James Blake Gives Fans Just a Taste of His Soothing Sounds at SXSW

The tone just wasn't right, and by the end of the prolonged soundcheck, 15 minutes were cut from James Blake's set Wednesday night at Stubb's Bar-B-Q in Austin.

In SXSW festival terms –- and when you're one of the openers for pop legends Duran Duran -- 15 minutes is an eternity (or two or three songs).

When ready, the British electronic musician sat at his keyboards to the right of the stage, and began as if nothing was wrong.

"I'm sorry we're late," said the soft-spoken Blake. "But we're here now."

Even though the set was only six songs -- obviously pared down from the original plan -- it felt like Blake delivered his full set, and then some. The opening song 'Unluck,' a track from his self-titled debut set the ethereal mood for his entire performance.

Blake was racing against the clock as he played to the packed-out room, but you wouldn't know it as he moved fluidly through songs and took scheduled sips from a plastic cup of water. He mesmerized the crowd with 'Limit to Your Love' and a more electronic instrumental 'Klavierwerke' (from his 2010 EP of the same name) as well as the rousing 'The Wilhelm Scream.'

Feeling triumphant at the end of his set, Blake addressed the crowd, "This was amazing. Thank you."

Just moments earlier, he had been twirling his feet underneath his chair as he tried to fill in his last three minutes of set time with 'To Care (Like You),' three minutes that had the entire audience lost in his intense melody.