Simu Liu Brings the “Kenergy” for Debut Performance at Hotel Cafe
Words by Greg Poblete | Photos by Nathan Ibarbol
December 2023 — “It’s not everyday a 34-year-old gets to launch his music career,” is how actor Simu Liu prefaced his intimate and most importantly, first ever live show at the Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles on December 13th, 2023. From starring in Marvel’s Shang-Chi to the record-breaking Barbie movie, Liu has many blockbuster hits under his belt, but there seems to be one itch that has yet to be scratched: music.
The Hotel Cafe stage has been graced by such legendary artists like Adele, John Mayer, Mac Miller, and many more. Now, the Hotel Cafe is renowned as the venue where actor Simu Liu performed his very first show. With a room capacity of less than 200 people, this show felt very exclusive and was destined to be a buzzworthy event. And upon scrolling through social media and TikTok the day after, there were plenty of people giving their open opinions about Liu’s singing abilities and stage presence. But no matter the grievances one may have with the Chinese-Canadian actor, Simu Liu put on quite a memorable show.
The show began with the stage flooded with dramatic blue lighting, as Liu walked on stage and sat down behind a keyboard. The crowd cheered as he began to play the opening chords of “Bruises” by Lewis Capaldi. A rather emotional way to start the show, the audience was encouraging even when he played a wrong chord in the middle of the song.
Despite the sentimental ballad opening the set, the overall vibe of the show was silly and lighthearted. Liu never took himself too seriously and constantly made self-effacing jokes. Maybe it’s because he is an actor, but Liu looked very comfortable on stage and spewed natural charisma. He was almost a bit too charismatic as he swooped his hair like the Marvel hero he is and wore a cool leather jacket.
After the first song of the set, the rest of the band joined Liu on stage including Philip Chuah on bass, Devon Nelwan on guitar, Kevin Michael Chong on drums, and the iconic YouTube musician, AJ Rafael on keys. Rafael, who has had immense success in the digital world from his countless Disney covers and originals, became friends with Liu over the past few years performing songs together on his YouTube channel. Liu also surprised the Vancouver crowd during AJ’s “Take Me Back Tour” earlier this year to cover Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody.” The energy in the room was electric when he popped out on stage, and made for a monumental moment.
For this Hotel Cafe show, they performed a handful of Liu’s original music from his Anxious-Avoidant EP including “Don’t” and “Warm.” The full band added plenty of punch to the tunes with AJ’s twinkling keys, some silky bass, and warm-toned guitars. Liu definitely played the frontman very well with his smoldering smile and over-the-top stage presence. I wouldn’t say he’s a bad singer, but there is definitely a lot of room for improvement as far as range and control. There is plenty of personality and presence in his voice, but he’s far from hitting the high C all night long.
Because Liu does not have a large discography quite yet, there were quite a handful of cover songs including One Direction’s “Steal My Girl” and some Christmas songs to celebrate the season such as “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Just based off of his cover choices, you can tell the kind of artists he wants to be associated with. Whether jokingly or not, he definitely wants to be seen as the next big pop star. And although there is always a possibility of that happening, I’d rather see Liu embrace his age and find his own lane and sound in his musical career.
Towards the latter part of the set is when the zest really cranked up. Liu took advantage of his Barbie clout and played a couple songs from the movie. The first track they played was the song the Ken characters played on guitar, “Push” by Matchbox Twenty. It was very tongue-in-cheek, but the crowd loved it. After this was the last song on the setlist, “I’m Just Ken.” Although Liu’s Ken was more of a side character during the actual performance in the movie, he took full advantage of having his name on the marquee at the Hotel Cafe and channeled his best Ryan Gosling impression. There was even a point during the song where he threw off his jacket and let his biceps steal the show. The performance was as outrageous as you can imagine, but nonetheless entertaining.
As a final treat, the band and Liu decided to perform one more song as an encore. Another cover, but one that felt more suited for Liu’s style of singing with his slightly raspy and rugged voice. Rafael and Liu performed “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon again, and they absolutely crushed it.
Overall, Simi Liu’s first show was a great time. He definitely knows how to put on a performance and work a crowd. At times, it did feel like watching someone perform at karaoke for an hour, but sometimes performing some covers with your friends at the Hotel Cafe is all you need in life.
To keep up to date on everything Simi Liu, follow him on Instagram, and listen to Anxious-Avoidant EP, available on all streaming platforms now.
