Three Imaginary Girls - Jens Lekman

Review: Jens Lekman at the Columbia City Theater

Steve Louie — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:48:26 +0000

1 Oct 2011

Basked in the glow of red lasers and fog, singer songwriter Geoffrey O'Connor started this past Friday's show by preparing his simple stage setup with his trusty Roland drum machine, synth, chorus pedals and reverb-soaked guitar. In support of his new album Vanity Is Forever, O'Connor started with "Like They Say It Does" before going into the dreamy synth world of "Proud," both enchanting numbers that warmed the crowd. O'Connor, ever making a connection, introduced the high school slow dance number "Now And Then" as a song he penned in L.A. but wished he wrote in Seattle. And as more fog rose from the back of the stage out into the crowd, O'Connor sauntered from one side of the stage to the other on "Have Your Way" and "Idle Lover" while climbing on tops of monitors.

With somewhat deranged songs about "buying expensive drinks and feeling like a douchebag", O'Connor kept an enjoyable yet straight and dry approach to his delivery. A bright spotlight shone on O'Connor during "So Sorry" while he was on top of the monitors again with cheers from the crowd. And the climax of his set came as he drove into "Whatever Leads Me To You" with an impressive guitar solo, mic wrapped around his left wrist. Simply gorgeous.

Jens Lekman, with his new EP An Argument With Myself out on Secretly Canadian continued his tradtion of trademark immaculate-style storytelling as he launched into the title track "An Argument With Myself," spilling the beans on a literal argument he had with himself while walking the streets of Melbourne. "Waiting For Kirsten" preceded Jen's explanation of how the song came to be with Kirsten Dunst's mention of Jens in a past interview, which led to a chance opportunity in his hometown of Gothenburg to stalk Kirsten at a hotel (but sadly, with no luck).

Jens fervently dove into his back catalogue with the classic "I Saw Her In The Anti War Demonstration" and then quickly springing into "A Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill." By now, many fans were swaying their hips and singing along to the chorus of "Bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp / can you the beat of my heart..." With no full band accompanying him -- a contrast compared to his past tours -- Jens introduced his lone companion on stage, drummer Addison Rogers to much applause. New songs "I Broke Up A Fight" and "Cowboy Boots" (a new one about having a dream about cowboy boots) were met with approval. And the crowd's favorites continued with "Black Cab" and "The Opposite of Hallelujah," with Jens stepping to the frontmost part of the stage mimicking the ringing of the bells at the end of the song, closing his set with "Sipping on Sweet Nectar."

As an encore, Jens returned on stage alone and performed "And I Remember Every Kiss" with utter delicate perfection, and then called his drummer and O'Connor back out for a cover of Ten City's "All I Want Is Love." This was enough to send everyone dancing away into the night, but with the crowd begging for more songs, Jens acquiesced with one more. With a few snaps into the mic, the crowd followed suit into "Pocketful of Money," singing along to "cha cha" and "I'll come running with a heart on fire."

As Jens humbly thanked the crowd with a fond farewell, there was no doubt he left his fans burning for more.

Jens Lekman, with his new EP An Argument With Myself out on Secretly Canadian continued his tradtion of trademark immaculate-style storytelling as he launched into the title track "An Argument With Myself," spilling the beans on a literal argument he had with himself while walking the streets of Melbourne. "Waiting For Kirsten" preceded Jen's explanation of how the song came to be with Kirsten Dunst's mention of Jens in a past interview, which led to a chance opportunity in his hometown of Gothenburg to stalk Kirsten at a hotel (but sadly, with no luck).

Jens fervently dove into his back catalogue with the classic "I Saw Her In The Anti War Demonstration" and then quickly springing into "A Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill." By now, many fans were swaying their hips and singing along to the chorus of "Bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp / can you the beat of my heart..." With no full band accompanying him -- a contrast compared to his past tours -- Jens introduced his lone companion on stage, drummer Addison Rogers to much applause. New songs "I Broke Up A Fight" and "Cowboy Boots" (a new one about having a dream about cowboy boots) were met with approval. And the crowd's favorites continued with "Black Cab" and "The Opposite of Hallelujah," with Jens stepping to the frontmost part of the stage mimicking the ringing of the bells at the end of the song, closing his set with "Sipping on Sweet Nectar."

