Chet Faker Live
Show Date: 9/10/14
Rating: 9/10
“You gotta know, I’m feeling love…” the repeated lyrics from Chet Fakers single, ‘Gold’, accurately describe how I feel about the Melbourne, Australia native and his self-produced music making it onto the charts. The relaxed twenty-three year old, Nicholas James Murphy, goes by the stage name of [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/chet-faker/id439036555?uo=4″ title=”Chet Faker” text=”Chet Faker”]. As there is already an Australian musician by the name of Nick Murphy, he created this stage name in an ode to inspiring jazz musician Chet Baker. Faker took on the name when he uploaded his first cover of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” in 2011.
Since then, Fakers following has grown tremendously. He released his newest single [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/gold/id807649636?i=807649741&uo=4″ title=”Chet Faker – Gold” text=”Gold”] back in July and it is finally getting the publicity it deserves. The mellow song is rhythmic and thoughtful; admittedly, I find it better than some of his more repetitive tracks. With my sporadic and most times non-existent good luck, I was able to attend a Faker concert quite recently at the Ottobar. Needless to say, it was Golden.
Some may call it small but I call it welcoming, quaint and intimate. Standing in the midst of the crowd, if you look down and can’t say with confidence where the person next to you got their shoes because they are so nauseatingly unique, you’re probably at the Ottobar. By ten o’clock the hip and comfy venue was packed with eager young adults.. Interview Magazine perfectly described Fakers style as “too slow of a tempo for crazy club dancing, a slightly subtler production, languid, bordering on soul-like vocals. Music to make you feel cool, contemplative, a little aloof.” And that’s exactly how you felt as the crowed swayed and jumped throughout the whole set.
He had an effortless, yet stylish look of a white T-shirt and gray harem sweatpants that we all wish we could successfully pull off. Faker’s handmade combination of R&B, electronic music and soul- deep voice had infected the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd of well-dressed hipsters and friends. After a few songs from his album [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/gold/id807649636?i=807649741&uo=4″ title=”Chet Faker – Built on Glass” text=”Built On Glass”], Faker announced in an accent that made every girl push closer to the stage, his sincere gratitude toward his fans for allowing him to continue to be an independent artist. The combination between talking with the audience and producing his music, created a personal and very appealing stage presence. He was sure of himself, yet humbled; really a hard guy to hate. Faker’s set included his famous cover of ‘[itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/no-diggity/id505463861?i=505464096&uo=4″ title=”Chet Faker – No Diggity” text=”No Diggity”],’ his original song ‘[itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/drop-the-game/id739687215?i=739687254&uo=4″ title=”Chet Faker – Drop the Game” text=”Drop the Game”],’ ‘[itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/what-about-us/id739687215?i=739687255&uo=4″ title=”Chet Faker – What About Us” text=”What About Us”],’ and ‘[itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/music-video/talk-is-cheap/id834433004?uo=4″ title=”Chet Faker – Talk is Cheap” text=”Talk Is Cheap”],’ as well as some not yet released tracks. After a pleading encore encouraged his returned on stage, he performed his more popular song ‘[itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/gold/id807649636?i=807649741&uo=4″ title=”Chet Faker – Gold” text=”Gold”]’.
Although Faker’s songs usually tend to be lengthy, the overall set seemed fairly short. Some of the futuristic sounding songs seemed to have an intro that sounded like they may never end. Faker is an acquired taste, and often a mood. For the [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/flume/id4275634?uo=4″ title=”Flume” text=”Flume”] and [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/max-frost/id529873080?uo=4″ title=”Max Frost” text=”Max Frost”] fans, I would suggest you get yourself to a Chet Faker concert as soon as possible. [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/ke$ha/id334854763?uo=4″ title=”Ke$ha is really awful” text=”Ke$ha”] fans, you might want to pick another way to spend your Friday night.
All in all, my friends and I left feeling accomplished and satisfied that we had discovered a new fantastic venue and left with a greater love for Chet Faker than we had upon arrival.
fantastic post Lele