Live: The Swell Season: LoveLoveLove

If you've seen the movie Once, you know that if a European couple has melodies and electricity, they're bound to become not only the cutest couple ever but also quite successful.

Now, i've seen the movie, only once (sorry), and it was a while ago so i wasn't as highly anticipating this show at Massey Hall as much as i should have. But as soon as they began, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, their spark of light was infectious and i was captured in the glow for two straight hours, never falling into the dark.

But let's back up here for a second. Opener Bill Calahan = ghastly. Within his first song i already dozed off for a few seconds, his baritone more than i could handle (and i already get enough of it from The National). he had a few good songs, but i couldn't grasp onto his lyrics i.e. something alond the lines of: "i love my momma, my poppa, my sisters too. but i bought this guitar to sing about my love for you". yeah. So, he's actually formerly known as Smog and had a song on the High Fidelity soundtrack. therefore he has slight props. but as Bill, he didn't do it for me. it was quite funny after the set my roommate and i turned to each other, as i said "uuuurgh that was terrible" and she said "really? i thought it was amazing". conflicting tastes.

i want to gush about The Swell Season now. Yes, they're an actual real band, they're not just playing around after they made a movie. There's four other members: electric guitar, bass, drums, and violin. Together, while Marketa's on piano and Glen's on acoutsic guitar, they made beauty.

there were two things about this show that i want to share with you:
1 -- the amount of love that filled the room as glen and marketa wove their melodies together (i.e. "The Moon" will make you cry and "Falling Slowly" will make you stop what you're doing) was so powerful. the entire crowd that filled massey hall's crazy seats at even crazier steep heights was still for the two hours that they played. couples everywhere. aww's floating about. now, normally i would be all "euuuch" but that day i was just so happy off of some other people's warmth. (ha).

2 -- glen hansard feels music in his bones. this man lives and breathes musical notes and lyrics and his life experiences that he shared can prove it, along with the way he yells during some songs as he stomps the floor. it's not pain, it's something greater. it's emotion and dedication. he can make anything into a song (i.e. an entire story about a dog that would watch cars go by on the street for years). he explained almost every song, which made the concert so much better. you can just feel the shakes he shoves as he pushes out the notes from his throat. it's like nothing i've ever seen.

Here are some videos up on YouTube by other people with better views: (i really just wish everyone could have seen this show)
To see "Go With Happiness", click here. Also, at the end, you'll see what i was talking about with Glen. oh, and here too: "I Have Loved You Wrong"
"Back Broke"
the effect of Glen's storytelling with "Low Rising"
"Say It To Me Now"