Jens Lekman @ Rocket Bar,Adelaide (06/03/08)

Mon 10th Mar, 2008 in Gig Reviews

I was really excited when I found out Jens Lekman was playing at Rocket. I knew from listening to his album Night Falls Over Kortedala compulsively whilst on holiday, this guy was someone I wanted to know more about. He started off with two new up-tempo songs. The vocal clarity was impressive. It’s nice that people who may not be familiar with him, had the opportunity to comprehend his lyrics, his gem. His mic was loud and I was loving it. The crowd were surprisingly still considering how the tracks lend themselves to dancing. But I was the same, mesmerised at what faces Jens was pulling, and his mannerisms. He built this genuine rapport with the audience, made more impressive by the fact all the band’s instruments were lost on the way over here.

The highlight for the first half was definitely Postcards To Nina : hilarious and musically brilliant. Jens details the story of a close friend, who to make the story brief, tricked Jens into concealing she was a lesbian to her parents. Jens started by strumming and chatting the details of his experience to us. It was personalised, and he had everyone hooked. Once he’d burst into the song, the crowd buzzed, laughed, then welcomed another story interlude after the chorus. I can’t detail it here, but it was just so…great.

After a few classics, the set climaxed at Sipping on the Sweet Nectar . In a musical interlude, Jens alluded to his aviation-themed film-clip, by dancing like a soaring plane. It was so appropriate given the bubbly sound to the song. I was really aware of everyone’s positive comments; there were gasps, and exclamations of “oh my god, he’s so awesome”, and the like. Everything Jens did seemed natural, which made his performance all the more personalised. After an encore, and having the audience clap, and relax, his band re-entered the stage. Jens thought they were on a time limit, which they weren’t, and so he wished to play more, including a solo performance of a crowd request.
Personally, a true sign of a great performance is one that affects the mood of the evening. I was so profoundly content and calm after seeing him. Walking home, I commented to my friend, how perfect a night it had been. His performance and songs were swimming in my head for days after. It was one of the most memorable gigs I’ve seen.