He took 4 million dollars to do an extremely loose, off-the-cuff, poorly planned and unrehearsed performance that should have occurred in a small club or theater … at the biggest concert venue in North America? And he did all that while affecting a really moody, despondent, and low energy stage persona? Yeah, ok. Sounds really lame to me, but I’m not a fan to begin with. I feel like he’s a wannabe emo lightweight posing as some kind of deep artist … because he was affirmed by some lame millennial and gen z kids who have bad taste in music to begin with. And now most of those kids are going to realize he’s basically a fraud, or just not as talented as they thought? Either way, he’s yet to make any music that will last beyond the moment in which it was created? Real cool. If you’re going to take all that money, at least be professional; and if you don’t give an f, and don’t want to be there to begin with, maybe just don’t perform there? I guess that was realization that occurred before weekend 2. Hopefully, Coachella got half their money back.
Im glad you gave meaning to his set from a very peaceful view you are a happy individual! but its not that deep, frank was irresponsible and disrespectful to everyone involved in this.
@Zuko irresponsible and disrespectful? Why? Because he was late? You should chill out and take your own advice, it's not that deep. Artists are late sometimes... then he started and created some awesome moments.
Frank's stans have the same vibe as Kendrick stans. Their favorite artists just cannot do no wrong. Even when the artists produce something easily recognizable as subpar, their stans will find some hidden meaning or try to explain to the ground something so simplistic. We all know Frank and Dot are generational talents but even a generational can miss. Frank missed at Coachella, it happens.
@@princebond nah frank's stans are league of their own. apart from that kendrick didn't missed a single time in his career. all of his albums are great, all of his tv & grammy performaces are incredible, all of his music videos are great and his tour performance even got better last year.
@@nikk796 Even Goats miss. Kendrick sounds awkward on pop records. Off the top of my head i can name that Taylor Swift feature, that Maroon 5 feature, that Imagine Dragons feature, that Mask Off feature and that Sia feature. It just wasnt sonically it, i do not want to hear any of those verses ever again.
My favorite part of his set was when Skrillex, Four Tet, and Fred Again.. replaced him for the second weekend and throw down one of the best sets in EDM history.
@@MostlyMoony it's just my opinion gang...to me not one moment in their set could live up to that acoustic version of self control or the performance of at your best. was it overall very messy? yes, but the moments that hit, HIT. and im not even that big of a frank fan, i aint even listen to all his shit, so this isnt some weird fan bias or smth.
POV: you clearly didn’t see Rosalia. Some great moments in the Ocean set but a lot of it was disrespectful to other people, paid patrons for the second weekend, the skaters etc
You're giving Frank a ton of credit. I think what you took away from the set was a silver lining from thinking positively. Not this huge intentional artistic statement from him. I'm glad you had a good time, but I don't think it's that deep
Lads like would u not prefer to see a set which is different from the rest not just a greatest hits show and more of a personally curated niche set thing like idk
@@leonardocellino7931 None of our comments said that we wouldn't prefer that? In fact, none of our comments said anything about our expectations of his set or wanting him to just perform the hits. We are saying that we don't believe that Ethan's interpretation is what Franks intention was, if he had any at all. I also don't understand what you mean by a personally curated niche set. The artist gets to curate their set always. Every set of every artist at coachella is "curated". No one is forcing any artist to play their hits. If an artist wants to perform songs that aren't as popular,so be it, power to them.
I love your enthusiastic positive take. Here's something I'd add. I have seen Bjørk 6 times, twice at Coachella. Every performance is unique, amazing, special. She shows up on time, finishes on time, and does novel intpretations of her own material. She asks nothing of the audience. She thanks the audience after every song. I know her music is not as accessible, but as an artist with a unique vision she achieves it with the utmost professionalism everytime. FO should talk to her, delivering to your audience does not have to be cormpromising in anyway.
I forgot where I learned this, but Björk actually decided to participate at Coachella because of a request from Frank! Also it was my first time seeing Björk and I was captivated. She was amazing.
this is why Frank can keep getting away with mediocre things sometimes, he is making fashion jewerly and shows for these people who thinks disrespect for others money and work its art
Everyone's entitled to their opinion. But this is a stretch. It's ok to hold your favorite artists accountable when they do inconsiderate things. I feel sorry for his loss though.
This seems like an incredibly cheritable interpretation, honestly. If this had been what they had in mind from the beginning, I maybe would've agreed, but the fact that they seemingly deconstructed the ice rink last minute suggests to me that this performance was largely a scramble to salvage some kind of acceptable performance, not a deliberate artistic statement. Like, if you watch a movie that's so boring that you just zone out and start thinking about your life, and have some kind of epiphany that way, that's not the movie being good. That just means you should spend more time alone with your thoughts. Don't get me wrong, if you got everything you wanted out of this performance, that's completely cool. But it does seem like your standards and expectations going in were just super low, and it's unreasonable to expect everyone else to do the same. To some people, this was an incredible investment of time and money.
All great and humorous points. If I went, it would have only been to see Frank but I’m glad to know I didn’t really miss out. He did the best he could with what he had but it’s worth watching from home.
well, slow cinema is an entire movement dedicated to doing that just to be erm actually guy 🤓 although there is the context of where it slows to try and induce that thoughtfulness that's the intentionality and shows the thought put into it. With this I can see the argument for why that's not the case.
@@dylanbernard246 That's interesting, I'd never heard of slow cinema. But as you said, the factor to consider here is intention, or: Is it boring on purpose or out of incompetence. With this set, I'm leaning more towards the latter.
So I guess him also being late and lipsyncing to some songs before saying he fractured his ankle( lied he was moving around) was apart of this intimate & creative proformance.
bro these frank ocean stans are coping so hard they really think him having a shit performance is some deep meaningful message sent out to the youth its just cringe
Lads we can’t judge from the outside we don’t have enough info we have no idea what is going on in the man’s life rn u know who knows if he has some sort of mental disorder or some shit rn idfk but u know grilling him this hard … the man still performed and I guarantee this will be one of his most famous performances to date and a good story for the grandkids u feel me so it’s rlly not that big of a deal it’s not like he said he likes hitler for gods sake
You have to think about the context. We had walked 10 miles a day for three days in the heat. Then expected to stand there for an hour waiting stuck in a crowd. My girlfriend fainted. It was inconsiderate and ill judged from frank. Most people left way before the end. Mass exodus.
Hi! was one of the hockey skaters and would like to let you know that we were told to do this walking before we were told that we weren't gonna skate anymore! this was supposedly our opening act before we skate on the ice later on in the show. would also like to let you know that the reason he wasn't walking out was because of his leg injury, he was supposed to walk out TO the ice rink and perform in the middle where there isn't any ice while we were skating!
@@blitzcomet he wasn't dancing, he was vibing to the song. You can see him limping on some parts, which makes me believe he probably was on strong painkillers. Makes sense since he was asking about who has high on drugs on stage.
Easily spent 2k to go see this man as a bucket list item. Been a fan for over a decade since I was a teenager and now that I have a stable job with good cash flow this was my first big purchase. I heard so much about how he treats his fans (not refunding vinyls that ship months late and are shattered) but I guess I chalked it up to having a bad team. After this, I truly feel he resents his fans. Whether it’s because of fame, anxiety, etc he resents us. Doesn’t resent the money we earn him though
or maybe he was trying to have an intimate set without the heaviness of phones being pointed at him. could he have announced what he was doing better and more clear? yes. but coachella is about the overall experience that multiple artists bring NOT JUST ONE. and each artist is going to bring a different type of experience. frank just so happened to choose a more intimate route. it woild be different for me if he did this at a concert that was ONLY curated for HIM to perform
couldnt disagree more. I met an indian kid that flew a 21 hour flight BY HIMSELF, stayed at car campsite by himself, , and only came for frank ocean. Im sure there were lots of other stories just like that. So to be an hour late, cut the show an hour late, hide inside your stage to be "cute" take your sweet ass time in between songs to "make the set more artsy" is pure disrespect. Frank has God tier music and he teases us with bits and pieces just to boost his ego.