Monday morning check in... how was your weekend?

imaginary liz — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:48:06 +0000

jens lekman

WOW -- this weekend (which this time we'll say started on Thursday because Thursday was *so* packed with options) will probably be voted "most packed with possibilities ever!" in this summer's yearbook.

Did anyone do a Jens Lekman double shot -- attending both Thursday and Friday? Neko Case? Metric? Camera Obscura? Jason Lytle acoustic? That's just the tip of the weekend iceburg of possibilities!

What did you do? Tell us all about it (and post or link to your photos here -- max 490 pixels width please).

Fab photo a la Josh C. To see more Jens photos, see Chelsea's Jens review with photos by Dan M. To see more weekend photos - head over to the TIG Flickr Photo Pool!

What a Swedeheart

Chelsea Werner — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:57:06 +0000

5 Jun 2009

jens09juneDanM.jpg

The first shock of Friday evening was when Jens Lekman walked on stage at the Crocodile Café to introduce his opening act; Tig Notaro, better known as Officer Tig from The Sarah Silverman Show, a stand up comedian.

The second shocker was that after Notaro, no more instruments were brought to the stage. How could the sparse set-up of a guitar, bass, violin, and drum kit create the sweeping orchestral sounds that make Jens Lekman’s songs? Then I spotted the laptop. It’s disappointing to see a live show where an artist plays along with their recorded material, but given the magnitude of musicians Jens has worked with on his albums, it’s understandable that he couldn’t get them all together for a tour.

Another testament to Jens Lekman’s love of performing was his delight in audience sing-alongs. As long as Jens was singing the audience wouldn’t shut-up. But at the last chorus of “Black Cab” he went silent and the epic scope of the song’s finale was lost as the audience failed to fill in. It was as if they realized just how tone deaf they were once Jens’ sweet, pitch perfect vocals weren’t there to drown them out.

Giving the crowd a chance to redeem themselves, Jens pulled the smallest feather ever from his pocket; “For this next song (“Your Arms Around Me”), I want you to keep this feather in the air for the entire song.” But the audience dropped the ball, or should I say feather, once again. The violinist actually stopped playing to save the feather from certain doom on stage and delivered into the hands of a Swedish girl up front, who shamelessly put it in her purse. Way to let Jens down.

But, she can't be blamed. Almost anyone there would've cherished a piece of Jens' pocket lint if they could've got their hands on it. Lekman and his band garnered unconditional admiration with their charming antics. Clad in outfits of matching red and white color themes, all of them were doing the side-to-side indie bop with their instruments. Even the guy manning the laptop got into it and, leaving “Sipping on The Sweet Nectar” playing solely from the computer, came out and joined the entire band in a spinning, arms out twirl. And during “Maple Leaves,” the EP version, Jens used the bridge to break into the chorus of The Ramones, “Do You Wanna Dance.” And dance they did.

“Maple Leaves” wasn’t the only song revamped for the live show. “A Postcard to Nina” was performed as an unabridged, spoken word narrative. In it, Jens gave an awkward moment by awkward moment account of eating dinner with Nina’s uber-German father. Notice how I haven’t mentioned anything about new material? The only unreleased song played was “The End of the World is Bigger Than Love.” The song starting sounding like The Smiths until a syncopated chorus, dominated by the drums, broke in and the song became unique to Jens Lekman’s light rock caché , which is mostly influenced by his love of power ballads.

It’s a great feeling to see a band play songs you know and love, but there was the hope that this tour would signal an upcoming release. How long must we wait for this Swedish sweetheart to rose-tint the gray day-to-day with more romantic and sentimental witticisms? Come on Jens, leaning the mic up against your heart during “Sweet Summer’s Night on Hammer Hill” was a tease. Don’t just amplify your heartbeat, bleed it into another album that can be cried and danced to at the same time.

For more Jens photos, visit the Trickshot Photography Flickr page.

Despite the minimal setup, Jens delivered. This is a man who loves to play live. You could tell by the vacant savant smile that projected from his oh-so-Swedish features, out over the crowd. He opened with, “I’m Leaving You Because I Don’t Love You,” and transitioned suddenly into “The Opposite of Hallelujah.” Both songs off of Night Falls Over Kortedala got the crowd enthused as Jens ended playing air xylophone. Another testament to Jens Lekman’s love of performing was his delight in audience sing-alongs. As long as Jens was singing the audience wouldn’t shut-up. But at the last chorus of “Black Cab” he went silent and the epic scope of the song’s finale was lost as the audience failed to fill in. It was as if they realized just how tone deaf they were once Jens’ sweet, pitch perfect vocals weren’t there to drown them out.

