Peter, Björn, John, Fugiya, Miyagi, et al: The Report

Tuesday night held a concert I had anticipated for some time now. Peter Bjorn and John rocked the shit out of the Webster Hall stage in front of a capacity crowd. Maybe it was the people I met, maybe it was the rounds that were consumed, or maybe it was the energy on stage, but for some reason or another I had more fun last night than I have had at a concert in a very long time.

Au Revoir Simone started off with a set that never really grabbed me. The Brooklyn trio has a chill sound, but maybe it's just too chill for my taste - in concert at least. I just never felt much of an edge from any of the girls, and though their music was very listenable, I enjoyed chatting with the folks beside me more than I enjoyed listening to their tracks. I would guess that they're better through headphones while walking the streets at night. I'm not counting them out, but no rave reviews here.

Next up was Fujiya & Miyagi, an electronica/rock trio from Brighton, England. Their set was a definite step up from ARS, but I still felt like something was missing. Part way through the set I knew what it was: the vocal intensity. David Best (Miyagi), the lead vocalist, basically speak-sings, and while I really dig these guys on their album, that lack of intensity brought their live performance down a bit. Regardless, they did play some really great stuff. "Collarbone" and "Ankle Injuries" are a few of my favorite tracks of their 2006 record Transparent Things.

Finally came the Swedish sensations. Peter Bjorn and John took the stage after much anticipation and restlessness from the crowd. I was impressed throughout their set at the energy they brought to the stage - the intensity that I felt was missing from the first two acts. I sang along, as did the rest of the crowd, to a number of their songs, and found myself lost in the act, no longer looking objectively at their performance. When that happens, it's a sure sign of brilliance. One of my favorite tracks was "Amsterdam," in which they sang the first verse or two with only a guitar and two voices, but the highlight of the night for myself and many others was their hit, "Young Folks." Before playing the song, John said "we're going to play our hit," rather than save it for the end, and the crowd was ecstatic. Heather D'Angelo of Au Revoir Simone joined the boys for the track, taking the place of Victoria Bergsman (The Concretes) who can be heard singing the track on PB&J's 2006 record Writer's Block. They pulled it off with style and I left the evening with more faith than ever in Swedish indie rock. Thank you Peter, thank you Björn, and thank you John.

The setlist was as follows:
Far Away, By My Side
See Through
Chills
Start to Melt
Big Black Coffin
Collect, Select, Reflect
Amsterdam
Paris
Young Folks
Objects
Up Against

Poor Cow
Let's Call It Off
Teen Love

[mp3] Fujiya & Miyagi - "Photocopier" (Transparent Things) | iTunes

[mp3] Peter Bjorn and John - "The Chills" (Writer's Block) | iTunes

[mp3] Peter Bjorn and John - "Young Folks" (Writer's Block) | iTunes