I think you make a lot of good points here and I appreciate them, but as someone who was also there at Coachella stage watching him it's hard for me to accept the idea that it was a good or worthwhile performance. I'm a huge Frank fan, I love his music, I think he's an exceptional artist, but I think lots of people are exceptional artists who don't scrap an entire production that had been signed-off for months, forcing people to panic and frantically disassemble an entire ice rink all in the name of an artistic "vision". I used to work in production and I can only imagine the insane stress that must have caused those poor PAs and stage crew. Not to mention the 100+ skaters who had practiced for months and been bussed out to Coachella (without passes) only to be told that they had been cut from the show. I also am having a hard time believing that the people walking in circles and the long pauses in between songs were all intentional so that he could make some sort of statement about being in the moment. I think they were all just confused as hell. I've been to countless concerts (many at Coachella) where I was fully present and in the moment, feeling all my feelings, off my phone, but the artist still managed to, you know, play their music the entire time. If anything, the silence took me completely out of it. Finally, the fact that he just walked around and vibed while his album tracks played seemed like the world's biggest slap in the face as a fan. If I were to use your michelin star restaurant analogy (which I thought was a good one), that was like going to a michelin star restaurant, handing them your wallet and saying "feed me anything! I can't wait to see what you make!" and they serve you McDonald's. Like, yeah I like McDonald's... and maybe this is some sort of artistic statement... but I kind of came here and paid you with the assumption that I would get something that I don't have all the time. But I guess I'll just eat this damn Happy Meal because I'm hungry. And now I feel like an idiot.
@@nonealike Does that mean much when Frank gives such a rushed, and non-caring performance at a show you waited hours to see and spent your hard-earned money for? But oh we have to care because “It’s Frank!” No way man, even he said it himself on Futura Free, he’s just a guy he’s not a god.
This is so insane. So your opinion is his set was one of the best you’ve ever seen, and it consisted of him being late, not playing any actual music for large swaths of it, playing other peoples music, and then he just stopped playing because he couldn’t manage his set time properly. People paid money to get into the festival for him, they bought flights, took time off work, got baby sitters etc. That’s not artistry, it’s pretentious and inconsiderate.
this just goes to show that y'all don't appreciate artists.. just what they create... people should be grateful that he even showed up to be part of the experience
also coachella is multiple artists.. if you're going there paying all that money for only one artist, you're wasting your money.. and people also have the free will to leave if they want
LMAO, you forgot about the disrespect to the dancers and the whole crew of coachella at the last moment, the fact that people have spend hundreds of dollars to see Frank Ocean, not some other artist, that they had to wait for so long in the heat, that he almost didn't perform while at a festival as the headliner, which other people try their hardest to promote themselves and should be happy to even be at that stage and moment. The fact that you don't do experimentation at such a moment but take the time to thank every fan for coming all this way and celebrate by performing your most loved songs. The fact that is okay to grieve and recall memories of a family member that passed away, but that it has been 3 years and he still has a jo to do. The fact that now he has cancelled his other weekend because he hurt his leg, but he could perform perfectly while sitting down, specially when other artists perform while pregnant or even in a wheelchair.. I don't think he is gonna be invited to another festival ever again.
@Joquan Rowsey I understand his brother passed but if you feel that you aren’t emotionally capable to preform then cancel. Dude could’ve cancelled months before Coachella
i’m with you. i was there, first time seeing him live. i had no expectations going in other than some youtube vids of prior performances. i enjoyed the storyline (act 1: morning reflection , act 2: nighttime rave, act 3: redemption) and the intimacy. it was nice to see something different after so many excellent (but similar) performances. i’m glad i went and i think your michelin analogy is apt. frank is not the artist to do fan service for the whole show. If you’re really a Frank fan then you know that already.
It really wasn’t that deep. If he that was really his plan how’d he fit it all in after his set was an hour shorter since he was making ridiculous demands?
This is why I can’t see any of my favorite artists live bc they forget some of us earn $16/hr and a $600 ticket to see them is a fr sacrifice. If the artist acted like they don’t even want to be there, it would hurt too much. I just stay home and watch them on RUclips. Lol
I was there and you conveyed my thoughts and feelings about the set almost exactly. The only part you didn’t touch on was the loss of his brother and the grief he still has today, which I felt and could relate to so greatly. I loved his set, I’m still thinking about it to this day, and I’ll continue to think about it forever.
Song intermissions are incredibly disruptive to the show experience. This wasn’t a show, a performance maybe. But leave it at a launch party not a music festival….
I’ve never seen an artist command so much silence and captivate so much attention. Everyone wanted to hear every word that came out of his mouth. Especially in a crowd of over 100k people, You could literally hear a pin drop. The craziest performance I’ve ever seen. His vocal range was unmatched and will always be a one of a kind artist that cannot be replicated. Unreal how many people still stayed even when the lights came on.
regardless of whether people agree with you or not, the way you have expressed this is a great reflection of who you are as a person. it shows your ability to think deeply, creatively and freely. to not just sink into the seamless flow of the mainstream. which - to me seems exactly like something frank ocean would do. people walking in circles, silence… hahaha how hard it must be to confront the monotony of your everyday reality. people just mad because they got a hard look into their own mirror.
Four Tet + Fred Again + Skrillex was better in many ways and they had such short notice to replace Frank Ocean. To be fair, this video was saying the best set of the festival before it was even over… which is a bit odd since the best set didn’t even get a chance to happen yet.
hard disagree. Labrinth that showed up on time and was organized and gave it his 100%. compared to Frank Ocean I think that was the best artistic set of Coachella.
Labrinth was UNBELIEVABLE! I met his sound guy through a mutual friend and it was so cool to get a look behind the scenes of that set. He definitely had the best sounding show of the whole festival IMO.
@@nguyensh2 ya ethan and the other whitties wont listen cause they be drunk off that white knight saviour juice 💀 all these kendrick and frank ocean fans the same man, I get why NoName hates having white folks in her shows they do too much its goofy
Frank Ocean stans really love it when he shits on them 😂😂😂 he openly doesn't care about his fans and you're lapping it up as some super amazing concept
Sorry. I think there’s an urge to see more profoundness in his set than what is far more reasonable. He was just unprepared and provide a poor experience for his fans. His vocals were dynamite which is definitely what he should have given fans more of. The dj set was also suuuper weird and off putting. Apart from this grasping at straws to see the artistry in this the fact is people paid thousands of dollars to see and act bomb hard and didn’t deserve that. Him not returning for weekend 2 (and we know the ankles nothing to do with) is proof that this wasn’t something that was ready for fans or what they should have gotten.
"supply and demand, the silence made the music more desirable" The music already was desirable, he hadn't performed in years. There was a 5+ year gap of silence, people didn't need 5 minutes in-between each song. They already waited for ages.
@@ItsSVO Well at the very least they’re owed what they paid for. Signing on at a mainstream festival like Coachella as a big headliner, it’s pretty much a given that it’s gonna be something big. If he couldn’t do it, he should’ve left, simple as that.
@@scifinerd17 when has Frank Ocean ever been a performer who gives the type of performance you’re talking about though? Coachella book the artist and they get that artist. What you’re basically saying here is that if you booked sigur ros as a headliner they should now do a drake or Rihanna style set instead, it makes absolutely no sense. The people who paid did so for the many many acts they all went to see of which Frank was one. They paid for a Frank Ocean headline set and that’s exactly what they got, you don’t pay for a gig ticket and get to dictate what they play, how they play it or anything else and if you believe that you’re an incredibly entitled human being. What he gave wasn’t the typical generic “big” show it was a very low key intimate moment that o felt was way more memorable because it stood out and provoked a lot of thought with the silence between songs. I’d rather this, something genuine, personable and imperfect but put the art before the fan expectation than the same over rehearsed show down to what’s said in between songs over and over again manufactured to make the crowd feel special. It’s not for everybody and that’s absolutely fine but Frank has never followed the trends and “hype” it’s what has made him so sought after and appreciated amidst a culture and society that have very short attention spans and constant need for self gratification over anything else.
