate Drugs, The Mission U.K., and Clan of Xymox. While the artist rarely has the chance for a proper headlining gig, they managed to land one just in time for the summer. The venue's intimate setting made the artist a bit uncomfortable, but having a slew of fans come through helped ease the situation.

Our last encounter with Thompson was their performance opening for The Mission U.K. (under the Blood Brothers moniker) at The Viper Room back in April. That particular performance found the young singer playing in front of a much older audience, who managed to warm up to the artist towards the conclusion of their set. This time around, the Morrocan Lounge was packed with their typical crowd. Another drastic change from their Viper Room gig was the overall performance. Thompson went at it alone with only their acoustic guitar for their West Hollywood performance. With bassist Miles Knight and drummer Greg Miles Lewis by their side for their headlining show, Thompson kicked off their nine-song set with the fast-paced number "Reckless."

Promising a set full of "hard and soft songs," Thompson drifted their way into the mid-tempo cut "Poison Me" from their recent Skin EP. The artist stuck around their latest EP for a bit with succulent live versions of "I Love You But It Hurts Like Hell," "Straitjacket," and "So Close."

After playing a slew of previously released material, the artist decided to throw a new song in the mix. Written after an unfortunate episode with creative turmoil, the new song finds Thompson whispering "Are you hearing me? Are you listening?" before launching into a firey chorus wrapped in wrath.

Thompson ended their set with another unreleased song titled "Parasite," which is aimed at those individuals looking to suck the joy out of everyday life. The artist simply wants everyone to meet good people and become a good person but not before declaring, "I wanna f--k you up" in the song's vicious chorus.

The show is one of the last gigs for Thompson before embarking on their first-ever tour this September alongside Dead On A Sunday and Haunt Me. The artist is currently running an Indiegogo campaign to help raise money for the trek, which can be found here.

Devon Thompson setlist

1) Reckless

2) Poison Me

3) I Love You But It Hurts Like Hell

4) Straitjacket

5) So Close

6) Soft Like Water

7) New song

8) Split Ends

9) Parasite (new song)