It's been a few years since we've heard from Jens Lekman, the singer-songwriter from Sweden (first name pronounced Yens) whose 2007 album, Night Falls Over Kortedala, brimmed with lush, arresting arrangements about heartbreak and the perils of pretending to be your lesbian pal's boyfriend at her family dinner. The album won indie hearts, and made it all the way to Kirsten Dunst, who praised Lekman in an interview. It says a lot about Lekman's musical style that he now has a song called "Waiting for Kirsten," about his ill-fated attempt to meet her when she visited his home town in Sweden. The funny little number, performed last night, ends abruptly [SPOILER] with the line: "But the receptionist said I was drunk and asked me to leave." Here's video, from his last gig in LA:
Jens Lekman Plays to Sold-Out Swooning Crowd in Brooklyn
Gothamist's Week in Rock, Volume 44
Jens Lekman is one of our favorite songwriters, so any opportunity to see the funnyman crooner play is a treat, no matter the circumstances. The set at Webster Hall was generally excellent. Bordering on Magical, in fact, a perfect mix of his old and new -- mixing in Swedish deadpan quips and stories the whole time through. The only knock we had came from the venue, which we usually enjoy. The sound was fine, the site lines were good, the bands came out on time, but on this night, they started opening up the night club a little bit earlier. Around 30 minutes into his set, the thumping dance beats could be felt through the floor loud and strong enough that you could actually make out the song at times. It was distracting, to say the least, especially during the quieter songs. It even forced a puzzled Jens to ask what was going on during his encore, before attempting to play along to the beat. Webster Hall has taken giant strides over the last few years to become a perfectly good rock venue, but an extra layer of soundproofing would go a long way to remove the cheesy dance club stigma for the concert attendees. (pic via Ryan Dombal's flickr)
Pencil This In
MOVIE: Netflix Rolling Roadshow presents The Warriors. Watch the local turf wars play out on a big screen in Coney Island. Tickets are on a first come, first serve basis. And for some reason, Lisa Loeb is hosting this and there will be a Q&A following the movie.
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