Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective opinions, thoughts and critiques.
English record producer, DJ and multi-instrumentalist Fred again.. performed to a sold-out Frost Amphitheater on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Each night, the 30-year-old’s multi-genre set featured a selection of his biggest house hits along with some surprises, such as a mix made especially for Frost and a few stripped-down vocal performances.
Canadian singer Leif Vollebekk opened for Fred again.. for all three shows, performing a set of acoustic indie rock songs as audience members filed into the amphitheater. Fred again.. had mentioned on his Instagram story earlier in the week how much he enjoyed Vollebekk’s music and how stoked he was that the latter agreed to perform.
Though the opening set was great, Vollebekk reminded me more of an artist who’d open for the English band Coldplay, as his music was much more mellow and poppy than the rave tracks presented by Fred again.. Despite this disparity in musical style, the musicians demonstrated great appreciation for one another’s talent. Before the main act, Vollebekk thanked the crowd and shared that they were in for a treat, praising Fred again.. as “amazing” to work with and see perform.
On Wednesday, Fred again.. took the stage around an hour and a half after the show’s 7 p.m. start time, performing an instrumental and vocal-heavy rendition of “Kyle (i found you)” followed by “Angie (i’ve been lost).” Red and blue lights illuminated the stage while video snippets played in the background, depicting the artist’s life with family and friends. The stage effects added a personal touch while staying true to Fred again..’s branding, and drew audience members in to take pictures and videos of the scene.
The artist then transitioned into more upbeat dance tracks that had the entire crowding moving and chanting, with some favorites including “Jungle,” “leavemealone” and a remix of “Chanel” by Frank Ocean. Fred again.. danced across the stage, moving with ease from one keyboard in the middle of the stage to another located on the right-hand side. He also debuted a song mixed specifically for the Frost performances, which featured live keyboard and vocals as well as a unique background synth track.
The musician’s enthusiasm for performing was palpable on stage, and he paused several times throughout his performances to acknowledge the size of the crowd and his gratitude for them, asking them to turn their phone lights on and sing along to parts of the show at various points.
Another highlight of the performance occurred when Fred again.. moved from the stage to the middle of Frost to perform on a platform surrounded by fans on the steps of the amphitheater. Those in the pit turned around to face him, and fans toward the back and center seemed excited to get such a close-up experience with the performer. This part of the performance was when the crowd felt the most engaged — but even then, many audience members seemed more interested in their phones than the DJ himself.
During his set on Wednesday, Fred again.. took a moment to acknowledge two special guests in the crowd, his 5 and 7-year-old cousins Maya and Lila, who had come down from the San Francisco area to see him perform. On Thursday, he similarly acknowledged his sister Georgie. He then dedicated the next song, “adore u,” to them and asked the crowd to give them a warm welcome. Throughout the show, he gave shout-outs to his DJ and right-hand man Tony Friend, a former member of the British rock band Modestep who performed alongside Fred again.. and mixed tracks live all night long.
Fred again.. concluded his Wednesday show with two of his most popular tracks, “Delilah (pull me out of this)” and “Billie (loving arms),” which were met with the most energy from the crowd that night. As he walked off the stage to the crowd repeatedly singing the chorus line of “Billie,” Fred again.. expressed his love for his fans but insisted on no encore. On Thursday, he concluded with the same two tracks with strong beats that pulsed through my body. I felt a large smile spreading across my face, the music bringing me back to a time when I had these songs on repeat when going through a difficult time last year.
While the performance certainly featured incredible house music and energy from Fred again.., the energy of the crowd last week felt a bit flat, given the size of the audience and the hype leading up to the show. Nevertheless, Fred again..’s spontaneous three-night appearance at Stanford served for many students as a last hurrah, “pulling them out” of the stress from finals week before the end of the school year.