@@ItsSVO “When has Frank Ocean ever been the type of performer who gives the type of performance you’re talking about though” It’s not like he hasn’t delivered good performances in the past where he simply sang his songs and engaged with the audience. His FYF Fest 2017 performance was really good. I mean… if he felt he couldn’t do what I mentioned above, which I believe is the bare minimum of what’s required for an artist to put on a good show… then he never should’ve been a headliner at a mainstream music festival like Coachella. He’s still the one who chose to sign on two months after his brother’s accident. He had nearly three years to decide he couldn’t do it anymore.
This might be the biggest reach I’ve ever heard. Statement about people needing constant stimulation and not wanting to think thoughts? Maybe…or he was grossly unprepared and apathetic. I lean towards the latter, but I’m a masochist and still love Frank 🤷♂️
100% Franks art hits on a deeper level then most popular music. I don’t think it’s a stretch for us to look at the set like a meditation on life. “If you think about it, it will be over in no time and that’s life” All your points are great, expectations are really what ruined people’s experience. Thanks!
I felt like the whole “artistic experience” he was trying to put on felt a bit pretentious. The whole disinterested manner he was behaving in, not even being in front of the stage to engage with the audience for some of the songs felt like he was intentionally being disrespectful to the people who paid to see him perform in person. If they were gonna watch him on the screen the majority of the time, they could’ve just done that at home for free. Except he deliberately chose not to livestream his show for no reason. Oh and the ice rink that he originally planned but scrapped at the last minute was very disrespectful towards the ice skaters that were supposed to perform that night and spent a month planning, building and rehearsing. Maybe it was for the best that the show didn’t have an official livestream because of that. I heard he scrapped it ‘cause he had a leg injury or a sprain or something, but I saw clips of him walking around and jumping and stuff and he looked pretty fine to me. Probably just a PR thing to save himself. And after all the backlash and the announcement of him cancelling Weekend 2, he said in a statement “It was chaotic. It wasn’t what I intended to show” so he was backtracking after all the hate he received that night. Even if he was trying to pull off what you claim he was intending for his performance? Fine, but maybe he should’ve done that at his own show like Travis Scott does with Astrofest instead of being a headlining artist at Coachella, a mainstream music festival. That spot could’ve been used for somebody who actually cared more and valued other people’s time, put on something a bit more enjoyable for the wider audience, not be so controversial and everybody could get their money’s worth and have a good time. Instead of this artistic nonsense trying to make a statement or what have you. I really feel like there’s a time and place for that type of stuff, and this just wasn’t it.
"Of course he's late" you say. Just the start of a long session of validating an artist and his capricious nonsense. We all know that Frank doesn't care much about his fans. Taunts us with having HDDs full of music but not dropping it, disappearing, and, then, this... how many years have we waited for Frank to be on stage again? How many people traveled hundreds of miles and spent money on hotels just to see him play? You argue that his set is good, when he let others play their own music on top of it and took 5 minute breaks between songs when there was a well-known curfew out. What part of this is good, in your brain? I'm glad you enjoyed the performance. Frank is human and I love him, he doesn't particularly owe any of us anything. But he knows what everyone wants and paid for, and how much love we put out there for him.. and just doesn't care. I'm not saying we should change our minds and hate him. I'm just saying we should stop defending him and acting like he's so divine. The man is still hurt and lost, but we cannot let this slide.
You a damn lie! I was there and hands down one of the worst ever. Black Pink probably had the best set next to Rosalia and Metro Boomin, then Burna Boy and Kaytranada. Put some respect on the artists who actually showed up and performed.
Perhaps it was intentional to make it like performance art, but it felt more like a "fuck you, your time and your money" kind of performance art. Intention may have been good, but the execution was poor
its so interesting how polarizing of a topic this is, this comment section is proving to me that most people are still not ready to seperate themselves from mob mentality when it comes to someone or something, they personally dont know how to feel about and god forbid makes them feel uncomfortable. this preformance was in its few moments one of the most spectacular mind-blowing experiences i have ever seen. but people would still rather bash the artist that spoke deeply to their hearts so many times. it just shows where your heart lies. it was kind of lacklustre, but to see frank ocean preform is once in a lifetime opportunity.
THIS. THIS. THIS. My friends who listened to FO who wasn't there with me agrees with most. They thought it was so different. Weird. And lacking. But whole time.. waiting. Listening to Frank whenever he sang something.. I was in awe. It felt surreal.
I wish I could defend this show. I have similar sentiments about what was good and really enjoyed those things but holy crap. People travel from all over, have their once in a lifetime Coachella experiences, and the dude is booked as a headliner. He cannot come this poorly for this performance. It stains everything that was good about it to not just fail to meet some fans’ high expectations but to not even reach the bar for any band that was performing at 3PM. What a disaster of clustered brilliance
I agree with you my man.. very nice interpretation. Im an 80s baby.. so i know silence .. and thats amazing it does look like the studio setup behind the scene. And you are correct an artist can do what he wants
He got paid (reportedly) $4 million to give you 1/2 of a set, 1 hour late, and it wasn't even all his own mediocre music. You got robbed. Demand more for your $1000 Coachella tickets
I wasn’t able to see his performance through the livestream because he decided against it, so I was only able to formulate an opinion from seeing videos of other people that were at Coachella. To me it seemed like fans who went to Coachella for the sole purpose of seeing Frank Ocean perform were finessed big time. Not to mention the work that the crew and the ice skaters had to put in to help him deliver an amazing performance was all for absolutely nothing. Over all everyones opinion differs and that perfectly ok, but personally think he was truly disrespectful to a lot of people.
This performance was more for a documentary or hbo music event. It definitely wasn't for live audience at all. it's not fair for people who went and only got subpar performance and to be cut short
What this guy explains is about the uniqueness of each of us and our freedom to express ourselves in any way we see fit. The fact that there are always people here who need to express their dissatisfaction at any cost is only proof of how limited and boxed you are in your ideas and expectations of what you think it should look like based on what you evaluate as a perfect show from the perspective of collective perception . In fact, it's simple. Life is a perfect work, even if it has a lot of mistakes and unpredictable situations. How you react is up to you. And how you react is only up to you. Calmly dig into it, look for mistakes and judge what is right. Frank Ocean presented his work and god knows he did everything he had to.
How was this not a performance though? It may not be the conventional hype set others give but then, that’s never been Frank. Whether you’re entertained or not is going to be different to each person so it’s on each person and their expectations. I think this set is so polarising is because the industry isn’t really full of true artists anymore so this feels strange to people who are used to songs written for audiences and hype as opposed to for the artist as an outlet.
I disagree that the spaces were to prove some point about the crowd having terrible attention span or was intentional. I believe the Ice rink performance was meant to plug the holes in the large gaps but since it was scrapped all you got was an awkward silence for 2 minutes. I liked the overall performance and the set design. It works better watching on stream as you can skip the gaps, but waiting 2 minutes between each song after waiting an extra hour is egregious.
I really disagree with your point on silence being a good thing in the set. If I’m paying money to listen to frank ocean, I want to listen to frank ocean, not my thoughts.
