I love you, Woodkid

In her hilarious book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy Kaling wrote: 

"I find it incredibly impossible not to cry when I hear Stevie Nicks's "Landslide," especially the lyric: "I've been afraid of changing, because I've built my life around you." I think a good test to see if a human is actually a robot/android/cylon is to have them listen to this song lyric and study their reaction. If they don't cry, you should stab them through the heart. You will find a fusebox.” 

I recently had a very comparable thought about emotional resonance when in the audience last week here in SF for the first US tour of neofolk artist Woodkid (aka Yoann Lemoine). The 30 year old French video director (he's directed videos for the likes of Katy Perry and Lana Del Ray), AND graphic artist AND musician - basically a talent powerhouse and then some - delivered such an unforgettable performance combining epic lights and visuals with intense and often symphonic songs that members of the audience were at times literally moved to tears and the next minute throwing their arms up in joyous revelry and moving to the thumping beats. 

Woodkid's debut album "The Golden Age" is nothing short of majestic for lack of a better word or feeling or emotion that would adequately and accurately sum it up, and his live shows translate that in a way that is everything you would expect and yet somehow so much MORE. Check out a few of his videos and a live performance of single "Run Boy Run" below for a better perspective on the intensity and passionate nature of Woodkid's artistic output. In his own words, he has said that he wants people to "feel like heros" when they listent to his music, which is a pretty amazing sentiment if you think about it.

It almost actually seems as though "music" isn't even enough to describe it. Woodkid and his show was an experience, and one I (and I'm sure the rest of the audience felt much the same) will not soon forget. Even Woodkid himself broke down a bit in tears at the encore's thunderous applause, seemingly in disbelief of the love that was being given back to him from his audience of "heros," and that is something very special indeed. In the words of Mindy Kaling - if you see a Woodkid show and don't have an emotional reaction, you're pretty much just a cyborg.