As I make my way up the stairs at the Anthem in Washington D.C., I’m not quite sure what to expect from a Jacob Collier concert. Is it going to be weird and wacky and colourful like his music videos? Is it going to be very musically technical, where only seasoned musicians can understand the ingenuity behind the songs?
To put it simply, the show is a fully immersive and unpredictable experience that, I think, is completely unique to Collier and his musical style, and though I wasn’t sure what to expect, I don’t think I’ve ever been more amazed by the amount of pure musical genius, talent, and creativity in a single person.
As the lights dim, the eccentric British singer-songwriter, dressed in a neon green and black jacket complete with ballooning pink pants and mismatching socks, practically leaps onto stage and hits the ground running, figuratively and literally, with a cover of Elvis Presley’s ‘100,000 Voices,‘ the recorded version of which features over 100,000 voices from Collier’s real audiences over the years.
The stage design immediately catches my eye, with three tiers and colorful trees strung with lights. As the band kicks off the first song, the colorful lights flash and twinkle in both a chaotic and a perfectly coordinated and complimentary fashion. I wonder if this is what it looks like inside Collier’s mind. Maybe that’s the goal. Maybe it’s symbolic for Collier bringing the audience into his world, into his headspace, into his colorfully and uniquely musical and eccentric mind.
The energy of the music and the crowd only increases as the show continues, and Collier is the most high-energy of them all. A true musical prodigy, Collier not only sings exquisitely, he also plays guitar, piano, and drums, often all three in the same song, running from instrument to instrument between vocals. I can’t even begin to express how many times at this concert that I was simply struck speechless by his raw talent.
Collier’s band not only matches his energy, they build on it. His background vocalists in particular, Lindsey Lomis, Erin Bentlage, and Alita Moses, each get their own notable solo moments that the crowd goes crazy for.
“Are you having a good time?” Collier asks the crowd as the band pauses between songs at the beginning of the show. When the room erupts with cheers and applause, he smiles and says, “I’m having a lovely time!” Plucking a few random strings, he jokes, “In fact, I’m having such a lovely time, I think I’ll play a song in F sharp major!” The music theory joke goes right over my head, but the crowd is clearly the correct one for it, as they almost explode with laughter.
Collier and his band perform a variety of songs from all four “Djesse” albums, along with some of his more well-known covers, like “Gravity,” by John Mayer. As Collier’s work explores countless styles and musical elements, the audience gets to be a part of so many different genres and types of music; it’s truly a unique and fully immersive concert experience.
Since he is such a colorful, unique, and dynamic performer, I think that it’s easy to underappreciate Collier’s live vocals. Throughout the set, he flexes his vocal skills so impressively so many times; his vocal range is surprisingly large and he utilizes both the lowest registers of his voice and his head voice almost effortlessly, leading me to wonder countless times how one person can house so much talent.
The show isn’t without its lighthearted and funny moments; Collier and his band never take themselves too seriously. ‘During Mi Corazón,‘ Collier, Lomis, Bentlage, and Moses all venture to the front of the stage and dance in unison across the stage, making hearts with their arms on the beat while singing in harmony. Before ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water,‘ a lady sitting directly in front of me yells, “We love you, Jacob!” In response, Collier smiles and plays a few notes on his vocal harmonizer and sings back in an improvised melody, “I love you too,” making everyone in the crowd laugh and applaud.
Personal highlights of the setlist are the funky, R&B inspired ‘Time Alone With You,‘ which is an insanely catchy get-on-your-feet energizer, and a cover of ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water‘ by Simon & Garfunkel.
The latter features Collier, a keyboard, and a vocal harmonizer; he uses the two to make it sound like he’s backed by a full choir singing in perfect, melodious, almost electronic-sounding harmony with him. These one-man acapella feats are what catapulted Collier into fame during quarantine, and witnessing it live is absolutely mind-blowing. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing was coming from one single person, and to be honest, after watching many additional videos of Collier explaining the process, I still don’t understand it. But I, along with the enthusiastic audience, certainly appreciated and marveled at it. In fact, this number garnered the loudest and longest applause of the night.
One thing I wish there is more of at this show is teaching moments from Collier. Someone as musically skilled and educated as him could easily come off as pretentious, but he is the exact opposite. After ‘Mi Corazón,‘ he comes up to the front of the stage and sits down with his guitar still on his shoulder. An extremely eloquent speaker, Collier shares that the reason he loves music and expressing himself through music so much is because he views it as an extraordinary and crucial language that encourages people to take a pause and listen to each other, something that is especially important in today’s societal climate. I wish he talked for another hour, but he jumps right into the next song fairly quickly.
The obvious standout of the night is the audience choir, something Collier is famous for. At the end of ‘Witness Me,‘ he leads the audience in a three-part chorus, conducting the three separate portions of the audience and guiding them to perfect harmony. Hearing the entire room sing with each other is a deeply touching and beautiful moment that perfectly encapsulates Collier’s earlier sentiment of music’s ability to encourage people to listen to one another; this moment isn’t possible without the audience listening to Coller and each other, and it isn’t possible without Collier listening to the audience. This is something I don’t think I or anybody else in the audience will ever experience again unless it’s at another Collier concert.
After Collier motions the crowd to stop, the room erupts into enthusiastic applause and a standing ovation that goes on for several minutes as he bows and thanks the audience for their participation.
The show has not one but two encores, something that is completely unexpected to me and to most of the other concertgoers. In the first encore, his band leads the audience in a vibrant mashup of ‘Box of Stars Pt. 1,‘ ‘In My Bones,‘ and ‘Sleeping on My Dreams,‘ with Collier joining them onstage halfway through the song. Then Collier, alone with his piano, performs a medley of ‘Somebody to Love,‘ ‘Great Fairy Fountain,‘ and Queen’s ‘Somewhere,‘ accompanied with the slow and soft choral harmonies of the audience.
After the first encore, people start heading for the exits. Thankfully, Collier comes back onstage before too many walk out, kicking off the second encore with ‘Moon River,‘ a fan favourite and one of his most famous covers, captivating the audience with his impressive and delicate piano skills and his soft but powerful vocal riffs.
The singer-songwriter ends the show with a slow piano cover of ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love,‘ encouraging the audience to sing the background vocals, turning the final performance of the night into another collaborative one, a perfect note to end on.
After the last note is played, Collier applauds the crowd as they give him a standing ovation, making a heart with his hands and thanking the audience profusely for their energy and participation. Exiting the same way he entered, Collier bounces offstage with a jaunty wave of his hand and disappears. The applause continues even after he’s long gone.
Even though Jacob Collier’s music is a bit eccentric and experimental for my personal taste at times, there is never a moment during this show where that thought crosses my mind. The whole two hours, I was simply in awe, struck speechless by his incredibly crisp and versatile vocals, his eloquent words and infectious energy, and his raw creative and multi-instrumental talent. Witnessing a true musical genius do what he does best in his own genuine and unique style was an incredible experience, even for someone like me, who isn’t well-versed in music theory. Jacob Collier is truly a once-in-a-generation talent who does more than put on a show. He immerses the audience in his world, the world of any and all kinds of music, in a beautiful, touching, and collaborative way. And that is truly a gift.
WORDS ALLYSON PARK
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