What to do when it's cold outside and there are leaves to be raked? Oh yeah, delay by writing a concert review.
Last evening I caught a show by The Swell Season at The Pageant concert club in the Delmar Loop area of St. Louis. The Swell Season is a band led by gregarious Irishman Glenn Hansard. He also has fronted a band called The Frames in his native land for almost 20 years. In 2007, Hansard starred in a movie called "Once" with a young singer/songwriter from the Czech Republic named Markéta Irglová. The duo collaborated on a beautiful song in the film called "Falling Slowly" that won the 2008 Academy Award for best song. Hansard and Irglová formed The Swell Season with members of The Frames soon after that win. I missed them when they came to town last year and didn't want to miss them this time around. This was the penultimate show on a tour in support of their new album, "Strict Joy."
Hansard and Irglova entered the stage alone to perform two songs from the "Once" soundtrack, then the rest of the band joined them. What followed was over two hours of great playing and singing. Hansard is a friendly, engaging singer who stopped often to talk about his songs and how they were written. Irglová also took a couple of solo turns to show off her songs. Hansard's band The Frames was more than capable in backing the singers, showing off incredible musicianship in their playing. I particularly enjoyed the many moments when the crowd became impromptu backup vocalists at Hansard's urging.
Singer/songwriter Rachael Yamagata warmed up the crowd with a 45-minute set of her songs. She and her guitarist friend did a great job and were invited back to the stage during The Swell Season's set to play a couple more songs.
It was a really enjoyable night. I only wish Highway 40 could have opened a few days early so I would have had an easier ride home. Monday, Monday!
And if you've never seen "Once," you really need to. Seriously.
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