Live Review: Frank Ocean

At first, it's strange seeing Frank Ocean standing on the Festival Hall stage solitary, with the only equipment being the two mics in front of him. A gigantic screen is set up onstage behind Ocean, a video of billowing clouds projected on it as theatrical fog enshrouds him. As he sings an intro, seemingly accompanied by a tinny, pre-recorded instrumental track, a slight panic that this might be a glorified karaoke session sets in.

Thankfully, when the kick drum and soul bassline intro of Novacane begins, backlights behind the screen shine to reveal the silhouettes of the live band members, which include a pianist, drummer, guitarist, bassist and a trio of brass players. Throughout the night this happens intermittently, enough to acknowledge and remind us of the band's presence, but the focus is squarely on Ocean: he's the one we're here to see.

Ocean's a step behind the beat but soon warms up, finishing the song with the Auto-Tune mic and a garbled vocal outro. Footage of a sports car driving in the desert is now playing onscreen. The recognisable first four notes of Thinkin Bout You are played by the trumpet instead of violin as per the recording, and Ocean switches up the melody's timing, resulting in a jazzier rendition. He hits that ultra-high note (“do you not think so far ahead?”) but it looks like a struggle.

Our suspicions are confirmed when he walks off the stage at the song's conclusion and returns with a cup of what punters near the stage speculate is tea. “It's frigid as fuck in Melbourne right now,” he says, and explains that he's sick. This becomes more apparent as the set wears on, his vocals sounding noticeably hoarser. He splutters and has to pause to clear his throat during Forrest Gump, and the crowd encouragingly cheers him on. The spoken word verses of Super Rich Kids provide some respite for him. Unfortunately, he still has to alter the way he sings every song, shying away from the big or challenging parts and rearranging the melodies, often singing the octave down from the original. You can feel the audience collectively holding their breath in the lead-up to the money notes, rooting for him to land them.

The high staccato piano and the brass once again playing the original string melody (plus a few backing vocal melodies!) in Lost means that the band are the star of the track, showing up Ocean, who gladly lets the crowd take over singing duties for a chorus. One of the highlights of the night, we show our appreciation with drawn-out, thunderous applause. Ocean and band resume equal footing with the following Pilot Jones, another high point of the set.

The screen flashes with images of burning palm trees, first yellow and orange before the colours become solarised, and with the stage seemingly alight, Ocean and band launch into Pyramids. Truthfully, it doesn't make the impact it should, with Ocean battling to keep it together, but the set ends strongly with compelling closer Bad Religion. The church organ tones ring out, and Ocean musters whatever energy he has left to really reach for the soaring line, “if it bring me to my knees”, and bust out that high "no!". In a spontaneous and almost reverent moment, the song fades out to the audience clapping in time, until it's the only noise in the venue, eventually speeding up to a grand applause.

"I don't wanna speak much tonight but I do wanna thank you guys, you made that a lot easier,” he says, before bidding us goodnight and exiting the stage. There's understandably no encore. Despite his obvious discomfort and frustration, we get much more than a mere glimpse of Ocean's undeniable talent and charisma, even if what we have heard tonight is only two thirds of what Ocean could have delivered, were he not sick (later we find out he has cancelled the remainder of his Australian shows, including his Splendour headline set, due to having a small tear on one of his vocal cords. So all things considered, he truly put on an admirable show). Nevertheless, we were happy for the opportunity to witness Ocean's live efforts, supported by the gorgeous backdrop, pink and blue lighting and faultless band.