The Tallest Man on Earth probably deserves all of the internet buzz he’s been receiving these days. Kristian Matsson, the man behind the moniker, is a beautiful (both physically and aurally) folk musician from Sweden. Dreamier even than Jens Lekman, I was delighted to find that his cutesy folk tunes translate better live. What sometimes comes across as whining and twee on his records was guttural and emotional live. With so many comparisons to Dylan (who is even listed as an influence on his myspace page), I was happy to find that Matsson’s growling howl reminded me more of Bruce Springsteen’s snarl when heard in person. With nothing but his guitar and voice, it was easy to see that the kid just has talent oozing out of him. The only other time I’ve heard the Bowery Ballroom stay so quiet was for Feist several years ago, and we all know what happened to her. Give The Tallest Man on Earth one more album, and he’ll be on a Mac ad selling out enormous venues, too. At one point in the show, his guitar suddenly cut out. What turned out to be a busted cable ended up being one of the most endearing moments of the entire show. Without skipping a beat or throwing panicked looks at the sound guy, Matsson hushed the audience and played acoustically, playing and singing into the same microphone. The problem was fixed by the next song (after Matsson gallantly shook the engineer’s hand), but he had the crowd so enraptured he could have played totally unplugged the entire set.
I have no idea what Red Cortez was doing opening for Tallest Man on Earth. A band that clearly hails from Los Angeles (it was the clothes- I don’t know how to describe it better than that), they played a weird mix of indie and generic rock. I imagine them as the Strokes infused with Billy Joel, though I’m not really sure how that works. While I could see this band having wide commercial appeal and even getting played on commercial radio, they were just the wrong band to pair with Tallest Man. Certainly not my cup of tea.
Red Cortez:
The Tallest Man on Earth:
MP3: “The Sparrow and the Medicine” – The Tallest Man on Earth
1 Comment
April 16, 2009 at 1:21 pm
i loved the show last night. great pictures!
I thought Red Cortez were pretty incredible, though i agree it was a strange opening band for Tallest Man on Earth.
But I thought the whole night was just great!