Benjamin Clementine

Benjamin Clementine is the sort of live performer who gives you goose bumps before he's played a note. He's an imposing figure, tall, handsome, with hair that adds another 4-5 inches to his height. He's welcomed on stage by rapturous applause and breaks straight into the title track of his EP, Condolence. More rapturous applause which he thanks us for, telling us he's "surprised to see you all".
Benjamin seems to not just play songs, he comes to life through them, he lets them carry him to places it's rare to see a live performances go. He sits at the piano on a high bar stool and goes barefoot, as he winds himself into each song you can see this gives him maximum leverage on the instrument. He needs it as his songs seem to literally explode out of him. The last time I saw him live he actually broke the piano but kept playing as it was repaired. No such antics tonight however. His voice has been compared to Nina Simone's but he uses it in more radical ways, taking it up and down the register, fast, slow, high, low it's a wild ride.
The first section of the concert is Clementine and piano, his faltering introductions to each song leave long silences, you could hear a fish fart. We get Curriculum Vitae, he tells he he wrote it when he was job hunting in Paris, unable to speak French, after enduring the distain of a boulangerie owner he had dared ask for work. Often he's playing with one hand and gesturing emphasis with the other, you wouldn't want to cross the guy. All of his songs are more or less biographical and heartfelt doesn't begin to cover it. His ode to the place he grew up, Edmonton, brings forth his tears and ours.
Cellist Bruno Bertoli arrives on stage which actually feels quite alarming because my first thought is "how the hell do you accompany THAT". But soon enough we're into London and I realise he's done this before. The set ends with Adios, a weird and wonderful song made weirder still with a cello lead in that could be from a horror movie sound track. The lyrics stab through the music, the music dies down and Benjamin tells us about his visions of angels and how they sing to him. This surprises no one. Back into the song and too soon it's over. The audience is on it's feet, phones and camera's desperate to capture something of the essence of the evening. He must be running out of material but still manages a two song encore to send us on our way, wishing us a safe journey home. It's endearing and just a little odd because safe is not a word you'd associate with Benjamin Clementine.

There's no doubt about it, Clementine has become quite the showman.

Yet the other evening in Manchester, the showmanship seemed to backfire, sucking the life out of his performance and overshadowing even its better moments.

The key issue with Benjamin's "Wandering" tour and the music played is his determination to follow his own path. While in many ways it's something to be admired and respected, the end product seems to fall flat on its face. One lady standing nearby in the crows told a stranger prior to the show that "it's rather abstract and a lot of other people just don't get the new stuff". I would simply replace the word "get" with "like".

I understand what he's trying to do - and much of it is commendable, but along with the commendable aspects I also get a strong sense of "edgy for the sake of edgy" when listening to material from "I Tell a Fly", and even more so when coupled with bizarre performance techniques and a couple of chaps in overalls whose accompanying drum and bass seem to take away from the music rather than add anything to it.

I could go into lots of detail about the things I didn't like - but it suffices to say that Clementine is just so set on doing his own new thing that his audience are subjected to it whether they like it or not. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of shouting processions through the audience, compulsory lengthy participation in songs and a setlist that contains precisely 5 items not taken from the latest album (yeah, he didn't play Cornerstone).

In his favour, the encore gave me a little hope. Clementine took to the stage for a magnificent *SOLO* performance of an unnamed song - I managed to find that it was most likely named "The Great Lafayette" and I strongly hope that it figures in future projects. It could signify a move forward from the pretty dire stage we're currently at, for which I'd be very grateful.

The man is talented but if he expects people to pay to see him again he'll have to cater, to some extent, to what people want to hear. Individual projects can be wonderful but this one seems totally inaccessible.

The concert was amazing! Benjamin Clementine has gorgeous voice and performed beautifully. The cello player and drummer accompanying him were just as great. The colourful lighting made the concert seem like a dream, from which one would never want to leave. I, for one, honestly wished it could go on for forever (unfortunately, I had school the next day). Also, I found the minimalistic yet modern outfits to be very fitting to the style of music, as both were quite poetic, and most interesting.

