The Swell Season - Chicago Theatre, June 17, 2008

To paraphrase Lin Brehmer from WXRT, you know when you discover a band or a piece of music, maybe a film, and you feel like you're the only person who could possibly, truly get it? And you so want to share it with anyone and everyone who might show a passable interest, while at the same time letting them know at every instance that it's "yours" , and "you" knew before anyone else? Like a pride of ownership. And once the popularity builds, you feel like you just want to say it louder and more often that you discovered it "first"...but you feel like you've lost a little piece of the art to the masses? Well, here you go, general public...I give you The Swell Season. Enjoy.

Last evening, the duo of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova played the second performance of a sold-out Chicago Theatre three-night stand. And 3,500 of "us" collectively held our breath in wondrous amazement as willing accomplices, witnessing their run through an awe-inspiring two hour set of not only music from their film, "Once," but also cover songs and impeccably performed stripped down versions of songs from Glen's main gig (and the night's backing band), The Frames.

From the moment Glen walked out onto the stark, blue and yellow light-bathed stage with his well-worn guitar, kicking off the night with a "Hey, how's it going?" before the band launched into "Trying," you just knew: this was a night for people who loved the pure art of listening to music performed by real musicians. With real instruments. Artists who genuinely felt lucky - nay, privileged - to be able to share their craft with people who loved their art as much as they did. There's a time and place for shiny, manufactured glitter pop and contrived sing-alongs (I love those songs as much as anyone), but this night wasn't it.

"Lies" was typically chest-swelling in it's majestic sweep of loud/soft dynamics, and the audience hung on every note of the warmth in Colm Mac Con Iomairem's violin. Marketa's voice rose about and weaved in and out from Glen's, sometimes sitting on top of his, sometimes providing the cushion to ease off the rough edges of his lyrical disappointments and regret. Stretching the chorus out slightly more so than the recorded version, the words hung in the air almost precariously, then reigned back in, giving added weight to a song that already sends this writer to an uncharacteristically mushy-hearted place inside. Throughout much of the night's performance, the theater got deathly quiet, and you could almost hear the audience smiling through the silence between notes. It continued with "The Moon,", and a spacey violin weaving in and out of locomotive charging acoustic power, just before the bottom dropped out in and left the audience gasping.

Both he and Mar took center spotlight for “When Your Mind’s Made Up” and completely nailed the emotional ballast of this song. Just epic in it’s grandeur and primal feel. I honestly thought at this point, we would all have witnessed the last performance of his road-weary guitar, he nearly wore another hole through it. Perfect.

Glen and Marketa traded places, he on piano, and she strapped on an acoustic for the new composition “I Have Loved You Wrong”. The words rested like a fine mist over a dense morning fog, her voice colored with a slight tinge of eerie reverb, and the drums muted by tympani toms. A very hypnotic arrangement, and at the end, Glen and Mar locked into a soaring harmony that was almost a spiritual bluegrass in it's splendor, repeating the same refrain over and over : ”Every now and then, on my mind” Definitely a showcase for Marketa, and left the audience wishing for more.

At one point, the band left Glen to center stage, sitting alone with just his guitar. No microphone or amp, just his voice to soar and bounce amongst the upper balcony reaches. Playing “Say It To Me Now” as if he was back in his street busking days, he filled the seemingly cavernous Theatre's ornate walls with clear projection and literally foot-stomping rhythm with living room intensity.

Throughout, what struck me was the genuine appreciativeness the band felt for the way the audience had chosen to spend their night. Glen thanked the crowd after each song, and he frequently segued between songs with an affably charming story or self-effacing analogies, always punctuated with the wild gesturing of hands to make a point. I felt for him, as most of my stories have no seeming end or reason...Loved his introduction for "Falling Slowly," comparing the Oscar-winning song and ensuing rise from playing 100-seat clubs to larger symphony halls, to a ball being kicked not just over the fence, but over the river and into the next town. "99% of you is proud, but the other 1% of you you just wants your ball back."

“Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy” featured a star-turning appearance from a 6-year old named Ethan, plucked from You Tube ,and the crowd, to sing on-stage. He briefly forgot the words, but then backtracked and did an amazing job. Coming into the show, I wouldn't have expected a little boy to sing the word "screwed", but that and his show-bizzy bow at the end (complete with hand on tummy) made the night worth it. A meditative “What Happens When The Heart Just Stops?” had Glen comparing the conflicts hearts and minds to a “lion driving a train full speed on ice”, before he repeatedly beat the word “disappointment” into oblivion.

Glen accented “Go With Happiness” with sweeping hand gestures alternately reminiscent of a conductor with jazz hands, and a scarecrow. Holding out his arms, he just let the music sit and breathe for a moment. The lyrics, a redeeming message of letting a love go, was like a slow walk in the snow toward the dawn (“If you gotta go/ Go with happiness”)

Marketa joined him at the mic for a soaring, magical cover of Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic”, the stage awash like sunlight; they kept the song going for a few more bars of vamping after turning toward the drummer and mentioning “that song was supposed to end there, but we'll just let it ride out”.

After Marketa's cradling of the audience in her hand with "The Hill" (which she mentioned had never before been performed live until then), and an angelic "If You Want Me", the full band came back for a mammoth version of The Frame's "Fitzcarraldo" (“I’m not goin down, this journey isn’t over”.) Weaving piano lines drove alongside pulsing bass lines, and the drums pounded insistently in a version that was just amazing in scale and ambition. Although more overtly rocking than much of the night's song selection, much of the earlier, performances matched the song note for note in terms of introspection and longing - and left the crowd near rapturous oblivion, wishing their journey would roll on.

The band closed the evening on a sweet note, with “Star Star” (a “lullaby to your broken soul…written in a field, drunk”) A gorgeous violin coda punctuated the night with a bit of (and it took me a moment to remember where I heard this from...like one of those melodies you've heard hundreds of times, but can't place) "Pure Imagination" from 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' incorporated into the interlude:

"Star, star teach me how to shine, shine/ Teach me so I know what's going on in your mind"

Opening Sub Pop recording artist Daniel Martin Moore performed a solo set of sparse, plaintive guitar and introspection that captivated the crowd's attention in a way I've seen few opening acts do. His music feels like the perfect way to fill the spaciousness of a nighttime drive on an empty country road. Sweet and heartfelt warmness, delicate in it's moments but not too precious. Good stuff.

Wow. Amazing. A brilliant night, and one of the most memorable shows one could hope to witness. If you'd like to download the show (legally and artist sanctioned, I might add), go here

The Swell Season, June 17th, 2008
Chicago Theatre
SETLIST:

‘Trying”
“Lies”
“Sleeping”
“The Moon”
“When Your Mind’s Made Up”
“Seven Day Mile”
“Drown Out”
“I Have Loved You Wrong”
“Falling Slowly”
“Say It to Me Now”
"Broken-Hearted Hoover-Fixer Sucker Guy"
"What Happens When The Heart Just Stops?"
“Buzzin' Fly” (Tim Buckley cover)
“Go With Happiness”
“Into the Mystic” (Van Morrison cover)
“Once”
“The Hill
“If You Want Me”
“Fitzcarraldo”
“Star Star”

Ok, so now you know what the rest of us know. Experience the movie now if you haven't. Watch it again if you have. Go out and support real music. Be bold and adventurous. Great things will come.