Man this is exactly what I was saying. I felt like it was a studio performance and super intimate. I was in the front of this and I like to just be in the moment, no phone or anything and I loved this set, especially his "Solo" Performance. I keep thinking that later on in life people will understand we got something special. After seeing peoples responses I kept thinking people wanted him to perform the way THEY wanted him to. A large production, lights, dancing, walking down the stage etc etc. I've been spending the entire days just rewatching some of the songs performed because I liked them so much and maybe thats because the events I attend or throw have a lot of mixes so I'm used to it. Different strokes for different folks but yea in the end I feel like the people it was meant for enjoyed it. Random but the crowd that week, at least in every spot I was located, was completely dead with no dancing regardless of the artist and I was near the front of everyone I wanted to see. I so badly wanted people to just enjoy the moment with the DJ and the security dancing and just live a little. When he did come out and "lip sync" as people criticized him for I think that was supposed to be a moment where he and the crowd are connecting. The crowd is enjoying Frank being happy and dancing and Frank enjoying the crowd being happy.
Totally agree it was so intimate and he knew the audience he was reaching for and he got that audience that loved it who love him for him and not for what people want him to be, & yess people are just so caught up in saying they were here for this n that, that they don’t even enjoy themselves in the moment fr and thats what his set made us do!!! Enjoy the moment!! 100% with ya
I feel like most people don't have an understanding of the full scope of Franks work. Where my HOMER radio fans at? This was goooood gooood goooood set I loved it.
Absolute honesty and respect here. Ethan, you are spiritual, sober, and successful. You're a hitmaker on a journey and so you experience the closing set of Coachella from a unique POV. When you meet silence, space, and delay, you fill it with meaning from your own beautiful inner world. The dancers walked in circles because their ice skating routine was abandoned. Frank took time between songs to get it over with. The sad truth is Frank didn't want to be there. He didn't sell merch because of his ongoing merch controversy. He's a legendary musician and creator but the crowd could feel that he didn't want to be there. In sum, I think you liked it because you're in a really good place in life. And I sub to you, listen to your music, and watch your videos
whats funny is i watched you on interview on charlie chang with you at coachella, and i searched frank ocean - coachella and your video popped up and here you are!
It is that deep. If you even understand a fraction of frank ocean, the one thing we can all say unanimously is that for him, music and his artistry is that deep. Thank you for articulating a shared sentiment so well and offering another think piece for people who don’t like to think “that deep”
Completely biased Frank stan here - was there W1 and I liked his set a lot, and while the spaces between music didn’t bother me (every artist has the goddamn right to play their music however tf they want to) being an hour late and canceling W2 are pretty objectively shitty. People spent thousands of dollars, some of them driven only by the desire to see Frank. I think it’s a bit incompassionate to disregard that and not put it ahead of your “artistic vision”.
I went to see The Mars Volta in ‘06. They played one single, never ending, all over he place, loud, crazy song. Mostly noise, jumping around, straight carnage. Then it was over. I could decipher a few songs mixed in it but it was true artistic expression of their own creations. I dug it. Many people hated it. Came a fan and left a fan.
The mars volta are true artists. Backed by an incredible band oozing with real musical talent. Frank ocean is so below them. He sings over a fucking backing track like milli vinilli lol. to even hear them mentioned in the same context leaves me cringing and wanting to throw up in my mouth a little. Muaic is fucking dead.
This generation does not have a short attention span jsut becos people love tiktok, the same people who scroll tiktok for hours binge watch an entire 8 hour netflix show in on sitting. In fact, the popularity of binge-watching shows on Netflix and other platforms suggests that this generation has the ability to focus and maintain attention for extended periods of time when they are engaged and interested in the content. Franks set to me came off to me as being "im so angsty and mysterious" pretentious artist vibe. He shud learn about putting on a show from labrinth or dominic fike.
I think you just contradicted yourself. Watching 8-hours straight of Netflix, in one sitting, further pushes the narrative that this generation can’t enjoy periods of uncomfortable silence. If this is his artistic style then no one can change that and many people dislike him for that, but I don’t think he cares. He does what he wants - that’s what artist do. So chillax
Thank you for this. It’s good to hear other positive takes from others who went. I fully enjoyed it, too. Well worth the wait, and definitely appreciated the vision!
This is the best opinion I've heard so far on this subject, this was a master piece and we are so lucky to have experienced it at the best festival in the worls
I'm loving reading all these comments and different opinions! Thanks so much for sharing guys (:
Great video, what’s your opinion of him dropping out week 2
He took 4 million dollars to do an extremely loose, off-the-cuff, poorly planned and unrehearsed performance that should have occurred in a small club or theater … at the biggest concert venue in North America? And he did all that while affecting a really moody, despondent, and low energy stage persona? Yeah, ok.
Sounds really lame to me, but I’m not a fan to begin with. I feel like he’s a wannabe emo lightweight posing as some kind of deep artist … because he was affirmed by some lame millennial and gen z kids who have bad taste in music to begin with. And now most of those kids are going to realize he’s basically a fraud, or just not as talented as they thought? Either way, he’s yet to make any music that will last beyond the moment in which it was created? Real cool.
If you’re going to take all that money, at least be professional; and if you don’t give an f, and don’t want to be there to begin with, maybe just don’t perform there?
I guess that was realization that occurred before weekend 2. Hopefully, Coachella got half their money back.
I was very moved and emotional auth what he did. It was beautiful. I feel grateful to be present.
Im glad you gave meaning to his set from a very peaceful view you are a happy individual! but its not that deep, frank was irresponsible and disrespectful to everyone involved in this.
@Zuko irresponsible and disrespectful? Why? Because he was late? You should chill out and take your own advice, it's not that deep. Artists are late sometimes... then he started and created some awesome moments.
Frank could hand people a piece of poop on a gold platter and his stans would be like “wow this is so abstract and profound”
Frank's stans have the same vibe as Kendrick stans. Their favorite artists just cannot do no wrong. Even when the artists produce something easily recognizable as subpar, their stans will find some hidden meaning or try to explain to the ground something so simplistic. We all know Frank and Dot are generational talents but even a generational can miss. Frank missed at Coachella, it happens.
@@princebond nah frank's stans are league of their own. apart from that kendrick didn't missed a single time in his career. all of his albums are great, all of his tv & grammy performaces are incredible, all of his music videos are great and his tour performance even got better last year.
@@nikk796 Even Goats miss. Kendrick sounds awkward on pop records. Off the top of my head i can name that Taylor Swift feature, that Maroon 5 feature, that Imagine Dragons feature, that Mask Off feature and that Sia feature. It just wasnt sonically it, i do not want to hear any of those verses ever again.
Agreed. These clowns talking about how 5 mins of silence between songs is artistic. Give me a fkn break buddy
@@princebond no one hear is saying that kendricks radio hit features are profound or deep😂
My favorite part of his set was when Skrillex, Four Tet, and Fred Again.. replaced him for the second weekend and throw down one of the best sets in EDM history.
when you have 4K dislike and only 2K like is because you lying in front of everyone. He says a lot of bullshit.
Big facts. We would all like to thank Frank Ocean for making that set possible.
as someone who loves dance music, franks set was far better than skrillex, four tet and fred again
@@unrealye said no one ever… I love Frank that is why I watched this video in the first place. His set didn’t even come close in comparison.
@@MostlyMoony it's just my opinion gang...to me not one moment in their set could live up to that acoustic version of self control or the performance of at your best. was it overall very messy? yes, but the moments that hit, HIT. and im not even that big of a frank fan, i aint even listen to all his shit, so this isnt some weird fan bias or smth.
Bro tryin to convince himself it was worth it 💀
Probably would of had excuses if he showed up for week 2 as welll
clearly it was for him. appreciate the artist more and not just their art.
8:01
Just a clickbait title
“you need a certain level of intelligence to really vibe to his music” type beat
LMAO
I’m not even gonna lie, I feel like that statement holds some truth
@beardley Bro thinks age signifies intelligence 😭 Anyone can grow up bruh, even the mentally incapable
💀😭
You put more effort into giving the performance meaning than he did.
Yep 😂🤣
*than
lmaooo
POV: you clearly didn’t see Rosalia.