I was somewhat disappointed by the audience for their rudeness towards the blonde woman's (Holly...?) opening performance. Too many people were talking and most did not seem to even make an attempt to appreciate her music.

Otherwise, the lighting, outfits, and music were all splendid and I truly hope the trio will consider coming back to Paris (or anywhere relatively close to Paris) soon - preferably not on a school night.

Once again, I wish to thank everyone that has made this concert possible as it was an amazing (dream-like) experience that I hope to take part in again.

(I hope this review makes sense...)

Excessivement déçu par une prestation bien médiocre.
À croire que le succès monte à la tête de ce monsieur. Apparu tardivement 45 minutes après la fin de la première partie, Clementime a totalement saboté ses morceaux fétiches (faire répéter au public plus de 20 fois condoléances... gnagnagna).
Franchement c'est se moquer de son public, qui plus est en France a qui il doit ses 1ers succès. On a même parfois l'impression que ses musiciens ne le suivent plus, ils restent dans l'expectative de la fin de ses exhibitions clownesques. Sauf que là on est venu à un concert de musique et pas un spectacle de Achille Zavatta !
À l'heure où les artistes ne vont plus de CD,
ce n'est pas parce qu'on met son joli grimoire sur une plaquette publicitaire de parfum, que l'on peut à ce point négliger l'effort que les gens ont fait pour venir, parfois de loin, à un concert.

Excessively disappointed by a very mediocre performance.
It seems that success is going to this gentleman's head. Appearing late 45 minutes after the end of the first part, Clementime completely sabotaged his favorite pieces (making the audience repeat condolences more than 20 times... gnagnagna).
Frankly, it's making fun of his audience, especially in France to whom he owes his first successes. We sometimes even have the impression that his musicians no longer follow him, they remain waiting for the end of his clownish exhibitions. Except that we came to a music concert and not an Achille Zavatta show!
At a time when artists no longer release CDs,
It is not because we put our pretty grimoire on a perfume advertising leaflet that we can neglect the effort that people have made to come, sometimes from far away, to a concert.
LYON France Mars 2025.

Benjamin Clementine's performance was magnificent. His vocal range was amazing and every song meant something powerful. At times it was a reflection of something painful and then the message of overcoming that pain and being strong was delivered. The incorporation of the drums brought in a lighter mood. His piano skills..beautiful. Benjamin Clementine is simply an amazingly talented, enigmatic, funny, and great artist. I really enjoyed myself and can't wait until the next performance.

Benjamin Clementine was wonderful, his voice, his playing of the piano were great and I find that he delivered his show in excellence. I'm so glad to have seen him perform, I loved how engaging he was with the audience. I was delighted to sing with him and understand the messages of his songs even deeper. I also really liked his sense of humour and he made me laugh as well as enjoy his show and performance. I'd love to see him again.

Puts on a great show. This is as much about the performance as the music. A pot pourri of Nina Simone, Liberace and Elton John in voice and style. Abrupt tempo changes, going from piano to syth in the same song and all very accessible. Got a standing ovation as the opening act for David Bryne which says something. Never heard his music prior to this and will be catching his next show when he headlines.

The best voice I have ever heard live. I cried twice. Once I swore for a second I was listening to Nat King Cole.

Saw him play with the RCO in Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Drummer was great but possibly too loud for the occassion at times. Orchestra sounded amazing with songs like London, Nemesis etc. Benjamin introduced the orchestra playing his favourite music like Gymnopedie no.2 (incredible).

I first saw him performing in a church in London. Though he appeared very shy and at times uncomfortable when he took to the piano and sang he took on a very different persona.
I last saw him in Birmingham where his shyness had disappeared and he presented as a showman. Awesome, gives you goosebumps and chills down your spine in anticipation of an truly gifted musician.