We typically don’t run news articles of late-night television performances, but we had to make an exception so that we could get this one in front of you. Dijon, the uber-talented artist whose debut album Absolutely made a ton of noise last year despite its early-November release, made his television debut last night on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Instead of going for the more straightforward singles on the album like “The Dress” or “Many Times”, Dijon elected to play “Big Mike’s” — the slow-burning, frenetic opener of the album that set the Internet on fire last year when he released a live version of it that would eventually turn into an Absolutely live film.
Reader: it was mesmerizing. Dijon and his multi-talented band turned The Tonight Show soundstage into the communal, table-style setup that made the live videos of Absolutely so incredibly compelling, and I’m apt to say that he made his entrance onto national tv in a way that was instantly recognizable and one of the best performances of this decade so far. “Big Mike’s” is a song that builds and builds until it reaches a beautiful, chaotic flurry, and that energy was radiating throughout this performance to the point where Dijon was hoarsely yelling by the end of it. Watch the show-stopping performance below, and grab tickets to both his supporting dates this spring with Bon Iver and his headlining dates here.