Recommended show tonight: Jens Lekman at the Crocodile

imaginary keenan — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:39:38 +0000

(photo by Laura Musselman)

Sometimes, while listening to Swedish performer Jens Lekman, I'm often frustrated. Why is he not recognized as one of the worlds' greatest songwriters? His charisma shows heavily through his beautiful melodies, like admitting that he's forgotten the joke in "A Man Walks Into A Bar" or mishearing a friend's existential plea for help in "Maple Leaves" ("But she said that we were just make believe/but I thought she said Maple Leaves"). I've long used his plaintive sense of humor mixed with his gorgeous sense of melody as a remedy to get myself out of any funk.

Tonight (and tomorrow!) at the Crocodile, he'll hopefully make a few new converts to the Believers of Jens.

(Plus, since the croc is so new and fancy... maybe they'll have air conditioning).

I hope he plays this song (probably one of my favorite songs ever).

Decisions, decisions... what are you doing tonight?

imaginary liz — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:21:14 +0000

Justice @ Showbox Sodo 03.24.08

It's astounding how many things are going on tonight! ChrisB will be at Metric at Showbox (read his interview with them), Keenan will be at Jens Lekman (Oh sweet Jens) at the Crocodile, imaginary victoria is at Neko Case (at the Paramount), imaginary hyme is all about the Desolation Wilderness show. Even our imaginary gal in LA, CA has chimed in with a recommendation to see recent Barsuk singing artist The Wooden Birds at Chop Suey tonight.

And then there's these other show's we'd be freaking out about if the above didn't have us scattered everywhere:

* Spanish for 100 will be at the Sunset with At-The-Spine and Autolite Strike -- Word has it that the Spanish for 100 show is going to be especially killer as they have special reason to cover both old and new songs tonight
* Y'alternative crooners The Felice Brothers will be taking over the Tractor
* Even Cafe Vita is in the action with a performance tonight to raise funds for the Vera Project: Say Hi, Grant Olsen (Arthur and Yu), Mount Eerie, and Shawn Smith
* Jason Lytle of Grandaddy is going to be at the Mars Bar tonight (not a joke! He's heading over there after he opens for Neko at the Paramount)

And then there's SIFF!

Where are you headed tonight?

(Photo by Jeanine Anderson)

Jens Lekman returns to Seattle

imaginary keenan — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:12:10 +0000

Sweden's (at least to me) most darling songwriter returns to Seattle to grace us with not one, but two shows at (our favorite new/old venue) the Crocodile June 4th and 5th! We can't wait! In this economy, it'll be worth skimping to be able to afford to go at least one, if not both shows, we promise.

Merge's SCORE unleashes brilliant covers comp

imaginary keenan — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 15:22:00 +0000

Merge has done it again! For their 20th anniversary, a part of the brilliant subscriber only compilation series SCORE, the Chapel Hill label (run by none other than members of my favorite indie rock band, Superchunk) is releasing a compilation of covers of Merge bands by a ton of non-Merge artists.

MP3s and JPGs raise money for Barack Obama

imaginary liz — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:46:59 +0000

Jack Dolgen (Maricopa, Sam Champion) had a song and an idea: use his track to raise money for Barack Obama. The first song to be released from that recording project is, "Daytime," a song about bridging divides and coming together.

Are you pining for the Fjords too?

imaginary liz — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:18:18 +0000

Olympia's public radio masta ship KAOS has spawned a new radio show named Pining for the Fjords whose mission in life is to feature pop / folk / electronica / soul bands and artists from the Scandinavian countries -- mainly Norway and Sweden, but also Denmark, Finland, and Iceland.

Jens is a Foxy Dreamboat Captain

three imaginary girls — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 01:56:01 +0000

26 Mar 2008

jens08marmain.jpg

Oh. God. I. Love. Him.

So says TIG photographer Laura Musselman. And looking at her photo collection from Jens' show at Neumo's last night, we can't help but see why....

Unless you're stressed out and not in the mood for twee-pop lounge music and adoring superfans. Then it might be annoying, in a Lord of the Rings sort of way. Or so we've heard, from one unnamed TIG show attendee, and also from Line Out.

