Brockhampton Ends at the Fonda: Inside the Boy Band’s Final Show in L.A.

At around 11:30 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 19), a handful of fans were bundled up in beach chairs and tents along the Fonda Theatre’s parking lot fence in L.A. “BROCKHAMPTON ENDS AT THE FONDA,” the venue’s marquee sign read. The kids were camping out in hopes of getting tickets to Brockhampton’s final show, and on the night of the event, naturally, the line was wrapped around the block.

Brockhampton declared it “BH Weekend” two days prior when they announced the show and released their final two albums, The Family and TM. Live-streamed on Amazon Music’s Twitch channel, the concert was free, and starting at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, fans were able to get wristbands from the venue on a first come, first served basis, guaranteeing them a ticket to the show the following day.

The concert came as a surprise to fans since the group said their last two shows would be at Coachella earlier this year. Inside the Fonda, the floor slowly began to fill up in the hour preceding the show, which was scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. The balcony was reserved for Brockhampton’s guests, including their family and their label, RCA. Dua Lipa was also attendance and fans spotted Tyler, the Creator as he slipped out at the end.

By 8:05 p.m., Kevin Abstract slowly walked on stage to Celine Dion‘s “All By Myself” before erupting into “Big P—y.” The band’s six other vocalists — Matt Champion, Joba, Bearface, Jabari Manwa, Merlyn and Dom McLennon — joined him shortly after and the boys played songs from each of their albums dating back to their debut studio album 2017’s Saturation.

Unlike their previous performances, the set design this time around was minimal. Only a wide, black staircase sat towards the back of the stage, and was used as a resting spot for the band in between songs. The boys also didn’t wear matching outfits this time, like their varsity jackets at Coachella earlier this year or their orange jumpsuits from their 2017 Camp Flog Gnaw Festival set, but looked as if they arrived separately to the show in clothes they had been wearing all the day. Yet, the crowd didn’t seem to notice or care, as they sang every word to every song with their favorite boy band for the last time.

“Brockhampton’s just like, acceptance and so many things that are important to me, and just changed everything. Thank you so much,” a front-row fan named Brendan said when asked why he likes Brockhampton. Brendan, who was also celebrating his birthday, was then invited on-stage for “Bleach.”

As the show went on, fans were lost in the moment, but there was an undeniable bittersweet feeling amongst the crowd. Like the fans, it seemed as though Brockhampton was excited to release some pent-up energy. The guys were running around the stage and jumping up and down, but it also felt like they were trying to get the show over with the way they transitioned between songs. There was little chatter in-between tracks too, except for the fan interaction and Merlyn introducing his former bandmates at the end. At one point, Abstract got a fan so hype, he almost jumped across the rail and climb on-stage.

By 9:39 p.m., the group walked off after performing “New Shoes” from TM. Naturally, fans began chanting “One more song!” and two minutes later, Bearface came back out to sing his solo ballad, “Summer.” They all then closed out the show for real with “Boogie.”

And while they didn’t take a group bow at the end, Brockhampton still made sure to provide a tad bit of closure. “Thank you very much, thanks for everything,” said Abstract. “See you guys, when we see you.”

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