James Blake at Terminal 5
The young brit brings his sound to NYC
The last time I saw the adorable James Blake perform at Terminal 5 ended with me in tears as he delicately sung “A Case of You” by Joni Mitchell alone on stage with this keyboard. No shame, though, I loved every second of it.
Blake is back again at the uptown venue this Wednesday, Nov. 6 and Thursday, Nov. 7, free of the typical agenda of having to promote some new body of work. These aren’t songs for dancing, but a lot of them do mimic the movements of great dance singles — the building of layered beats, free-range sampling, organic synth-pop twangs and the omnipresence of deep bass. Some of the most endearing parts of a James Blake show comes when he humbly speaks to the audience about his songs, briefly exposing a inconsoable man alone with just his voice and his noise machines.
Variety within the songs, an amazing light technician and the ever-lively Terminal 5 audience will make this week’s performances just as infectious. My suggestion: perch on one of the venue’s upper levels, grab a cold-weather appropriate drink and let Blake’s amorphous, harrowing and visceral sound wash over you.
$32/$35, doors – 7:00PM, show – 8:00PM, Tickets available here.
