{"id":252062,"date":"2016-05-19T15:28:15","date_gmt":"2016-05-19T19:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.aws.dancingastronaut.com\/?p=252062"},"modified":"2016-05-19T15:29:40","modified_gmt":"2016-05-19T19:29:40","slug":"james-blake-brings-beautiful-live-performance-colour-anything-la","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dancingastronaut.com\/2016\/05\/james-blake-brings-beautiful-live-performance-colour-anything-la\/","title":{"rendered":"James Blake brings the beauty of ‘The Colour In Anything’ to Los Angeles [Event Review]"},"content":{"rendered":"

James Blake\u2019s<\/a> music possesses a certain timelessness that many other artists lack. His style has only become more refined over time, as evidenced in the recent release of <\/span>The Colour In Anything<\/span><\/i>. Emotions are at an all-time high in his third artist album, where Blake magnifies his signature gloomy motifs with introspective lyrics and mellowed background tracks that allow his voice to shine.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Colour In Anything<\/span><\/i> was recently followed by a mini-tour. Its three stops sold out nearly instantaneously, highlighting how his fame has skyrocketed since \u201cLimit To Your Love\u201d cemented his entrance into R&B and electronic music\u00a0six years ago. His album\u2019s surprise release came conveniently after it was revealed he was a collaborator on Beyonce\u2019s <\/span>Lemonade<\/span><\/i>,\u00a0further showcasing Blake’s passage into the mainstream spotlight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On an otherwise quiet Monday night in Los Angeles, James Blake packed in the Belasco theatre\u00a0in Downtown. A\u00a0palpable wave of excited energy had settled into\u00a0the room as the crowd\u00a0anxiously awaited what they expected would be a flawless live show. Blake did not fail to disappoint, opening his set\u00a0on a surprising note with his popular single \u201cLife Round Here\u201d from <\/span>Overgrown<\/span><\/i>. Other classics played that night included \u201cRetrograde,\u201d \u201cThe Wilhelm Scream,\u201d and \u201cVoyeur,\u201d the latter of which was expertly mixed in at the end of \u201cI Hope My Life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"James<\/a><\/p>\n

photo credit: Christina House<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cRadio Silence\u201d followed with a smooth, falsetto-laden introduction which he then sampled on the spot, harmonizing\u00a0with it throughout the rest of the song. His precise high notes made an even larger impact later on in the show when a soulful rendition of \u201cMy Willing Heart\u2019s\u201d opening verse was met with a thunderous round of applause. He displayed this same finesse in \u201cAlways,\u201d which he paired with a colorful piano solo at the beginning and end of the song. <\/span><\/p>\n

Blake staunchly maintained a sense of humility, exuding vulnerability in his voice that humanized him to the audience. He\u00a0jokingly derided\u00a0himself as “self-absorbed,” for instance, for not giving Moses Sumney and Connan Mockasin a shout out when he brought them out for\u00a0a chilling performance of the album\u2019s title track, which he admitted was one of his more personal pieces to date. Sumney later joined in for a surprise encore where the duo belted out \u201cModern Soul\u201d as a memorable end to the night.<\/span><\/p>\n