Some great moments in the Ocean set but a lot of it was disrespectful to other people, paid patrons for the second weekend, the skaters etc
I like frank oceans songs but daaaammnn some frank ocean fans do be thinking TOO DEEPLY about the set
You're giving Frank a ton of credit. I think what you took away from the set was a silver lining from thinking positively. Not this huge intentional artistic statement from him. I'm glad you had a good time, but I don't think it's that deep
My thoughts exactly… This is certainly one way to interpret what happened lol
Dudes trying to make himself believe it was worth it
Lads like would u not prefer to see a set which is different from the rest not just a greatest hits show and more of a personally curated niche set thing like idk
A true stan
@@leonardocellino7931 None of our comments said that we wouldn't prefer that? In fact, none of our comments said anything about our expectations of his set or wanting him to just perform the hits. We are saying that we don't believe that Ethan's interpretation is what Franks intention was, if he had any at all. I also don't understand what you mean by a personally curated niche set. The artist gets to curate their set always. Every set of every artist at coachella is "curated". No one is forcing any artist to play their hits. If an artist wants to perform songs that aren't as popular,so be it, power to them.
I love your enthusiastic positive take. Here's something I'd add. I have seen Bjørk 6 times, twice at Coachella. Every performance is unique, amazing, special. She shows up on time, finishes on time, and does novel intpretations of her own material. She asks nothing of the audience. She thanks the audience after every song. I know her music is not as accessible, but as an artist with a unique vision she achieves it with the utmost professionalism everytime. FO should talk to her, delivering to your audience does not have to be cormpromising in anyway.
This is all about expectations. Like why would you expect Frank Ocean to behave like anyone but Frank Ocean?
@@TheArmandoHuipe True dat, true dat, but, people can grow and change. FYI I was there at Coachella, and it was fantastic. Both FO and Bjørk.
I forgot where I learned this, but Björk actually decided to participate at Coachella because of a request from Frank!
Also it was my first time seeing Björk and I was captivated. She was amazing.
still can't defend that she disallowed streaming it
I love both of those artists but they are two different artists and I think what Frank did was fresh, interesting and unexpected.
I don't think 1 person like it vs everyone else hates it counts as "polarising" 😂
1 person? Everyone else? Pull that out your ass
this is why Frank can keep getting away with mediocre things sometimes, he is making fashion jewerly and shows for these people who thinks disrespect for others money and work its art
Everyone's entitled to their opinion. But this is a stretch. It's ok to hold your favorite artists accountable when they do inconsiderate things. I feel sorry for his loss though.
This guy would get mugged and beaten on the street and would call it a profound act of art
“Chaotic just like real life” is the best excuse in art😂
This seems like an incredibly cheritable interpretation, honestly. If this had been what they had in mind from the beginning, I maybe would've agreed, but the fact that they seemingly deconstructed the ice rink last minute suggests to me that this performance was largely a scramble to salvage some kind of acceptable performance, not a deliberate artistic statement.
Like, if you watch a movie that's so boring that you just zone out and start thinking about your life, and have some kind of epiphany that way, that's not the movie being good. That just means you should spend more time alone with your thoughts.
Don't get me wrong, if you got everything you wanted out of this performance, that's completely cool. But it does seem like your standards and expectations going in were just super low, and it's unreasonable to expect everyone else to do the same. To some people, this was an incredible investment of time and money.
All great and humorous points. If I went, it would have only been to see Frank but I’m glad to know I didn’t really miss out. He did the best he could with what he had but it’s worth watching from home.
well, slow cinema is an entire movement dedicated to doing that just to be erm actually guy 🤓 although there is the context of where it slows to try and induce that thoughtfulness that's the intentionality and shows the thought put into it. With this I can see the argument for why that's not the case.
@@dylanbernard246 That's interesting, I'd never heard of slow cinema. But as you said, the factor to consider here is intention, or: Is it boring on purpose or out of incompetence.
With this set, I'm leaning more towards the latter.
So I guess him also being late and lipsyncing to some songs before saying he fractured his ankle( lied he was moving around) was apart of this intimate & creative proformance.
bro these frank ocean stans are coping so hard they really think him having a shit performance is some deep meaningful message sent out to the youth its just cringe
Lads we can’t judge from the outside we don’t have enough info we have no idea what is going on in the man’s life rn u know who knows if he has some sort of mental disorder or some shit rn idfk but u know grilling him this hard … the man still performed and I guarantee this will be one of his most famous performances to date and a good story for the grandkids u feel me so it’s rlly not that big of a deal it’s not like he said he likes hitler for gods sake
@@leonardocellino7931 ya gonna over dose on copeium we can judge if he is basically scammed people.
@@nivaia2064 dude for real for real
@@leonardocellino7931 Nope. This is the one that will be so forgotten
I need a high resolution vids of frank's coachella performance in full length
You have to think about the context. We had walked 10 miles a day for three days in the heat. Then expected to stand there for an hour waiting stuck in a crowd. My girlfriend fainted. It was inconsiderate and ill judged from frank. Most people left way before the end. Mass exodus.
Girls were getting cold too
Im gonna show up for work tomorrow, take long breaks talking to the other guys, and tell my boss I’m actually teaching him something deep about life 😂
Your job and a stage for artistic expression are two completely different things, but go off king 😂🤡
@@internetj3r just having fun 🤙
hahaha!
@@aaronross6956 word! All fun n games!
@@internetj3r you got so but hurt that your fav artist set was dog shit.
Hi! was one of the hockey skaters and would like to let you know that we were told to do this walking before we were told that we weren't gonna skate anymore! this was supposedly our opening act before we skate on the ice later on in the show. would also like to let you know that the reason he wasn't walking out was because of his leg injury, he was supposed to walk out TO the ice rink and perform in the middle where there isn't any ice while we were skating!
dude was dancing on stage but he had leg injury?
@@blitzcomet he wasn't dancing, he was vibing to the song. You can see him limping on some parts, which makes me believe he probably was on strong painkillers. Makes sense since he was asking about who has high on drugs on stage.
@@bellami9605 smoke more copium
@@blitzcomet grow up and move on.
@@bellami9605 im not the one simping over a shit performer
Easily spent 2k to go see this man as a bucket list item. Been a fan for over a decade since I was a teenager and now that I have a stable job with good cash flow this was my first big purchase. I heard so much about how he treats his fans (not refunding vinyls that ship months late and are shattered) but I guess I chalked it up to having a bad team. After this, I truly feel he resents his fans. Whether it’s because of fame, anxiety, etc he resents us. Doesn’t resent the money we earn him though
or maybe he was trying to have an intimate set without the heaviness of phones being pointed at him. could he have announced what he was doing better and more clear? yes. but coachella is about the overall experience that multiple artists bring NOT JUST ONE. and each artist is going to bring a different type of experience. frank just so happened to choose a more intimate route. it woild be different for me if he did this at a concert that was ONLY curated for HIM to perform
couldnt disagree more. I met an indian kid that flew a 21 hour flight BY HIMSELF, stayed at car campsite by himself, , and only came for frank ocean. Im sure there were lots of other stories just like that. So to be an hour late, cut the show an hour late, hide inside your stage to be "cute" take your sweet ass time in between songs to "make the set more artsy" is pure disrespect. Frank has God tier music and he teases us with bits and pieces just to boost his ego.
