Why does this keep happening? For the second time since lockdowns sent concerts online worldwide, James Blake has bestowed us with his picturesque voice, haunting keymanship and endearingly down-to-earth demeanour.
His last Instagram Live gig saw him cover Frank Ocean and Radiohead. This time he plays Ray Charles, Joy Division and tunes from his archive.
While we somehow slept on the live time, the good news is the gig is still in his stories - which is almost (though not quite) as good as being right there with him in his living room. Go there, now, to hear actor Jameela Jamil (Blake's partner) cheering in the background and Blake saying sweet things like "I'm blushing. There's no reason to blush" and "My hair's growin'".
While we don't condone spending all your waking hours on the internet, these are the instances that make us want to stay connected - and feel good about it. And Blake is hardly the only artist playing democratic gigs via Instagram. For energising sounds on the regular, you'll want to be following Isol-Aid, Patti Smith, Kim Gordon and Elle Músa. And pencil those live gig dates in your calendar.
'Til next time, we'll leave you with James Blake 's original isolation gig from what feels like three years ago (March 26).
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