NNF 2013 > NNF2013 Reviews

Woodkid // NNF2013, Theatre Royal - 13.05.13

15/05/13

It’s rare that I get to see the support act of a gig nowadays; my own fault – when reviewing a gig has become a teeny bit more ‘job’ than ‘lark’ you tend to get in, get the job done. Like a smart price brothel. I tend to be the last one to leave the bar, but let me tell you kids – it ain’t big, and it ain’t clever. You might just miss someone like the man we’re introduced to first at this particular gig, Woodkid at the Theatre Royal Norwich, as part of NNF 2013.

Benjamin Clementine strides on to the stage, no shoes, big overcoat, takes in the majesty of the theatre, and casts an eye over his expectant crowd with… what? Disdain? Fear? His is a difficult face to read. Mumbling into the microphone, so indecipherable that we can’t even pick out his name, he sits at the piano and begins to play.

Clementine plays the piano with such fluency, he could stop at that; he doesn’t though, and the accompaniment is mesmerising, intriguing and ultimately very entertaining. He manages to get so many tones, so many characters and notes out of his voice that we are in a state of surprise from the beginning to end. I wear a quizzical expression for the entire set, as Benjamin conjures old men and young radicals through his storytelling vocals.

And to the face of the evening, the current Outline cover star. A full band comes on and is backdropped by a large screen, a clear indication that this will be just as we expected, a feat of audio and visual extravagance. Woodkid enters the space looking small, inverting shoulders and customary hat shadowing his gaze. He makes himself as tiny as possible, while sharing with us the music that has become so huge it’s had ad agencies the world over wetting their pants for a bit of rent-a-drama. Two massive drums set the pace and impact for the show, with Woodkid’s hired drummers looking military in their precision, and ever growing in the carefully constructed swell of the set-list. 

As the set marches on, we are causing a chrysalis effect on Woodkid; his limbs start to emerge; one arm is allowed to leave the mic to amp up the crowd; he starts to hold both arms aloft to signal we were allowed to worship. The set mutates from his introverted, intimate ballads like ‘Where I Live’ to songs that he’s ready to share with us. In his former EP-only release, ‘Brooklyn’, he exchanges ‘in Paris’ for ‘in Norwich it’s raining’ in a sign of humour and connection.

Famous for his video direction, it becomes clear he’s sitting at the director’s chair tonight as well. With an eye on all his band members, his hand cupping his ear in attempts to achieve greater volumes from his already booming crowd, his back turned away from us towards the cinematic visuals in order to focus our attention - he was orchestrating the whole evening.

As Yoann Lemoine resurrects Woodkid for a welcome encore, he uses his directorial skills to the best effect, getting us all clapping and jumping to his carnivalesque ‘Run Boy Run’. The Theatre Royal doesn’t always jump off the ground, but tonight there was no way it wouldn’t – Woodkid was commanding it; we were all part of the plan in just another scene of Yoann Lemoine’s colourful career.

Emma R. Garwood

It’s rare that I get to see the support act of a gig nowadays; my own fault – when reviewing a gig has become a teeny bit more ‘job’ than ‘lark’ you tend to get in, get the job done. Like a smart price brothel. I tend to be the last one to leave the bar, but let me tell you kids – it ain’t big, and it ain’t clever. You might just miss someone like the man we’re introduced to first at this particular gig, Woodkid at the Theatre Royal Norwich, as part of NNF 2013.

Benjamin Clementine strides on to the stage, no shoes, big overcoat, takes in the majesty of the theatre, and casts an eye over his expectant crowd with… what? Disdain? Fear? His is a difficult face to read. Mumbling into the microphone, so indecipherable that we can’t even pick out his name, he sits at the piano and begins to play.

Clementine plays the piano with such fluency, he could stop at that; he doesn’t though, and the accompaniment is mesmerising, intriguing and ultimately very entertaining. He manages to get so many tones, so many characters and notes out of his voice that we are in a state of surprise from the beginning to end. I wear a quizzical expression for the entire set, as Benjamin conjures old men and young radicals through his storytelling vocals.

And to the face of the evening, the current Outline cover star. A full band comes on and is backdropped by a large screen, a clear indication that this will be just as we expected, a feat of audio and visual extravagance. Woodkid enters the space looking small, inverting shoulders and customary hat shadowing his gaze. He makes himself as tiny as possible, while sharing with us the music that has become so huge it’s had ad agencies the world over wetting their pants for a bit of rent-a-drama. Two massive drums set the pace and impact for the show, with Woodkid’s hired drummers looking military in their precision, and ever growing in the carefully constructed swell of the set-list. 

As the set marches on, we are causing a chrysalis effect on Woodkid; his limbs start to emerge; one arm is allowed to leave the mic to amp up the crowd; he starts to hold both arms aloft to signal we were allowed to worship. The set mutates from his introverted, intimate ballads like ‘Where I Live’ to songs that he’s ready to share with us. In his former EP-only release, ‘Brooklyn’, he exchanges ‘in Paris’ for ‘in Norwich it’s raining’ in a sign of humour and connection.

Famous for his video direction, it becomes clear he’s sitting at the director’s chair tonight as well. With an eye on all his band members, his hand cupping his ear in attempts to achieve greater volumes from his already booming crowd, his back turned away from us towards the cinematic visuals in order to focus our attention - he was orchestrating the whole evening.

As Yoann Lemoine resurrects Woodkid for a welcome encore, he uses his directorial skills to the best effect, getting us all clapping and jumping to his carnivalesque ‘Run Boy Run’. The Theatre Royal doesn’t always jump off the ground, but tonight there was no way it wouldn’t – Woodkid was commanding it; we were all part of the plan in just another scene of Yoann Lemoine’s colourful career.

Emma R. Garwood