Photos by Ty Hyten
The Scene: An afternoon high of 97 turned the packed Ogden into an oven and it only got hotter as the theater filled in. The crowd was your standard Indie-Folk crowd: groups of twenty and thirtysomethings, drinking skunked microbrews, trying to find a clear view of the stage. There was also a surprising amount of college-aged girls, dressed in their North Cali by way of Urban Outfitters in Cherry Creek Mall best.
Opener: Lady Lamb. Lady Lamb, formerly Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, opened the night with a set of strummy electric guitar Folk. I enjoyed most of what I heard, but gently strummed electric guitar through a clean amp tends to make for poor accompaniment for a singer-songwriter. Despite being much less captivating than her records, the crowd stood silent and listened intently.
The Tallest Man On Earth: Kristian Matsson, or The Tallest Man On Earth, is the Swedish folk musician who made his name through his solo recordings filled with colorful yet inscrutable lyrics, intricate open-tuned fingerstyle guitar playing, and his roaring beautifully unsanded voice. In May he released his first instrumentally dense album, The Dark Bird Is Home. For me, the fullness of the album watered down what makes The Tallest Man On Earth so remarkable. His cutting voice is lost in reverb and both his guitar and vocal drown in a vast collection of guitars, keys, and backup vocals. Songs which would have otherwise been valuable additions to his catalog are busy and the rawness of the underlying work is buried.
On Wednesday, Matsson brought this new sound to town with a full band, for the first time. He was backed by four multi-instrumentalists, including Mike Noyce from Bon Iver, though the focus was still left mostly on Matsson, whose vocal and guitar sat highest in the mix. The addition of drums and bass gave a huge boost of energy to once barren, introspective songs while at the same time taking away some of the magic of The Tallest Man On Earth shows of the past.
Matsson seemed to be energized by the full band as well. He ran around the stage, bending at the knees and glaring wild and wide-eyed into the crowd, who believe it or not, were actually dancing at times. It was enjoyable and contagious, but the eerie silence, vulnerability, and captivating darkness of the solo songs spread throughout the night were moments that I left clutching like a treasured keepsake.
Playing solo, Matsson’s voice generated goosebumps as he sang “Well I walk upon the river, like it’s easier than land. Evil’s in my pocket and your will is in my hand” on “Love Is All.” The crowd quietly but assuredly sang along, holding tightly to the original cadence as Matsson wandered, his voice the sweet roar of a new baseball card in the spokes of a speeding bike. He followed with “The Gardner,” eliciting louder singing from the crowd. During the songs, the crowd was mostly silent, though there were moments of drunk chatter. “I don’t mean to be a dick, but I do want you to shut up” he said as he grabbed a towel, a chair, and wiped the sweat from his drenched face. Matsson finished a three song run of solo songs with a gorgeous “Thousand Ways.”
The patches of solo songs made for the absolute highlights of the evening, including a solo piano version of “Little Nowhere Town.” This isn’t to discredit his band, who were an extremely talented group of musicians. They switched between guitars, bass, violin, pedal steel, and saxophone and contributed to versions of “The Wild Hunt” and “King of Spain” that were even better than the more quiet album versions. Their playing was decidedly unified and used to create a wall of sound rather than to provide embellishment.
After a brief moment off stage, Matsson returned and began the encore with “The Dreamer;” walking the stage with only a microphone and the newfound swagger that a backing band allows. He grabbed an iPhone and took a photo of the drummer, returning it to a surprised young fan.
The final song of the night was another from the 2010 Sometimes The Blues Is Just a Passing Bird EP. The band gathered around a single mic and sang as Matsson played “Like The Wheel.”
Newer listeners to The Tallest Man On Earth may have considered Wednesday night to be one of the best shows they’ve seen all year. More tenured fans probably recognized it for the incredible show that it was but, if they’re like me, couldn’t help but compare it to magic of the raw solo performances in years past. The best artists evolve musically, perhaps listeners like me just evolve a little bit slower.
Energy: A+
Musicianship: A
Sound: A
Stage Presence: A+
Set/Light Show: A-
Overall: A
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