The highlight of my Thursday night occurred straight out of the gate in the 8 o’clock showcase time slot, but it was hardly all downhill from there, as a “bonus highlight” also awaited me during the witching hour.
I’ve had a few tracks by the Swedish singer-songwriter, Jens Lekman, for a couple of years now. I loved those tracks pretty much unreservedly, but somehow hadn’t gotten around to buying any of his albums…an oversight that was quickly corrected after seeing the show I’m about to describe. I caught Lekman’s early showcase at Emo’s, which he played solo electric. He was playing a full-band set elsewhere later in the night, but I had a conflict in that time slot, so the solo show it was. As it turns out, lady luck was smiling upon me, as the solo show was something truly special, and I was able to catch the full-band show when the tour stopped in Washington, D.C. last week.
Lekman took to the stage to rapturous applause from the gathered congregants — applause which soon turned into a roar in response to a request he made before even playing a note. In his unassuming, Swedish accent-inflected speaking voice, Lekman quietly addressed the crowd, saying, “I’d like to make a request – it’s probably a silly request, but could you please not film this show and put it on the internet? I’d just like this show to be special –just me and you– and it’s not special if it’s shared with a million people.â€
By way of further explanation (and as further indication of his sincerity), Lekman went on to explain that, “we’ll be doing the Hollywood version of this later tonight, and you’re free to record that one in surround-sound from multiple camera angles if you want.â€
Well, I have to tell you, having opened with those remarks, and then following them up with a selection of songs by turns quirky and gorgeous, this young man and his guitar simply filled the room with tenderness. Truly, pop music doesn’t get much more genuine, heartfelt, or on-your-sleeve than this. For a sample, check out his “The Opposite of Hallelujah,” courtesy of SXSW:
[audio:http://audio.sxsw.com/2008/mp3/Jens_Lekman-The_Opposite_Of_Hallelujah.mp3]It occurred to me early in Lekman’s set that between his sincerity, his childlike innocence, and his quirkily original songwriting, that he comes across as a young, Swedish version of Jonathan Richman. And since Richman is one of my all-time favorite songwriters and performers, you can bet that’s a top shelf compliment in my book.
BONUS HIGHLIGHT
Later that night, I hit another high when I caught the L.A. power popper Ari Shine who, along with his capable band, provided a perfect blast of sweet, sweet early-Costelloesque power pop. Somewhat coincidentally, given that my day had begun with Mike Rosenthal, I found myself thinking that Ari Shine could be the Mike Rosenthal of the year.
Performing sharp, clean guitar pop featuring hook after hook after irresistible hook, Ari Shine ended their set with what could have been an ill-advised choice of a cover in Mellencamp’s “R-O-C-K in the U.S.A.†but, by speeding up the pace they turned it into a bash-and-pop rave-up that brought the house down.
Check out Ari Shine’s “Cooler Than Me,” courtesy of SXSW:
[audio:http://audio.sxsw.com/2008/mp3/Ari_Shine-Cooler_Than_Me.mp3](Other fine bands seen on Thursday night included Geronimo, Throw Me the Statue, Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed, Teenage Bottlerocket, and Bowling for Soup. Yep, it was a gloriously eclectic night of live music…often the best kind of night at South-by!)
About the author: John Anderson is a SXSW addict, having attended "South-by" every year since 1999. His South-by geekery spilled over into the realm of blogging in 2006, and he is grateful to the Twangville audience for having indulged his South-by ravings since 2008.