Concert Review: James Blake on IGTV

“Wow, hi guys. Thanks for tuning in. Is that what you say on Instagram Live? ‘Tuning in?”

Sipping mint tea from a cup emblazoned with ‘Wifey’ while tinkering at his piano, phone leaning up against the music stand, James Blake stares back at me and the other 25,000 people who had tuned into his Instagram Live concert on the 23rd of March. While COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on the entertainment industry, there is a rise of a new kind of connectivity that allows concertgoers to intrude into the personal spaces of musicians and artists while they continue their practice and perform from home. Established by the camgirls of the 2000s, now’s the time for musicians to take a leaf out of the book of YouTubers and media influencers, though in the exceptional case of James Blake, it will never really matter.

While the Instagram Live medium means an absence of really feeling any kind of audience impression or crowd interaction (apart from the rare occasion where a question gets answered), the constant flood of messages will always remain more distracting than the usual pitch black crowd at a concert: “It’s really difficult not to read comments as I’m playing these songs”, Blake laughs while his eyes scan across the screen as the next wave hits. Though a few exceptions remain. The occasional chimes of people like @moses [Sumney] and @finneas who also tuned in were most welcome and likely the closest anyone will come to running into them at a concert. Though, despite the distraction felt throughout the songs, never did this detract from his voice.

Introducing his first song as a request from Moses Sumney, a collaborator on Blake’s latest album, Assume Form, and fellow falsetto flaunter, ‘The Colour in Anything’ sets the mood for the lush concert we’re in for. Blake’s vocals are remarkably silky ­– #nofilter – near identical to his studio recordings and pleasantly surprising considering the modest setup. A curious moment in the concert remains the moments of silence, ordinarily filled with applause – this time only filled by the claps of Blake’s girlfriend, Jameela Jamil (a familiar face to viewers of The Good Place) – that occurs after each track. Blake scatters his setlist with a selection of covers, first, featuring Billie Eilish’s ‘When the Party’s Over’ followed by Feist’s ‘The Limit to Your Love’. Blake embellishes the tracks with whispered melismas and careful croons that sound most intentional and loving. Segueing between songs, ‘Life Round Here’ leads into a cover of ‘Godspeed’ by Frank Ocean. Masterfully humming an introduction to ‘Retrograde’, Blake’s vibratos sound remarkably like a violin, resting gently against the warm, woodsy tones of the piano.

Taking very few pauses between tracks, Blake improvises while chatting to viewers: “I fucked up one of the chords in the beginning but that’s alright. This is casual…casually streaming to 25,000 people. This might actually be the biggest gig I’ve ever done.”

The highlight of the concert was, unsurprisingly, a cover of ‘No Surprises’ by Radiohead off of their 1998 album, OK Computer. Blake’s voice is pleading, gentle, and overwhelmingly sincere – a perfect complement to the haunting chord progression. Reaching one hour, Blake pauses briefly to end and restart his IGTV, and teases out audience requests from the comments. Flirting with the progressions of Lennon’s ‘Imagine’, Blake admits he needs to relearn the song before addressing other requests: Stevie Wonder, Beyonce, Mary Lou Williams, Joy Division to name a few. Wrapping up his performance with ‘Vincent’ and ‘A Case of You’, Blake speaks to the surreality of playing to such a large crowd and his growing nerves. Bidding ado to his listeners  “Wash your hands and stay inside if you can” – the stream ends with a rare concert farewell and a short wave.

It’s hard to deny the raw talents of James Blake, even prior to hearing them ‘rawer’ on his iPhone-cast Instagram Live concert. Without the physical mediation involved in traditional venue concerts as well as live recordings for publications and media outlets, it’s a strange phenomenon to be directly connected to a celebrity usually unassociated with influencer and social media culture. But this is most certainly as good as it gets for now. Blake’s Livestream was enriched by his modest setup, and friendly banter in ways incomparable to ordinary gigs.