But these photos are fantastic, doncha think?

How much did you heart Jens?

So says TIG photographer Laura Musselman.

Jens is coming back!

imaginary liz — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 06:14:45 +0000

I knew that Jens just didn't get enough of us last time he was in Seattle. As announced on Pitchfork, he's coming back!

Early Line-Up of South By Southwest Performers

Jflores — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 20:49:32 +0000

Sneak Peek @ SXSW Line-Up

Best of 2007: imaginary embracey's ten favorite albums

imaginary embracey — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:55:47 +0000

On the off chances that 1) anyone cares what their friendly neighborhood imaginary film and theater critic thinks about the year's music releases, and 2) anyone is doing anything at all during the dead 'tween-holidays week, much less reading top-ten lists, here are my favorite albums of the year, alpha by artist:

The Apples in Stereo – New Magnetic Wonder
The Eames Era – Heroes + Sheroes
Imperial Teen – The Hair The TV The Baby & The Band
Just Jack – Overtones
LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala
Menomena – Friend and Foe
The New Pornographers – Challengers
Radiohead – In Rainbows
Tracey Thorn – Out of the Woods

My films-of-the-year feature (coming early '08) will be far more compelling. Promise.

Best of 2007: Sero(tone)in's picks

serotonein — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:01:25 +0000

Every December I go through over 80 albums and try to codify them some way. Though it may take until after Christmas before my final top list (and mix cd) is ready, my favorite albums of the year are always fairly obvious to me by now. These are the ones that meant the most to me.

Top NW Albums

1) Grand Archives - s/t
2) Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
3) Menomena - Friend & Foe
4) Tullycraft - Every Scene Needs A Center
5) Shake Some Action - s/t
6) Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation
7) The Cave Singers - Invitation Songs
8) Welcome - Sirs
9) Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
10) Awesome - Beehive Sessions
11) Carolyn Mark - Nothing Is Free
12) Grand Hallway - Yes Is The Answer
13) The New Pornographers - Challengers
14) Ghost Stories - Quixoticism
15) The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

Overall Top 10 Albums of 2007

1) Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
2) Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
3) Emma Pollock - Watch The Fireworks
4) Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
5) Feist - The Reminder
6) Menomena - Friend & Foe
7) Blonde Redhead - 23
8) Shellac - Excellent Italian Greyhound
9) Apostle Of Hustle - National Anthem Of Nowhere
10) Radiohead - In Rainbows

Best of 2007: Erik G's favorite albums

Erik Gonzalez — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:12:43 +0000

Sometimes I think it takes me waaay too long to come up with my Top 20 albums of a given year. There are a lot of internal debates and arguments that really have no right answer. Really, you reach a point where all the albums are good but how to rank them gets to be quite the challenge. This year was chock full of good music (not matter what the naysayers might groan). I counted something like 175+ albums worth mentioning in 2007, and that is only a tip of the iceberg when it comes to everything that was released in the year. However, I did whittle it down to 20... well, 22 if you count my 2 EP exception (EP's don't count as real albums).

If you're interested in some sub-lists, like my albums "with apologizes" (albums I didn't hear but should have) or "best imports" or "most disappointing" (hint, the band who made it rhymes with Milo Biley), check it out here.

So, here we go:

#21 The EP's - Two EP's made me happy this year, and really, they would be in the top 20, but it seems unfair to me to include EP's versus albums. They're both UK pop, and they're both brilliant in their own cute way.

Los Campesinos! Sticking Fingers Into Sockets (Thanks to igLiz for this band!)

Best of 2007: Erik G's favorite songs

Erik Gonzalez — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:28:01 +0000

OK, well, nobody likes to reflect and rank more than I do (I'm a scientist, I love to quantify), so here goes. I've got my favorite songs of 2007 - no, not best or most innovative, but rather the songs I liked ... lots and lots and lots. There is a little overlap from my forthcoming Best Albums, but also some curveballs. Enjoy!

Honorable Mention:

"Girls and Boys in Love" by the Rumble Strips
"Sons of Cain" by Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
"Jack the Ripper" by the Horrors (special note: If the Horrors had a brain and released the original fast demo version of this song on their debut Strange House, it would have been an easy top 10.)
"Ragoo" by Kings of Leon
"Heart It Races" by Architecture in Helsinki
"Geld Essen" by K.I.Z.

