Photography: Taylor Friginette
Words: Racquel Villagante
Vancouver, BC – Staple music venue for underground talent in East Vancouver, The Biltmore Cabaret was buzzing with pure excitement this past Saturday night (09/24/16) as R&B fans eagerly awaited the arrival of London’s freshest pop-funk goddess, NAO.
Representing for the Pacific Northwest, the show’s opener Kweku Collins from Seattle took to the stage dressed in all black with one overall strap hanging down to the floor. Pinned by Pitchfork in the sub-genre of hip-hop classified as “part Chance the Rapper, part Wyclef, part Future, part Chief Keef,” Kweku offered the Vancity crowd an amalgamation of cadences and beats they could fox with.
“Lonely Lullabies” struck a familiar chord with the millennial crowd as the guitar riff from Daughter’s “Youth” was sampled throughout. Kweku’s most noteworthy performance was that of his song “Ghost”, which he proudly proclaimed had just hit 1 million plays on Spotify—a defining milestone for up-and-coming artists in this present day of streaming.
The crowd got turnt during the marijuana + romantic love inspired track “Stupid Roses”, chanting along to the catchy chorus: “These stupid f*n roses. F*n roses.” Kweku fed off the hype of the audience and danced so hard across the stage that he collided with his own mic stand. A girl in the front row saved the mic stand from hitting the ground and the crowd applauded her quick reflex. Kweku gave her a shout out on the mic, thanking her for having his back. West Coast love was in the air.
The Biltmore began to heat up as the sold-out crowd waited with bated breath for their beloved voice-of-an-angel NAO to descend upon the stage. Kicking her set off with bright funk-soul tune, “Happy”, the London Town goddess appeared on stage completely humanized and down-to-earth in her bare feet. Donning a colourful African print halter top with matching lounge pants, NAO’s chill look and inviting aura encouraged the audience to let loose and get lost in the groove. “Inhale Exhale” graduated the crowd past head-bobbing to full out dancing.
NAO uninhibitedly shook and swayed centre stage during her fan-fave, “Fool To Love”. The room went wild, marvelling and revelling at NAO’s ability to move so energetically without missing a single note. During her sassy, grimy track “Trophy”, NAO embodied the movements of Egyptian royalty, raising her arms and hands up to the spotlight as if she were opening up the heavens. With a sparkling voice that could only be described as cotton candy clouds raining golden honey all over the soundscape, NAO’s vocals were no doubt en pointe during “In The Morning” and “Girlfriend”.
NAO’s keyboardist, bassist, guitarist, and drummer all got the opportunity to glean their talent on “We Don’t Give A”. NAO kept all eyes fixated on her as she rotated around in alternating semicircles, whipping her hair back and forth and fanning herself with a Chinese paper fan. The venue at that point set up a massive electric fan behind the band. It was just getting that hot.
The show came to a climax on “Apple Cherry” where NAO’s flawlessly smooth vocals pierced through the soul. In a cute, chipmunk-like voice, reminiscent of her singing voice, NAO took the opportunity to thank her Vancouver fans for all the streams, downloads, and shares. She then told the crowd she had one more song for them. Of course the final song was none other than her newest hit with nearly 10 million streams on Spotify: “Bad Blood”. The finale hit it all the way home for the crowd. NAO smiled and radiated with a genuine joy as the packed house erupted with resounding cheers upon her closing bow and wave.
A fan exclaimed after the show, “I’ve never been to a concert where the artist actually sounds, like, 10x better live than their recording!”
