Venue:
Bryggarsalen, Stockholm
Date: 17/08/2017
Walking into the venue on this warm summer night, my first impression of it was that it smelled a bit like a sewer. But perhaps it was a faint ghost of the stench it must have posessed back in the days when this was a brewery…I’ve visited functioning breweries and they smell worse than any sewer!
A Swedish band whose name I didn’t catch opened for Courtney with songs of the Americana kind; pretty good but not good enough for me to google their name…
Courtney Marie Andrews looks incredibly young to possess such a powerful voice and such mature songwriting gifts, and along with her equally young band members they look like a bunch of hipsters that met in a juice bar and decided to form a band. So when, after the excellent opening track of “How Quickly Your Heart Mends”, Courtney announces the next track with the line “this is a song about the gentrification of American cities”, we all giggle. But it’s easy to forget the hipster haircuts, beards and hats of “Joe and the Juice” (the name I give the band in my mind as they step onto the stage) as soon as Courtney’s sensational voice rings out and song after beautiful song keeps coming. F*ck “Americana”; this is modern country music and it’s as steeped in tradition as it is original and fresh.
Among the many hit & runs from the latest album they also play a very good new song, and as usual I’m on one or two occasions forced to fiddle about with my camera to avoid tearing up.
We get an hour’s worth of brilliant music, including one encore, and you couldn’t tell that this was the first gig of their European tour, or that they’d been travelling for 21 hours to get here.
After the gig they all headed for the merch table, and for a brief moment I considered buying my first band/artist T-shirt ever until I realised that it’s cash only. The bar, on the other hand, was card only…so at least I got a nice stiff drink to celebrate the evening with!
The audience:
Well, a few hipsters on this side of the stage as well, and plenty of men of what I like to call the “middle-aged nodders” variety. It’s what it says on the tin: middle-aged men who only move their heads when listening to music – god forbid anyone could mistake them for dancers…
As usual the Big and Tall Club For Men was in attendance and eager to stand in front of the shortest woman in the room (me).
It made me think..
If she’s this good now, how good will her songwriting be when she’s fifty and has had a longer lifetime of experiences to express? With only four months left of the year, “Honest Life” still looks secure in the Top Five of 2017 list…
Locust says
Unfortunately the very first Swedish mini mingle was postponed – neither Duco nor Kaisfatdad could join me as we had hoped. Too bad (for them mainly; missing a good gig) but one of these days it will happen! 🙂
retropath2 says
Terrific review, she really is a precocious talent as she effortlessly wriggles her head and shoulders above a current throng of what Gram called cosmic american music. Haven’t seen her yet and must remedy that.
Kaisfatdad says
That Stockholm mini mingle looks like it could well happen soon.
It was a great shame to miss Courtney (and Locust) last night. She has a voice to die for.
Regrettably there is too much happening here this week. It’s the annual Culture Festival with lots of free gigs. Mrs KFD wanted to see Bowie in Berlin, songs from the Thin White Duke’s German period performed by a full orchestra and a trio of excellent singers including Magnus Carlson from Weeping Willows. So I had to take care of our daughter. And where better to do that than next to the large wooden elephant currently under construction by an army of young pachydermophile carpenters? That way I could at least hear the Bowie show.
Earlier in the evening I saw this wonderful band:Symbio.
Nothing brightens up a sunny Nordic summer evening quite like a hurdy gurdy accordion duo. The serious folky crowd in the audience were all stroking their beards so I was very pleased when an impromptu accordion moshpit broke out in front of the stage. At the sound of a squeezebox, any sane person will want to dance.
Locust says
Yes, between schools starting and holidays ending with everyone having to catch up with work, and plenty of free festivals and events popping up to soften the shock of trading the lazy summer tempo for the hectic business tempo; everybody’s very busy!
Having my birthday at this time of year I’m used since childhood to not getting birthday parties due to no-one having the time to attend them, and trying to put together my 50th celebration this year has proven to be as difficult as always. Good thing I’m used to this and not very interested in birthdays – after spending hours and days emailing familymembers to find a suitable date for all, I’ve had to give up on gathering all of them on the same occasion. I’ll get several mini celebrations instead, and on the day I’ll celebrate on my own at another gig!