I think you make a lot of good points here and I appreciate them, but as someone who was also there at Coachella stage watching him it's hard for me to accept the idea that it was a good or worthwhile performance. I'm a huge Frank fan, I love his music, I think he's an exceptional artist, but I think lots of people are exceptional artists who don't scrap an entire production that had been signed-off for months, forcing people to panic and frantically disassemble an entire ice rink all in the name of an artistic "vision". I used to work in production and I can only imagine the insane stress that must have caused those poor PAs and stage crew. Not to mention the 100+ skaters who had practiced for months and been bussed out to Coachella (without passes) only to be told that they had been cut from the show. I also am having a hard time believing that the people walking in circles and the long pauses in between songs were all intentional so that he could make some sort of statement about being in the moment. I think they were all just confused as hell. I've been to countless concerts (many at Coachella) where I was fully present and in the moment, feeling all my feelings, off my phone, but the artist still managed to, you know, play their music the entire time. If anything, the silence took me completely out of it. Finally, the fact that he just walked around and vibed while his album tracks played seemed like the world's biggest slap in the face as a fan. If I were to use your michelin star restaurant analogy (which I thought was a good one), that was like going to a michelin star restaurant, handing them your wallet and saying "feed me anything! I can't wait to see what you make!" and they serve you McDonald's. Like, yeah I like McDonald's... and maybe this is some sort of artistic statement... but I kind of came here and paid you with the assumption that I would get something that I don't have all the time. But I guess I'll just eat this damn Happy Meal because I'm hungry. And now I feel like an idiot.
Thing is people are basing this rumour that he scrapped it just to scrap it, who knows what went on in the background
@@xlapse well it was said he had a leg injury but from what I saw it didn’t seem that way
Best summary of how I feel. Was incredibly excited for his set and just felt let down. Felt like a fever dream honestly.
Fam, you saw Frank perform. Don’t know
What else to tell you lol.
@@nonealike Does that mean much when Frank gives such a rushed, and non-caring performance at a show you waited hours to see and spent your hard-earned money for? But oh we have to care because “It’s Frank!” No way man, even he said it himself on Futura Free, he’s just a guy he’s not a god.
This is so insane. So your opinion is his set was one of the best you’ve ever seen, and it consisted of him being late, not playing any actual music for large swaths of it, playing other peoples music, and then he just stopped playing because he couldn’t manage his set time properly. People paid money to get into the festival for him, they bought flights, took time off work, got baby sitters etc. That’s not artistry, it’s pretentious and inconsiderate.
this just goes to show that y'all don't appreciate artists.. just what they create... people should be grateful that he even showed up to be part of the experience
also coachella is multiple artists.. if you're going there paying all that money for only one artist, you're wasting your money.. and people also have the free will to leave if they want
For better or worse, definitely a memorable, iconic show people will talk about for years
Loved the merch. My faves were lost, ivy and slide
for worse. for sure
LMAO, you forgot about the disrespect to the dancers and the whole crew of coachella at the last moment, the fact that people have spend hundreds of dollars to see Frank Ocean, not some other artist, that they had to wait for so long in the heat, that he almost didn't perform while at a festival as the headliner, which other people try their hardest to promote themselves and should be happy to even be at that stage and moment. The fact that you don't do experimentation at such a moment but take the time to thank every fan for coming all this way and celebrate by performing your most loved songs. The fact that is okay to grieve and recall memories of a family member that passed away, but that it has been 3 years and he still has a jo to do. The fact that now he has cancelled his other weekend because he hurt his leg, but he could perform perfectly while sitting down, specially when other artists perform while pregnant or even in a wheelchair.. I don't think he is gonna be invited to another festival ever again.
The people justifying frank ocean are trying to make themselves think the money was worth it
@Joquan Rowsey I understand his brother passed but if you feel that you aren’t emotionally capable to preform then cancel. Dude could’ve cancelled months before Coachella
@Joquan Rowsey still fucked up tho for the supporters and people who set up the stage. Hope they got paid well
i’m with you. i was there, first time seeing him live. i had no expectations going in other than some youtube vids of prior performances. i enjoyed the storyline (act 1: morning reflection , act 2: nighttime rave, act 3: redemption) and the intimacy. it was nice to see something different after so many excellent (but similar) performances. i’m glad i went and i think your michelin analogy is apt. frank is not the artist to do fan service for the whole show. If you’re really a Frank fan then you know that already.
For real!!!! Agreee
It really wasn’t that deep. If he that was really his plan how’d he fit it all in after his set was an hour shorter since he was making ridiculous demands?
He literally originally planned to have a ice rink and you think he told some insane story. No. You’re dick riding
If you’re really a Frank fan then you’ll excuse his terrible actions lol, you’re proof of that 😇
Dude showed up an hour late to his own show...
This is why I can’t see any of my favorite artists live bc they forget some of us earn $16/hr and a $600 ticket to see them is a fr sacrifice. If the artist acted like they don’t even want to be there, it would hurt too much. I just stay home and watch them on RUclips. Lol
I was there and you conveyed my thoughts and feelings about the set almost exactly. The only part you didn’t touch on was the loss of his brother and the grief he still has today, which I felt and could relate to so greatly. I loved his set, I’m still thinking about it to this day, and I’ll continue to think about it forever.
Honestly, I was listening to the crowd while those silences happened. I closed my eyes and listened to the huge crowd
I don’t think the silence was on purpose. He should have just canceled from the start so weekend 1 could experience skrillex, four tet and Fred again
Song intermissions are incredibly disruptive to the show experience. This wasn’t a show, a performance maybe. But leave it at a launch party not a music festival….
I’ve never seen an artist command so much silence and captivate so much attention. Everyone wanted to hear every word that came out of his mouth. Especially in a crowd of over 100k people, You could literally hear a pin drop. The craziest performance I’ve ever seen. His vocal range was unmatched and will always be a one of a kind artist that cannot be replicated. Unreal how many people still stayed even when the lights came on.
They wanted to hear him because because that's literally the whole point of a concert, to listen to the performer. Lol
The amount of copium exhibited here is enough to OD a whole festival of people
regardless of whether people agree with you or not, the way you have expressed this is a great reflection of who you are as a person. it shows your ability to think deeply, creatively and freely. to not just sink into the seamless flow of the mainstream. which - to me seems exactly like something frank ocean would do. people walking in circles, silence… hahaha how hard it must be to confront the monotony of your everyday reality. people just mad because they got a hard look into their own mirror.
Four Tet + Fred Again + Skrillex was better in many ways and they had such short notice to replace Frank Ocean.
To be fair, this video was saying the best set of the festival before it was even over… which is a bit odd since the best set didn’t even get a chance to happen yet.
Dude are you brainwashed, his performance was Legit disrespectful. He could’ve done anything and you would praise it
hard disagree. Labrinth that showed up on time and was organized and gave it his 100%. compared to Frank Ocean I think that was the best artistic set of Coachella.
Labrinth was UNBELIEVABLE! I met his sound guy through a mutual friend and it was so cool to get a look behind the scenes of that set. He definitely had the best sounding show of the whole festival IMO.
@@CompleteProducer it was Kanye without the drama, trap, gospel, soul, guitar playing, choir, good lord I loved it so much
@@nguyensh2 u knocking ALL that??
Y'all didn't watch Rosalía lmao she was by far the best.
@@nguyensh2 ya ethan and the other whitties wont listen cause they be drunk off that white knight saviour juice 💀 all these kendrick and frank ocean fans the same man, I get why NoName hates having white folks in her shows they do too much its goofy
Frank Ocean stans really love it when he shits on them 😂😂😂 he openly doesn't care about his fans and you're lapping it up as some super amazing concept
Sorry. I think there’s an urge to see more profoundness in his set than what is far more reasonable. He was just unprepared and provide a poor experience for his fans. His vocals were dynamite which is definitely what he should have given fans more of. The dj set was also suuuper weird and off putting. Apart from this grasping at straws to see the artistry in this the fact is people paid thousands of dollars to see and act bomb hard and didn’t deserve that. Him not returning for weekend 2 (and we know the ankles nothing to do with) is proof that this wasn’t something that was ready for fans or what they should have gotten.
"supply and demand, the silence made the music more desirable"
The music already was desirable, he hadn't performed in years. There was a 5+ year gap of silence, people didn't need 5 minutes in-between each song. They already waited for ages.
well put.
Don’t speak for me please. Stop thinking you’re owed music or anything else by artists you like purely because you like their music.
