British rapper Loyle Carner played to a packed Auckland Town Hall on 29 July, 2023. Photo: Supplied / Tom Grut
Jazz and rap collided on stage as Loyle Carner shared an intimate and soulful performance with a packed Auckland Town Hall last night, writes Jordan Dunn.
With the backdrop of the century-old architecture of the Auckland Town Hall, Loyle Carner gave an hour-long set of his biggest hits that encapsulated his lyrical, poetic and musical talents in a thrilling atmosphere.
The English rapper's brutally honest and unforgivingly open lyrics have made him a stand-out voice on the UK scene. This - accompanied with his groovy, head-bopping, jazzy backing - has made him a unique rap figure for the better part of the last decade.
The audience was dominated by mostly young men and women, but had drips and drabs of those older and younger enjoying the music. The show had everything you could expect from the concert of a globally iconic, youthful and inventive performer, including a stunning light show often reminiscent of a 90s techno rave.
A small five-person band accompanied him, adding to the sense of intimacy felt with the crowd. They provided the groovy, jazz-like backing to Carner's rapping, which has become part of his signature style.
The last time he performed in the country was in 2018 at Auckland's Laneway Festival, during which he said he met some "life-long friends". After his first tracks, he acknowledged the lengthy wait New Zealanders have been forced to endure to see him on stage again.
"I've been waiting a very long time to play out here," Carner said, "I'm sorry it's taken so long."
British rapper Loyle Carner played to a packed Auckland Town Hall on 29 July, 2023. Photo: Supplied / Tom Grut
The music at the town hall was loud in the best way possible. Crowd members not already bouncing to his contagiously groovy songs would have felt the vibrations of the bass radiate up through their feet. The audience were enthralled by Carner's performance and would shake the building as they stamped their feet and cheered along with the rapper.
They weren't the only ones loving it.
"This is better than every single one of those shows we've ever played," Carner said, more than once.
The rapper is known for being open about his trouble growing up in London and issues he's had with his partially-absent father. Many of his songs touch on these topics, and he didn't shy away from sharing stories with the crowd.
Much like a pastor preaching to a church congregation, he talked about his feeling of never fitting into the image of what a man was in his hometown.
"F*ck that toxic masculinity bullshit," he shouted, leading to cheers of agreement from the audience. "Don't suffer in silence man!"
Later, he gave a three-minute-long monologue describing the struggle of never feeling love from his father, and his mission to not be that same figure for his son. These moments were a refreshing look into the deeper meaning behind his work and had the entire audience in silence as they took it all in.
Even for people who can't relate to his situation, his message was of letting go of what's holding us back. "What I forgot was when I forgave my father, I set myself free," he said.
Carner navigated the numerous moods of the night seamlessly. One second we were listening to his heart-wrenching monologues, the next, an upbeat hip hop track.
British rapper Loyle Carner played to a packed Auckland Town Hall on 29 July, 2023. Photo: Supplied / Tom Grut
This did cause some issues early on in the set, where it was hard to tell when one song was starting, and one was finishing, but that feeling abated as he moved into his more popular and distinct-sounding songs.
Carner's words were sometimes hard to make out - much more so than in the studio version of his songs. This is not a unique issue to live performances, and particularly live rap performances. But if you did not already know his lyrics, you would have found it difficult to make out, which is really a shame considering how poetic and thoughtful many of his songs are.
He ended the night going a cappella, treating the audience to the verses of an unreleased track.
Carner's significant following around the world is testament to his refreshing style and positive messaging. His showmanship is top tier, and he can hold a crowd's attention and take them on a journey with him in a contagiously groovy way.
