Gallery: James Blake

Last week, artist James Blake took the stage at the House of Blues in downtown San Diego. Though the room initially seemed to be empty, by the time Blake took the stage, the venue had filled up with people of all ages. His performance was one of unbelievable variety. Blake opened with a bass-heavy song that send the crowd into hysterics. However, throughout his set he also performed many of his more slow-paced songs, including his cover of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case Of You,”  and two of his earlier songs “Lindisfarne I” and “Lindisfarne II.” Blake’s performance left the crowd screaming for an encore, at which point he took the stage, asked the audience to remain silent and performed his song “Measurements” which features several vocal parts layered on top of each other. In an unbelievable spectacle, Blake recorded each of the parts and layered them atop one another. He then stood, took a bow, left the stage, and allowed the piece to play through once more with all the vocals included. The night, as a whole, easily showcased Blake’s ability to produce beautiful music that at no point becomes monotonous or expected, even when performed live. Check out a few photos from the evening:

 

All photos taken by Clarisse Hansard