Club Nokia is a fairly new live-show venue compared to the other concert venues in Los Angeles of similar size. Its home is located within many restaurants in L.A. Live across from the Staples Center. It has more of a modern style with neon lights throughout the building and a large bar that sits in the back of the general admission floor.
XXYYXX, an experimental producer who creates dreamy melancholic sounds, opened the show in a very dark and moody setting. He has been compared to artists like The Weeknd and Shlohmo and his songs consists of R&B rips mixed with hypnotizing beats that keep listeners oddly intrigued. It seemed to fit the vibe of the audience as they loosely swayed to his productions.
For being a sold out show, it was a little surprising to see a lot of open space on the general admission floor, but it was also relieving not having to bump into people while trying to enjoy the show.
Chet Faker has an electro-soul kind of vibe consisting of his fragile vocals that powerfully shout emotion in an ironically subtle way. Although his style of singing can sound like his mouth is mumbling, his ability to bring sensuality to his music comes naturally and is quite impressive.
Before Faker delved into his ever-so-popular rendition of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” he kindly challenged the audience to put their phones away and to enjoy and feed off of the genuine energy of the moment without any technology. Considering that America lives in a technologically dependent society, it seemed like a very honest and justifiable request, but of course there were a few who couldn’t hang.
His set list was carefully constructed to provide a mellow journey from beginning to end. Even his upbeat “1998” came at a perfect timing that got the audience dancing enough, but not forgetting the sweetness of the atmosphere. The intimate production of his performance commanded the crowd’s attention and his broken yet beautifully raw vocals were easy to surrender to.
Faker ended the show with an encore of two of his most popular songs “Talk Is Cheap” and “Gold” that reminded the audience why he easily sells out shows across the country.
His mellow electronic sound is like no other and it’s hard not to admire the evident dedication that he has to his art of creating meaningful music. He can capture the souls of his fans with his mesmerizing stage presence and organic sounds making him an easily enjoyable listen.
With his quick rise to mainstream stardom from what began as internet fame, Chet Faker is definitely an artist with well-deserved respect from his fans and more.
