My girlfriend and I have an arrangement. If she ever gets a chance to run away with Jens Lekman, she will take it with no regrets. I can’t blame her. After seeing Jens on Saturday night at the Triple Rock, I would probably run away with him too.
The young Swede is an incredible songwriter, musician, and entertainer—not to mention the fact that he is, in my girlfriend’s words, “completely adorable.” My part of the deal is that I get to do the same with Leslie Feist, if a similar situation ever arises. Since both Feist and Lekman have now visited the Cities this year without whisking either of us away to paradise, I doubt that we have much to worry about. Ah well.
In short, Jens Lekman’s set was one of the best I have ever seen. By the time he began playing “The Opposite of Hallelujah,” the second song of the set, I knew that we were in for a spellbinding evening.
Though Jens shouted out to the soundman every once in a while to correct some technical problems, from the audience’s perspective the show was flawless. The accordion, trumpet, saxophone, violin, and viola all came through as clear as bells. When woven together with some piped-in sampling, it created a gorgeous orchestra that commanded the attention of every last person in the bar.
Not least of all was Lekman’s voice—a sweet, melancholic baritone, reminiscent of Jonathan Richman in its romantic and guileless lyricism.
Lekman’s band was, with the exception of the DJ, entirely female. Everyone was dressed in white skirts and button-downs, reminding me of nurses from the 1950s. For the most part they all looked extremely Swedish—especially the drummer, who looked like a cross between Julia Roberts and the St. Pauli Girl.
Wearing a pair of dazzling white wingtips, Jens bounced and bobbed around, telling the audience at one point that he really appreciated their letting loose and dancing. He told us, “You are better than New York,” before demonstrating his impression of NYC crowds—with arms crossed and a very serious frown.
You can’t mention Jens Lekman without acknowledging the guy’s dry sense of humor. When he played the peerless “A Postcard to Nina,” he recounted the true story of pretending to be his friend Nina’s fiancé so that her father wouldn’t discover that she is a lesbian.
The song makes me laugh out loud, while also making me a little sad—and that’s a perfect example of Lekman’s humor. He disarms you with self-effacing charm, but there’s always a tinge of melancholy underneath.
This came through both in his songs and his stage banter—like when he assured the audience that “Sweden isn’t just about pornography and gonorrhea,” or when he covered Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al” but skipped the chorus because he hates it. He also told us he “fucking hates Chevy Chase,” who appears in the (admittedly annoying) music video.
For me, there were two incredible highlights of the show, both during the encore.
The first was “A Sweet Summer’s Night on Hammer Hill,” with its funky-as-hell horn part and the audience filling in all the “bumba boom” heartbeats.
The second—and the perfect ending to a perfectly sweet evening—was “Pocketful of Money,” performed solo. We all joined in on the Johnny Cash–esque background vocals. When no one was singing, not a voice was heard, not a bottle clinked. I think everyone in that bar was so completely caught up in the music that people forgot to breathe.
At the end of the song, Jens did a little impromptu scat vocal, thanked us profusely, and stood there grinning like a child while the audience went nuts.
Perhaps not everyone had the same experience I did. Maybe I missed some flaws or rough edges while I was glowing with glee. But to paraphrase a Lekman line, I was “a prisoner of this moment.”
And whatever anyone else experienced, for me it was absolutely wonderful.
Setlist
Into Eternity
The Opposite of Hallelujah
A Postcard to Nina
It Was a Strange Time in My Life
Your Arms Around Me
Black Cab
You Are the Light (By Which I Travel Into This and That)
Cold Swedish Winter
Sipping on the Sweet Nectar
Maple Leaves
Shirin
Encore #1
A Sweet Summer’s Night on Hammer Hill
Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo
Encore #2 (solo)
You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon cover)
Pocketful of Money