Tam's Think Tank

… and I haven’t even done a post about The Swell Season concert this last Monday at the Keller Auditorium. What can I say about it. It was wonderful. You know when you’re planning on going to see someone you’ve never seen live and there’s a slight concern that they won’t live up to the expectations you have? Well… that definitely wasn’t the case here. These people, Glen Hansard (also the lead singer of an Irish band called The Frames) and Marketa Irglova, were amazing. The musicianship alone was outstanding, and then to top it off, they can sing, and sing well. I found myself thinking, holy crap, they are even better live than either recorded or in the movie, Once.

The evening started off, before The Swell Season even took the stage, with a small set from a couple of Irish guys, Rónán Ó Snodaigh and Liam Ó Maonlaí (founder of Hothouse Flowers) (a big thanks to Isorski’s comment on my photo of the inside of the Keller on my photo blog, image – ination, and then his posting of a link to his great review of the show, which you can find here, that clued me in on what these guys names were, I had no idea). I knew, after they started into the first number, that the show was going to be stellar. These two were amazing. Completely entertaining, wonderful musicians, and terrific music. These two were mentors to Glen Hansard when he, and they, were street musicians in Ireland. I’m glad he brought them along… just very cool, and really remarkable.

A totally random, yet completely cool moment was when Hansard started talking about the two of them, he and Irglova, going for a walk about Portland earlier in the day and their meeting and conversation with a young man who was a local musician. Hansard mentioned that sometimes when you meet somone you connect with them, and this was one of those times. He then preceeded to yell out to the audience to see if the kid was there, and yes, he was. Hansard then did something unexpected, he invited the kid on stage to sing a song. The kid was sitting in the nosebleed section and said so, but Hansard just called back up to him, “we’ll wait”. So the kid runs down to the main level and up the aisle to then be lifted up onto the stage by a burly looking roadie. He converses with the band for a moment and then steps up to the microphone saying that he’s going to sing Brandy (you’re a fine girl), but the band doesn’t really know it so he’ll sing and they’ll try to figure it out. He starts singing and about half way through the band is getting into full swing backing him and the whole place is going nuts and grooving along with this kid who is having the moment of his life. By the end of the song they were all fairly in sync and sounding not half bad. The kid puts the big finish on and then stands there amazed as he gets the first standing ovation of the night. Speechless he just shakes his head back and forth in disbelief as he then sort of hugs and shakes hands with the band and walks off stage. It was a really great moment.

The moment with the kid was just one of many great moments because Hansard and Irglova are the real thing… fantastic musicians who absolutely love what they do. They’re humble, real, and totally splendid to see live. If you get the chance, though many of the shows are getting sold out, as the show was at the Keller, go see them. It’s worth the price of the ticket. There’s no doubt in my mind, you’ll have a fantastic time. We did.