About your squeezebox comment: well, if the right person plays the right melody on the right kind of accordion, I’m ready to agree with you. But if the wrong person plays the wrong melody on the wrong kind of accordion, it can drive a sane person insane, and then dancing is definitely out of the question; replace the word “dance” with “beat up the accordionist”… 😀
Gatz says
Afterword T shirt – Middle Aged Nodder (above a circle illustrating a dance move with a red line through it).
I couldn’t honestly wear one though. I’m more of a middle aged shuffler, with occaisional outbreaks of dad-dancing.
Blue Boy says
Great review, Locust. Very sorry to be missing her Manchester show next week but given how her star is rising, hopefully she’ll be back soon.
Kaisfatdad says
Fingers crossed that Courtney’s star continues to rise. She has been a professional musician since her teens, so she has certainly paid her dues. Along with that stupendous voice, she has a great capacity to interact with an audience and some excellent tales to tell.
And while we are talking about rising young talents, here is another talented lass who I saw live at the Culture Festival earlier this week: Ellen Andersson.
Singing Gloomy Sunday aka the Hungarian Suicide Song.
H.P. Saucecraft says
“Singing Gloomy Sunday aka the Hungarian Suicide Song.”
Kaisfatdad says
Just in case there are some doubters, who have not discovered Ms Andrews yet, this may nudge them in the right direction.
When I saw her, she was accompanied simply by this rather wonderful pedal steel guitarist, I hope he is still in her band.
Locust says
No, unless he’s had a radical haircut and changed instruments, he wasn’t in her band now.
I just got back from Skeppsbron where I saw another great gig, but I won’t do a Nights Out about it as I’m pretty sure that the Afterword is even less interested in Andreas Mattsson than in Courtney Marie Andrews! 😀
Kaisfatdad says
There is only one way to find out….
It’s a lovely song. To be honest, although I knew of Popsicle, I had never heard of him until yesterday. Glad to hear it was a good gig.
Let’s have one from Popsicle too. The indie “kids” here may have heard of them.
Locust says
Ah, you must have skimmed all the many posts I’ve mentioned him in then… 😉 Year best of lists etc.
ALL of his songs are lovely and amazing and gorgeous. Three solo albums, all of which I’d recommend highly to anyone. The latest one from last year is his first in Swedish, and the gig was all of those songs (plus a new one) played pretty much in order I think.
I absolutely adore everything he’s ever recorded (including his album as “Sweet Chariots” with Niclas Frisk). Go forth and Spotify, and be richly rewarded!
Neela says
Sweet Chariots is high on my list of great Swedish albums no one has heard. A lost classic.
Kaisfatdad says
As most of us, myself included, have not swung low with the Chariots, let’s put that right.
Neela says
There it is!
Remember hearing that at the time thinking it was great and would be a huge hit. It’s still great, but was never a hit. Songs I like usually aren’t and vice versa. Is it me or everybody else?
Locust says
Actually, before I went on holiday, I heard this being played on the radio (P4 Stockholm) almost every day for a while! It started when they played it before an interview with one of the actors in the TV series it was the theme tune for, and I guess it must have reminded everyone at the station of how great it is.
That’s not a great live version though – Niclas sounds like he’s having throat problems and the band isn’t as tight as on the album, the real euphoria of the original never quite arrives…
Thankfully the album got a rerelease some years ago, because my original copy was pinched by someone (with great taste in music) when I hosted a party a very long time ago! Some great bonus tracks on it as well.
Kaisfatdad says
Googled. The TV show was VÃ¥ra Vänners Liv (Our friends’ lives)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1509717/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
From what I can glean Sweet Chariots did all the music from the show, writing several new songs for it.
This blogger agrees with Neela, describing the Sweet Chariots album as one of the great under-rated Swedish pop albums. And it’s in English, so language is no barrier.
http://www.classiercorn.com/2010/12/vara-vanners-liv.html#.WZn4VoVOIv0