09/07/2013: 'The undeniable talent of this young man is clear for all to see'
by Ryan Crittenden | Photos by WENN.com
Tags: frank ocean
When Frank Ocean strolls onto the Brixton Academy stage, the reaction the 25 year old Grammy winner received was truly deafening.
The London crowd welcomed the immensely talented artist to the city for the first time since 2011 and for the next 90-odd minutes Ocean thrilled, amazed and captured the entire audience and cemented himself as one of the most must-see acts on the planet.
With screams ringing around the venue, Ocean’s opens with new song ‘Feel California’ and although there were a few early sound problems, the sold out venue were sent into hysterics during a superb version of ‘Novacane.’
Every song was met with a quite unbelievably huge ovation, and despite the more-than-eager crowd singing every lyric back at him, Ocean’s vocal performance was almost flawless.
Backed by a live suited six piece band split either side of him, the Odd Future member was sporting blue camouflage trousers and a flowery white tee as he took centre stage in front of footage of an American car driving on a salt pan.
Ocean commanded the stage brilliantly as he stood in front of what looked like a place where phones and cameras come to die. The constant glow of someone videoing/instagramming/snappchatting the performance was getting tedious but the Channel Orange man took all the adulation in his stride.
In an almost complete contrast to his on stage confidence and presence, Ocean only nervously addressed the crowd a few times explaining “I don’t normally say a lot but this is one of my favourite cities in the world to play,” before taking a seat to perform ‘Forrest Gump.'
He then explains that he has been working on a new song whilst on the road and asks the crowd to “bear with him” before playing what is rumoured to be called ‘Pray.’ The track follows the pattern of some of Ocean’s more stripped back numbers as the minimalist sound allows the Brit Award winner to excel with his unique vocals.
Watch Frank Ocean perform 'Pray' below
With the set flowing beautifully on, it is the back to back renditions of ‘Pyramids’ and ‘Sweet Life’ that nearly blow the roof off. Whilst the first gets the crowd moving, the latter sees Ocean look overwhelmed by the reaction, commenting after the song “Y’all sounded good, we should start some like mass London choir.”
As final track ‘Golden Girl’ gets going, Ocean stops proceedings, deciding instead to perform a truly stunning acapella version of ‘Swim Good’ backed again by his new London choir. Ocean and his piano player then remain on stage to play 'Wise Man', the song which he wrote for Django Unchained.
The undeniable talent of this young man is clear for all to see, he has collaborated with some of the biggest artists in the world and with that magnificent performance it is clear to see why he is one of the most sought-after singer/songwriters on the planet. Long live Frank Ocean.
