All photos by Tracy Allison (instagram | twitter)
On Wednesday night Blake Mills played a captivating set at Le Poisson Rogue in support of his newly released album Heigh Ho. Support came from classical music ensemble yMusic (who I saw play with Richard Reed Parry at Basilica last month).
If you’re not yet familiar with Blake Mills, it’s time to get acquainted, because he’s going to explode in a big way, very soon.
Mills first caught my attention in 2010, with the release of his wonderful debut album Break Mirrors. This year he followed it up in a big way with his new album Heigh Ho, a record that sees Mills not only maintain his sound, but reach a little bit further with it. This is evident in his teaming up with Fiona Apple on album track “Don’t Tell Our Friends About Me.” In fact, Apple surprised the crowd at LPR on Wednesday night, joining Mills for “Don’t Tell” as well as album cut “Seven” and a cover of Conway Twitty’s “It’s Only Make Believe.” It was just one of the many wonderful moments from the show, which seemed to be endlessly built with them.
The shows climax came with regular set finisher “Women Know” which was extended to maximum length with quiet comedowns and then loud brash rises that were truly incredible. So much so that everyone sitting down at LPR rose collectively to salute Mills with a well deserved standing ovation. You don’t see that all that often in New York City.
He returned for an encore that featured “Curable Disease” as well as a delicate cover of Elvis’ “Tomorrow Night.” It was a perfect send off for what was one of my favorite shows of the year so far.
Mills is a star in the making. Get on board people. (He returns to New York on October 8 to play Rough Trade NYC)
Find more photos of Blake and yMusic posted below, all courtesy of Tracy Allison (instagram | twitter)
Setlist (via):
1. Unworthy
2. Hey Lover
3. I’ll Never Do You Wrong (Joe Tex Cover)
4. It’ll All Work Out
5. Havana
6. Gold Coast
7. It’s Only Make Believe (Conway Twitty Cover)
8. Don’t Tell Our Friends
9. Seven
10. Half Asleep
11. Cry To Laugh
12. Before It Fell
13. Under The Underground
14. Women Know
Encore:
15. Curable Disease
16. Tomorrow Night (Elvis Presley Cover)
Blake Mills:
yMusic:
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