“Well frankly when that Ocean so motherfuckin’ good…” Taking the reigns on Andre 3000’s verse on Pink Matter, in one of tonight’s many highlights, Mr Frank Ocean hinted at boastfulness in a night threaded by bashful apology – his apparent cold resulting in humble disclaimers in between songs. His voice, that voice, didn’t appear to suffer, save for a few permeating gentle coughs during Forrest Gump. “You tour for a month, then you get sick,” he bemoaned.
The last time Frank Ocean was in Melbourne he partied at Favela Rock kicked it front row at Yeezy’s show at Sidney Myer Music Bowl, and didn’t perform a show. He didn’t join the OFWGKTA collective at their Big Day Out performances, then cancelled his imminent Future Music Festival appearance. He made a habit of cancelling throughout 2011 and 2012, and as such, I was a little sceptical he would fulfil his Splendour commitments, let alone his peripheral shows.
But here we were in Festival Hall, waiting well past the 8pm doortimes to be frisked and allowed entry. Frank Ocean’s first ever Australian show. There was reason to be excited, and Frank’s slightly tardy entry generated a feverish squeal from the sold out hall – calling to mind a reaction befitting the venue’s June 1964 visitors.
The staging was ostensibly minimal. A pure white floor, two microphones – one aided by autotune – and an impressive LED curtain (not HD, because that’s too real) obscuring the crack backing band.
We were treated to a cloudy dreamscape on screen and with smoke machine as Frank floated into setlist opener Feel California – a brand new track featuring lightning-crash percussion. The track bled into Nostalgia, Ultra cut Novacane, then into Acura Intergurl from the shelved Nostalgia LITE rerelease. All on point.
Every track from last year’s debut commercial release ChannelORANGE followed (well, every track featuring a Frank Ocean vocal). Thinkin’ Bout You was first up, guided by an overwhelming crowd singalong that filled in the perfect respites offered by Ocean. It was goosebump-worthy at times, empowered by sublime horns from behind the curtain. Stagehands placed an organ front of stage for a stripped-back, beautiful rendition of Forrest Gump. The imagery of burning palm trees during Super Rich Kids transitioned into a pink hue for Pink Matter – a track that could have only been improved by a walk-on from 3 Stacks himself.
Pyramids stands as my favourite cut from ChannelORANGE, but it fell flat tonight. It suffered from a false start with Frank calling cut to wander to the sound booth to sort out apparent qualms with his autotuned microphone. Even when the issue was sorted, the grandness of the studio version failed to translate to the live setting. Perhaps we can put it down to Frank’s ailment, or perhaps it’s too multi-faceted a track to flourish onstage.
Sweet Life, Bad Religion, goodnight, lights on, home time. No encore.
Even with a relatively light schedule, Ocean seems fatigued with the concept of touring. Tonight was impeccable and consolidated his worth as one of the current era’s greats, but still fell short of potential. Perhaps it’s that tension between humble insecurity and immense talent that makes Ocean so captivating.
BY LACHLAN KANONIUK
LOVED: Pink Matter was a revelation.
HATED: The chilly wait for doors to open.
DRANK: Half a can of lager.
