June, 2012
With performances by L Marshall, Jacob Banks & Yuna.
After months of anticipation Converse Represent started in style last night with amazing performances from Plan B, L.Marshall, Jacob Banks and Yuna. The queue was already snaking round Oxford St in the middle of the afternoon as the crowd eagerly awaited the start of the show.
First on stage Jacob Banks showcased his unique British soul sound, charming the crowd with his voice and his on stage banter. Tracks like ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ were announced by informing the crowd that, “This one’s about leaving University and entering the real world”.
Next up the only international performer of the night, Yuna wowed the crowd with her delicate vocals and stripped back electronic production. This was her first major show on these shores but we have a feeling the UK will be seeing a lot more of her soon. Yuna’s set was also the first to go out by live stream (ustream.tv/conversetv) to the world with an international crowd from her native Malaysia and far beyond tuning in.
At this point the anticipation for Plan B was really building but one more artist was left to go in the shape of newcomer L.Marshall. Known for his behind the scenes writing work for Wretch 32 and Loick Essien 2012 is already looking like his year with high profile support slots for several artists including a certain Ben Drew. On stage Marshall is a ball of energy and showed off his glittering pop credentials with style and swagger, big hitters like recent single ‘The Wait’ sounded great in the intimate surroundings.
The crowd were eagerly waiting for Plan B but what they got was beatboxer Faith SFX, nobody minded as he wowed everyone with his vocal dexterity, ranging from his own take on dubstep through to current chart hits all done with voice only. Then, the time had come, with Plan B and his band storming on stage to a high tempo rendition of ‘The Writing’s On The Wall’. The crowd erupted and didn’t stop until the lights came up. The set ranged from hard hitting new tracks like ‘Ill Manors’ through to covers including a beatbox-lead take on ‘Stand by Me’. Once again the set was streamed live out to the world with thousands of fans enjoying the show from the comfort of an armchair.
A great start but Represent has only just begun, stay tuned to facebook.com/converse for updates and ustream.tv/conversetv for live streaming.
