Blood Orange at MSG. From left: Hynes, Isiah, Tolkin and Saleem Al-Sabir (Courtesy Instagram/@devhynes
Blood Orange gets up close and personal at Brooklyn Steel
After opening for Harry Styles at MSG, the New York genre-defying pop group are performing more intimate shows in-the-round
How do you follow up a run of gigs opening for Harry Styles in Madison Square Garden? If you’re genre-bending wizard Blood Orange, you treat your fans at Bushwick’s Brooklyn Steel to an intimate live concert in the round. The first show, on Sunday night, sold out so quickly, they added a second on Monday, October 24.
Blood Orange is English singer and polymath Devonté Hynes, who performed Sunday with frequent collaborators guitarist Eva Tolkin, Ian Isiah and Tariq Saleem Al-Sabir on the piano, drums, and bass.
The 2,000 concertgoers were all given a clear view of the round stage — on which the entire group was able to freely move around and fully-immerse fans with solo and unreleased songs from each of their projects.
For the better part of two hours, Blood Orange performed their hazy pop-electronic R&B — including popular songs “Dark and Handsome,” “Charcoal Baby,” and “It Is What It Is” — with the dreamy precision.
Hynes and Al-Sabir rotated from instrument to instrument between songs, with Hynes thanking not only Brooklyn Steel, but fans as well. “It’s really fucking cool,” Hynes said before ending the show with “Time Will Tell.”
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Limited edition merchandise — soccer jerseys of their newest EP “Jesus Freak Lighter,” airbrushed tees of their 2018 album “Negro Swan,” and more — was met with long lines. The group met with fans after the show to sell limited edition CD recordings of the show immediately afterward, burned on the spot.
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In addition to performing Blood Orange, Hynes also produces, sings, and plays multiple instruments on a long list of collaborations: He composed the soundtracks for Issa Rae’s HBO show “Rap Sh!t,” “Queen and Slim,” Netflix’s “Naomi Osaka” and “Passing,” HBO’s “In Treatment” and “We Are Who We Are,” and the films “Palo Alto” and “Mainstream.” He’s worked with Solange Knowles, fka twigs, A$AP Rocky, Mariah Carey, and many more.
Because they’re based in the city, Blood Orange often performs intimate shows around the city. In March, Hynes premiered “Cello Concerto No. 1” at St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn with Eru Matsumoto, and the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra, which performed Blood Orange songs.