@@ItsSVO Well at the very least they’re owed what they paid for. Signing on at a mainstream festival like Coachella as a big headliner, it’s pretty much a given that it’s gonna be something big.
If he couldn’t do it, he should’ve left, simple as that.
@@scifinerd17 when has Frank Ocean ever been a performer who gives the type of performance you’re talking about though? Coachella book the artist and they get that artist. What you’re basically saying here is that if you booked sigur ros as a headliner they should now do a drake or Rihanna style set instead, it makes absolutely no sense.
The people who paid did so for the many many acts they all went to see of which Frank was one. They paid for a Frank Ocean headline set and that’s exactly what they got, you don’t pay for a gig ticket and get to dictate what they play, how they play it or anything else and if you believe that you’re an incredibly entitled human being.
What he gave wasn’t the typical generic “big” show it was a very low key intimate moment that o felt was way more memorable because it stood out and provoked a lot of thought with the silence between songs. I’d rather this, something genuine, personable and imperfect but put the art before the fan expectation than the same over rehearsed show down to what’s said in between songs over and over again manufactured to make the crowd feel special. It’s not for everybody and that’s absolutely fine but Frank has never followed the trends and “hype” it’s what has made him so sought after and appreciated amidst a culture and society that have very short attention spans and constant need for self gratification over anything else.
@@ItsSVO “When has Frank Ocean ever been the type of performer who gives the type of performance you’re talking about though”
It’s not like he hasn’t delivered good performances in the past where he simply sang his songs and engaged with the audience. His FYF Fest 2017 performance was really good.
I mean… if he felt he couldn’t do what I mentioned above, which I believe is the bare minimum of what’s required for an artist to put on a good show… then he never should’ve been a headliner at a mainstream music festival like Coachella. He’s still the one who chose to sign on two months after his brother’s accident.
He had nearly three years to decide he couldn’t do it anymore.
This might be the biggest reach I’ve ever heard. Statement about people needing constant stimulation and not wanting to think thoughts? Maybe…or he was grossly unprepared and apathetic. I lean towards the latter, but I’m a masochist and still love Frank 🤷♂️
Not to mention his first song was Novacane which switched to a rock version of it. That set the tone for the show (I was levitating).
100%
Franks art hits on a deeper level then most popular music.
I don’t think it’s a stretch for us to look at the set like a meditation on life.
“If you think about it, it will be over in no time and that’s life”
All your points are great, expectations are really what ruined people’s experience.
Thanks!
I really appreciate and am completely aligned with your perspective on this set! I was front row and in awe the entire time!!
im glad i saw him probably the only time ill see him perform. but his set was not coachella headlining material.
PS. i saw you in the other video about finance and how people were able to pay for the Safari ticket lol
He's not a headliner in the first place
"Hi I wanna be Kanye" is all I saw.
I’m getting the “you need to get into 100 hours of this RPG before it gets good” kind of vibe
I felt like the whole “artistic experience” he was trying to put on felt a bit pretentious.
The whole disinterested manner he was behaving in, not even being in front of the stage to engage with the audience for some of the songs felt like he was intentionally being disrespectful to the people who paid to see him perform in person. If they were gonna watch him on the screen the majority of the time, they could’ve just done that at home for free. Except he deliberately chose not to livestream his show for no reason.
Oh and the ice rink that he originally planned but scrapped at the last minute was very disrespectful towards the ice skaters that were supposed to perform that night and spent a month planning, building and rehearsing. Maybe it was for the best that the show didn’t have an official livestream because of that.
I heard he scrapped it ‘cause he had a leg injury or a sprain or something, but I saw clips of him walking around and jumping and stuff and he looked pretty fine to me. Probably just a PR thing to save himself.
And after all the backlash and the announcement of him cancelling Weekend 2, he said in a statement “It was chaotic. It wasn’t what I intended to show” so he was backtracking after all the hate he received that night.
Even if he was trying to pull off what you claim he was intending for his performance? Fine, but maybe he should’ve done that at his own show like Travis Scott does with Astrofest instead of being a headlining artist at Coachella, a mainstream music festival.
That spot could’ve been used for somebody who actually cared more and valued other people’s time, put on something a bit more enjoyable for the wider audience, not be so controversial and everybody could get their money’s worth and have a good time.
Instead of this artistic nonsense trying to make a statement or what have you. I really feel like there’s a time and place for that type of stuff, and this just wasn’t it.
@Joquan Rowsey No u
"Of course he's late" you say. Just the start of a long session of validating an artist and his capricious nonsense. We all know that Frank doesn't care much about his fans. Taunts us with having HDDs full of music but not dropping it, disappearing, and, then, this... how many years have we waited for Frank to be on stage again? How many people traveled hundreds of miles and spent money on hotels just to see him play? You argue that his set is good, when he let others play their own music on top of it and took 5 minute breaks between songs when there was a well-known curfew out. What part of this is good, in your brain?
I'm glad you enjoyed the performance. Frank is human and I love him, he doesn't particularly owe any of us anything. But he knows what everyone wants and paid for, and how much love we put out there for him.. and just doesn't care. I'm not saying we should change our minds and hate him. I'm just saying we should stop defending him and acting like he's so divine. The man is still hurt and lost, but we cannot let this slide.
You a damn lie! I was there and hands down one of the worst ever. Black Pink probably had the best set next to Rosalia and Metro Boomin, then Burna Boy and Kaytranada. Put some respect on the artists who actually showed up and performed.
this guy really saying frank ocean made ppl wait between songs bc he wanted to make a message about attention span😭😭😭
Perhaps it was intentional to make it like performance art, but it felt more like a "fuck you, your time and your money" kind of performance art. Intention may have been good, but the execution was poor
I agree with all of this
What a dilusional take to him just being outright irresponsible to coachella and the people who payed for his show lmao
its so interesting how polarizing of a topic this is, this comment section is proving to me that most people are still not ready to seperate themselves from mob mentality when it comes to someone or something, they personally dont know how to feel about and god forbid makes them feel uncomfortable. this preformance was in its few moments one of the most spectacular mind-blowing experiences i have ever seen. but people would still rather bash the artist that spoke deeply to their hearts so many times.
it just shows where your heart lies.
it was kind of lacklustre, but to see frank ocean preform is once in a lifetime opportunity.
I agree knowing your favorite artist is knowing their flaws. You either accept or you move on.
This sounds like a conclusion you come to after a long mushroom trip and being in denile for Frank wasting a weeks wage.
Crazy I stumbled on to your channel use to listen to Candyland breathless edit non stop back in the day awesome work on the channel.
I can feed this guy my lawn trimmings and he'll think its a complex michelin-star salad.
THIS. THIS. THIS. My friends who listened to FO who wasn't there with me agrees with most. They thought it was so different. Weird. And lacking. But whole time.. waiting. Listening to Frank whenever he sang something.. I was in awe. It felt surreal.
Jai Paul return>>>
W
Set was so bad it enlightened this rich guy
I wish I could defend this show. I have similar sentiments about what was good and really enjoyed those things but holy crap. People travel from all over, have their once in a lifetime Coachella experiences, and the dude is booked as a headliner. He cannot come this poorly for this performance. It stains everything that was good about it to not just fail to meet some fans’ high expectations but to not even reach the bar for any band that was performing at 3PM. What a disaster of clustered brilliance
Ain't no one ever excited over a big LED screen TBH
I agree with you my man.. very nice interpretation. Im an 80s baby.. so i know silence .. and thats amazing it does look like the studio setup behind the scene. And you are correct an artist can do what he wants
He got paid (reportedly) $4 million to give you 1/2 of a set, 1 hour late, and it wasn't even all his own mediocre music. You got robbed. Demand more for your $1000 Coachella tickets
Damn, coachella was 1k and only Frank performed? There was me thinking you got a lot more for that money.
Bro just took gaslighting to a whole new level with this take. There's a reason why the dislike ratio is so huge on this video.