#10. "The Prayer" by Bloc Party from Weekend in the City - This song is one of the most interesting songs Bloc Party has recorded. Too bad the rest of the album (short of "Hunting for Witches") just wasn't as cool.

Best of 2007: Sarah Jo's picks

Sarah Joann Murphy — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:20:58 +0000

In absolutely no numeric order -- I could never pick favorites with a list like this!

Jens Lekman at Nectar

imaginary liz — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 19:46:02 +0000

6 Nov 2007

JensL07nov03.jpg

I arrived to Nectar in Fremont in time for a bit of a set of Viktor Sjöberg (the Swedish DJ touring with Jens and also providing backing laptop / electronic accompaniment during the Jens set) and his selections provided a comfy soundtrack for the tightening of the venue.

By the time Throw Me The Statue took the stage, the place was packed to the gills yet the slightly socialist vibe kept folks in check.

TMTS's set started off with a slow song that left me a bit lukewarm. As some may already know, the subtleties of songs without blatant hooks are lost on me. The oceanic sway and furrowed brow of the meandering opener wasn't lost on the bulk of the crowd, however, and by the time TMTS hit the their third song, they hit full stride with both contingents (me and 'the others'). THIS was the Throw Me The Statue I'd been promised: a quintet of blissful guys crafting rollicking fuzzy songs that shimmered with the tinny authenticity of Guided By Voices and the lush wherewithal of a Bruce Springsteen anthem.

Halfway through the set, they turned on the iPod to offer a bass'd out backdrop for "Yucatan Gold," and although the bass was so loud in kinda hurt my insides, this gem of a TMTS song remained a highlight of the set... matched only by their cover of my favorite GBV song ("My Valuable Hunting Knife").

Between sets our neighborly vibe was broken for a bit when it was announced that *someone* had stolen Jens Lekman's merch. Wishes for bad karma for those folks oozed from the crowd. That surely had to be done from someone visiting from out of state, right?

But the bad news didn't dampen the spirits of the band. Shortly after the announcement, the eight-piece took the stage, all donning shy smiles and pristine white uniforms with hand-painted whimsicalities.

It was immediately apparent that Jens Lekman has his stage show down. Stacking the stage with six Swedish females and DJ Viktor and dressing the crew up in white was a striking vision. As they proceeded through the set, Jens’s study at the Jonathan Richman School of Performing Arts was confirmed. The magnetic frontman charismatically led the audience through straight-faced observations of everyday peculiarities in classic Jonathan fashion. He effortlessly augmented the songs’ plotlines with spoken-word intros and mid-song interludes.

Between these well-spun tales, Jens and crew gracefully moved through his catalog with soft landscape with violins, samples, sax, trumpet, accordion and that sweet Dean Martin-era croon to envelop the audience in velvety renditions of old and new favorites. While he played my two favorites ("Maple Leaves" and "Black Cab" -- side note: Can you believe he played "Black Cab" so early on -- a bold and happy move of making it a fifth song in the set!?!), he loaded the set list with songs from the new release, Night Falls Over Kortedala (including "The Opposite of Hallelujah," "Postcard to Nina," "Sipping the Sweet Nectar," "Shirin" and "Fright Night at the Drive-In Bingo," which he ended the set with).

Even before he and the band left the stage the audience roared in an effort to earn an encore. People had forgotten it was a Tuesday and wanted the evening to last into the wee hours. With the encore came more Jens sweet-talking, a cover of Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al" (classed up with the disclaimer "I'm a fan of silly songs, but I never liked the chorus of that song and I never liked Chevy Chase's stupid face") and "Tram #7 to Heaven."

The evening was a high point for the year and further solidified Night Falls Over Kortedala on my best-of list.

Jens and crew gracefully moved through his catalog with soft landscape with violins, samples, sax, trumpet, accordion and that sweet Dean Martin-era croon to envelop the audience in velvety renditions of old and new favorites.

Photo of the moment: Jens Lekman at Nectar

imaginary dana — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:16:51 +0000

The full review is coming soon... but in the meantime, have a look at a few fantastic photos from the Jens Lekman show Tuesday night. ZOW!!!!!

Photos of the moment: Jens Lekman at Easy Street Records

imaginary dana — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 19:15:11 +0000

Photos by the fantastic Laura Musselman. Was the Easy Street in-store as packed as Nectar was last night?