– Pharrell Williams – Live at Pinkpop 2015 – June 14, 2015 – VPRO/3VOOR12 – The Netherlands –
Something a bit different tonight from the seemingly endless parade of Summer festivals this year – a nod to Pop, and one of its most successful practitioners in recent years, Pharrell Williams.
Pharrell Williams is probably one of the most visible and known figures in the current incarnation of Pop Music, and there isn’t much that hasn’t been written about, interviewed over, reported on or commented at great length in most every newspaper, magazine, blog, radio/TV Music streaming outlet on the planet. So there is really nothing I can add, other than the fact that he is a phenomenon and part of a breed of Pop icon who is involved in so many projects in and out of music that he has become part of that bubbling-under society known as The Renaissance People; they do a lot of things, and they do them well.
But tonight it’s Pharrell Williams the entertainer, the performer – and this is one of the things the current mainstream Pop Music scene excels at – Entertainment and Spectacle. It is distinctly different from bands of the Radiohead/Father John Misty/Massive Attack/Alabama Shakes variety. It’s precise, executed with flair and it’s sole purpose is to entertain and get people moving. And Pharrell Williams is one of its undisputed masters.
Sadly, this is the radio version of his performance at Pinkpop – the video is another story and the visuals are part of the presentation. This is something of a stripped-down version. But in doing that, focuses on the dimension of Pharrell Williams as the singer, composer and musician – you get to experience him with your eyes closed – and that, I think is the true test of any performer – how do they pull it off without the visuals. In Pharrell Williams case; easy.
Check it out for yourself – whether you’re a fan or not, know every word to every song or not. Listen and hear what he has to say, and how he says it. Here is Pharrell Williams, playing to a capacity audience at Pinkpop in Holland on June 14th of this year.
Play loud and get loose – it’s Saturday night, after all.