Thanks for this insight. I agree: I watched an audience vid on RUclips and I felt like it was so intimate and pure art
I wasn’t able to see his performance through the livestream because he decided against it, so I was only able to formulate an opinion from seeing videos of other people that were at Coachella. To me it seemed like fans who went to Coachella for the sole purpose of seeing Frank Ocean perform were finessed big time. Not to mention the work that the crew and the ice skaters had to put in to help him deliver an amazing performance was all for absolutely nothing. Over all everyones opinion differs and that perfectly ok, but personally think he was truly disrespectful to a lot of people.
fact. horrible set. not professional at all and huge waste when other ppl were actually performing at that time everyone was waiting
This performance was more for a documentary or hbo music event. It definitely wasn't for live audience at all. it's not fair for people who went and only got subpar performance and to be cut short
Buddy just grieving cuz he wasted his money lol 😭
You might still be shrooming my guy.... 😂
What this guy explains is about the uniqueness of each of us and our freedom to express ourselves in any way we see fit. The fact that there are always people here who need to express their dissatisfaction at any cost is only proof of how limited and boxed you are in your ideas and expectations of what you think it should look like based on what you evaluate as a perfect show from the perspective of collective perception . In fact, it's simple. Life is a perfect work, even if it has a lot of mistakes and unpredictable situations. How you react is up to you. And how you react is only up to you. Calmly dig into it, look for mistakes and judge what is right. Frank Ocean presented his work and god knows he did everything he had to.
Frank Ocean is an artist. People expected a performance and to be entertained. Personally, I think I would have really enjoyed his set!
How was this not a performance though? It may not be the conventional hype set others give but then, that’s never been Frank. Whether you’re entertained or not is going to be different to each person so it’s on each person and their expectations.
I think this set is so polarising is because the industry isn’t really full of true artists anymore so this feels strange to people who are used to songs written for audiences and hype as opposed to for the artist as an outlet.
Amazing take
I disagree that the spaces were to prove some point about the crowd having terrible attention span or was intentional. I believe the Ice rink performance was meant to plug the holes in the large gaps but since it was scrapped all you got was an awkward silence for 2 minutes.
I liked the overall performance and the set design. It works better watching on stream as you can skip the gaps, but waiting 2 minutes between each song after waiting an extra hour is egregious.
I really disagree with your point on silence being a good thing in the set. If I’m paying money to listen to frank ocean, I want to listen to frank ocean, not my thoughts.
Man this is exactly what I was saying. I felt like it was a studio performance and super intimate. I was in the front of this and I like to just be in the moment, no phone or anything and I loved this set, especially his "Solo" Performance. I keep thinking that later on in life people will understand we got something special. After seeing peoples responses I kept thinking people wanted him to perform the way THEY wanted him to. A large production, lights, dancing, walking down the stage etc etc. I've been spending the entire days just rewatching some of the songs performed because I liked them so much and maybe thats because the events I attend or throw have a lot of mixes so I'm used to it. Different strokes for different folks but yea in the end I feel like the people it was meant for enjoyed it.
Random but the crowd that week, at least in every spot I was located, was completely dead with no dancing regardless of the artist and I was near the front of everyone I wanted to see. I so badly wanted people to just enjoy the moment with the DJ and the security dancing and just live a little. When he did come out and "lip sync" as people criticized him for I think that was supposed to be a moment where he and the crowd are connecting. The crowd is enjoying Frank being happy and dancing and Frank enjoying the crowd being happy.
Totally agree it was so intimate and he knew the audience he was reaching for and he got that audience that loved it who love him for him and not for what people want him to be, & yess people are just so caught up in saying they were here for this n that, that they don’t even enjoy themselves in the moment fr and thats what his set made us do!!! Enjoy the moment!! 100% with ya
i feel only musicias could understand how good he was. thank you. that set was amazing for real
cope
i was also there and i agree with you! the silence wast truly beautiful.
So beautiful
I feel like most people don't have an understanding of the full scope of Franks work. Where my HOMER radio fans at? This was goooood gooood goooood set I loved it.
Rather have songs like lost and slide instead of a DJ remixes 🤷♂️
this is such a cool perspective man love it!!
Absolute honesty and respect here. Ethan, you are spiritual, sober, and successful. You're a hitmaker on a journey and so you experience the closing set of Coachella from a unique POV. When you meet silence, space, and delay, you fill it with meaning from your own beautiful inner world.
The dancers walked in circles because their ice skating routine was abandoned. Frank took time between songs to get it over with. The sad truth is Frank didn't want to be there. He didn't sell merch because of his ongoing merch controversy. He's a legendary musician and creator but the crowd could feel that he didn't want to be there.
In sum, I think you liked it because you're in a really good place in life. And I sub to you, listen to your music, and watch your videos
Great breakdown fam!
whats funny is i watched you on interview on charlie chang with you at coachella, and i searched frank ocean - coachella and your video popped up and here you are!
Changes my perspective on his set
It is that deep. If you even understand a fraction of frank ocean, the one thing we can all say unanimously is that for him, music and his artistry is that deep.
Thank you for articulating a shared sentiment so well and offering another think piece for people who don’t like to think “that deep”
Exactly!
💯
The fact you're insinuating Frank's pretentious set was better than someone like Marc Rebillet is ridiculous.
Completely biased Frank stan here - was there W1 and I liked his set a lot, and while the spaces between music didn’t bother me (every artist has the goddamn right to play their music however tf they want to) being an hour late and canceling W2 are pretty objectively shitty. People spent thousands of dollars, some of them driven only by the desire to see Frank. I think it’s a bit incompassionate to disregard that and not put it ahead of your “artistic vision”.
this is copium to the max level
I went to see The Mars Volta in ‘06. They played one single, never ending, all over he place, loud, crazy song. Mostly noise, jumping around, straight carnage. Then it was over. I could decipher a few songs mixed in it but it was true artistic expression of their own creations. I dug it. Many people hated it. Came a fan and left a fan.
The mars volta are true artists. Backed by an incredible band oozing with real musical talent. Frank ocean is so below them. He sings over a fucking backing track like milli vinilli lol. to even hear them mentioned in the same context leaves me cringing and wanting to throw up in my mouth a little. Muaic is fucking dead.
YES! This is exactly what I've been saying dude, I love this.
Don’t defend frank ocean bruh 😂
So good. I vote for more storytime videos.
This generation does not have a short attention span jsut becos people love tiktok, the same people who scroll tiktok for hours binge watch an entire 8 hour netflix show in on sitting. In fact, the popularity of binge-watching shows on Netflix and other platforms suggests that this generation has the ability to focus and maintain attention for extended periods of time when they are engaged and interested in the content. Franks set to me came off to me as being "im so angsty and mysterious" pretentious artist vibe. He shud learn about putting on a show from labrinth or dominic fike.
I think you just contradicted yourself. Watching 8-hours straight of Netflix, in one sitting, further pushes the narrative that this generation can’t enjoy periods of uncomfortable silence. If this is his artistic style then no one can change that and many people dislike him for that, but I don’t think he cares. He does what he wants - that’s what artist do. So chillax
i really dont think what youre saying he did was exactly intentional but if it works for you it works for you at least someone enjoyed it
Love the interesting take on this set- feels so refreshing like you said. and i agree on the bon iver comment- saw him in london last year
Thank you for this. It’s good to hear other positive takes from others who went. I fully enjoyed it, too. Well worth the wait, and definitely appreciated the vision!
This is the best opinion I've heard so far on this subject, this was a master piece and we are so lucky to have experienced it at the best festival in the worls
Duuuuuude you're so right! i saw it from someone's phone and was blown away. A lot of people say its not deep. Its as deep as you experience it.
It's different when you're sitting there in the cold windy desert for an hour wondering what's going on and if he's gonna perform or not...
Yea, I could imagine.