Monday, April 1, 2013

James Blake, 9:30 Club, Oct 9, 2011

OH MY GOD, James Blake is FABULOUS! I was not excited going into that show - I had considered skipping entirely if anyone had wanted to buy both my tickets. SOO glad I stayed. The openner, Chairlift, was fine, but looked frumpy and timid on stage. I like their song Bruises, but apparently nothing else they do.

James Blake, though, amazed me. How the hell did he make such minimal music rock the audience? Something I didn't understand before seeing him live: his live music uses ultra-deep sounds that vibrate the entire block. I overheard the guy next to me yelled to his friend "that feels good!" and I agree. It makes the concert into a full-body experience. I swear I could feel my spleen vibrating.
There were 3 musicians on stage most of the time. James Blake on keyboards/vocals and pedal repeater (and something that distorts vocals), a guy on an electronic drumset, and a guy on the machine that creates the vibrations who also sometimes played guitar. The arrangements were fuller than his recorded music, and they were excellent. I'm not certain that everyone would love this music, and I'm mostly ignorant of dub-step, but this show is now at the top of my list this year. If you get a chance, see him live. Wow.

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