[phlipcam video] James Blake @ the Paradise
Way back in December of yesteryear, I threw a tongue-in-cheek post On the Download
poking fun at the perpetual snowball of hype in which JAMES BLAKE was
trapped. Then his debut LP dropped, and while I showered it in nothing
but praise, I couldn't really find anything there that could justify giving it more the rating I did.
Since then however, I've spent a lot more time with it and realized it
sounds just as delectable in the months of March through October as it
did back in February. If granted the opportunity to re-rate by music
criticism gods, I'd probably throw it something like a 3.6666666666666
out of 4. Not perfect by any means, but in today's disposable age of
music that sits on my desktop in a zip file for six months before I get
around to listening, anything that I find myself returning to as often
as I do with James Blake is about as perfect as it gets.
Then just last week, my Phoenix cohort Liz Pelly literally broke the internet with her interview
in which the 22-year old Brit threw American dubstep under the
rolling-so-hard-right-now bus. He didn't name any names, but the cynical
prick in me likes to think he may have been reference a certain someone
who recently (dis)graced the cover of Spin. Or quite possibly another someone who seemingly travels through our fair city approximately once every two weeks. Regardless, the fact that we share a similar distaste for brostep only led me to fall further in love with the man.
Last night sealed the deal though. That facetious post from December? No longer facetious.
A
lot has been made about the space in James Blake's music. The dead air
surrounding his baritone or piano stabs or bass rumbles, that only assist
in accentuating their delicacy. In fact, so much has been made about it
that I feel like an ass for even bringing it up. But it would be damn
near impossible to talk about last night's Paradise gig without
mentioning it. Truly one of the most stunning live music experiences I
can recall in recent memory: Watching the sold-out room sit in
absolutely transfixed silence while he ever so gently ran through a set
consisting of a selection that drew evenly from his debut LP and his
litany of EPs.
But
it wasn't just the ballads that made the show, as evidenced from the
videos I have here. He also offered up some of his bass-centric works as
well. Up top is a silly awesome take on "CMYK," a song that didn't seem
like it could possibly be translated into a live band performance. And
below is "Klavierwerke." He also covered "Anti-War Dub" by Digital
Mystikz for the encore, before doing a 180 into a stunning solo rendition of
Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You." Sorry I didn't get video of that. I was
too busy awkwardly transitioning from wiping tears off my face and headbanging.