James Blake

There's a sort of apprehensive fascination with James Blake's live show; can he reproduce the exquisite studio polish that defines his releases in a live setting? Yes. Yes he can. In fact, Blake's music takes on new life when played live, as he breathes in new phrasings, kicks in extra bass, and generally pours his insides out on stage. There's a tendency to classify Blake's music, so calculated and precise on record, as impersonal. In reality, it's anything but. Everything is played live, without a computer in sight, and the songs become new again as Blake toys with new phrasings and executions. After technical difficulties with a drum pad delayed the set, Blake -- along with a drummer and a guitar player -- wove a five-song blanket of magic broken only by interspersed bass notes loud enough to rattle Stubb's subs. He drew from his debut album as well as his Klavierwerke EP, and everything was stunning.