Yes Lawd!: Anderson .Paak live in London

It had been just over a year since California’s Grammy-nominated breakthrough artist Anderson .Paak had played to a London crowd, and his return on Sunday at The Forum in London's Kentish Town was a surge of unabated energy.

The performance is a standalone ahead of his upcoming support for Bruno Mars’ O2 dates, and as he’s keen to remind us, this is a “super sold out show”. Though it’s hard to find room to move, it doesn’t stop anyone trying as he begins with unmistakable, funky bass line of “Come Down”.

“I might never come down”, he sings with that cheeky, Cheshire cat grin, clearly euphoric from the response he’s getting. From the “Oh ooh ohh”s of “The Waters”, or the “Yes Lawd!”s of “Suede”, he has London feeding from the palms of his hands. “You look beautiful tonight, London”, he woos.

He’s careful to not take away attention from his band The Free Nationals though, frequently introducing them and demanding we give it up for them; it’s a good thing too, as at times some of the guitars and keys are lost in the mix. They’re no spare part either, translating tracks Paak has featured on, such as “Glowed Up” and “Dang!” from Kaytranada and Mac Miller respectively, into groovy live bangers.

Paak still leads though; taking helm on the drums for “The Season/Carry Me” and his NxWorries numbers, and returning for the encore with Syd to play The Internet’s staccato slow jam “Girl”, his enthusiasm is relentless.

The hit of the night by far though is “Am I Wrong”, which Paak drags out with an off-beat ridden drum solo. Singing “They wanna know where I’ll be in five. What about today? What about tonight?”, the song expresses an ethic that Paak has spiritedly shown tonight: his commitment to the here and now, and his devotion to those who occupy it.

Setlist:

Come Down
The Waters
Glowed Up
Milk n' Honey
The Season / Carry Me
Lyk Dis
Get Bigger
Dang!
Put Me Thru
Heart Don't Stand a Chance
Am I Wrong
Lite Weight
The Bird
Luh You
---Encore---
Girl
Suede
Miss Right
Drugs
The Dreamer
Silicon Valley
Might Be