Woodkid at Theatre Royal Norwich
Just as I was heading for the Theatre Royal with a friend, I said - I want to do my Fantasy Festival. A pick of all my favourite Festival events over the last ten years-ish. Top of the list was a gig by The Bays at the Playhouse in 2009. It was amazing - the band pinned you to your seat under a physical barrage of light and sound. Might come across as unpleasant but far from it - it was an explosion of physical sensation. I really didn't expect the same from Woodkid - maybe more acoustic, more chilled, catchy. But right from the start this had the same effect - dramatic, carefully staged, expertly produced - a choreography of lights, projections and the most amazing, powerful musicians. It all worked - it didn't come across as contrived even though every step, note, light flash was planned, tight and sequenced.
Woodkid himself, a small guy, was very present and forceful and yet very soft too. Insistent on getting the audience to react, which they did, he made himself lovable. The two drummers with identical vertically mounted bass drums were incredible as they boomed and snapped the pace, underpinned the drama, created the score for the lighting. And the brass section, including a huge tuba, brought another unusual, and large, dimension to the sound - but in a way soft and mellow without a saxophone screech to be heard.
In amidst well-produced sound though, I felt that the main voice needed a bit more power. I wanted his chest to be bigger, the sound fuller and louder to stand against the backdrop of the band and the visuals - but maybe that was a sound-mixing issue as he undoubtedly has a rich voice if you listen to recordings, sometimes reminiscent of Devendra Banhart. But who's complaining? It was a sensational gig which had that whole-body effect that great music has - you don't just hear it with your ears.
The talent of Woodkid (Yoann Lemoine) as a video director was very evident in the projections and the cinemagraphic way that the whole show was presented - he's still a young man and obviously has a bright and creative future ahead of him. And his supporting musicians should also be congratulated, they were all fab. I also liked the fact that they seemed to be genuinely enjoying the Norwich audience. Excellent gig that will be on my fantasy Festival list from now on. Find out more about Woodkid here.
And there was excellent support from Benjamin Clementine, who I must admit I had never heard of but his piano playing was superb, his voice and persona sensational. Looking him up on the web, I see he is French which explains why he was somewhat quietly spoken. I think we will, or should, hear more about him too. Here's a link. First class programming here, NNF!
Woodkid himself, a small guy, was very present and forceful and yet very soft too. Insistent on getting the audience to react, which they did, he made himself lovable. The two drummers with identical vertically mounted bass drums were incredible as they boomed and snapped the pace, underpinned the drama, created the score for the lighting. And the brass section, including a huge tuba, brought another unusual, and large, dimension to the sound - but in a way soft and mellow without a saxophone screech to be heard.
In amidst well-produced sound though, I felt that the main voice needed a bit more power. I wanted his chest to be bigger, the sound fuller and louder to stand against the backdrop of the band and the visuals - but maybe that was a sound-mixing issue as he undoubtedly has a rich voice if you listen to recordings, sometimes reminiscent of Devendra Banhart. But who's complaining? It was a sensational gig which had that whole-body effect that great music has - you don't just hear it with your ears.
The talent of Woodkid (Yoann Lemoine) as a video director was very evident in the projections and the cinemagraphic way that the whole show was presented - he's still a young man and obviously has a bright and creative future ahead of him. And his supporting musicians should also be congratulated, they were all fab. I also liked the fact that they seemed to be genuinely enjoying the Norwich audience. Excellent gig that will be on my fantasy Festival list from now on. Find out more about Woodkid here.
And there was excellent support from Benjamin Clementine, who I must admit I had never heard of but his piano playing was superb, his voice and persona sensational. Looking him up on the web, I see he is French which explains why he was somewhat quietly spoken. I think we will, or should, hear more about him too. Here's a link. First class programming here, NNF!
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