swedish pop: jens lekman & taken by trees

venue: the fillmore
band: jens lekman with taken by trees
who: ashley
when: 5 november 2012 (monday)
doors open at 7p

i was supposed to see taken by trees at noise pop back in 2008. but the band got their equipment stolen and cancelled all the shows including the one i had tickets for. it was a bummer. so i was thrilled to see that she was opening for jens. for those who have not heard of taken by trees, it is the solo project of victoria bergsman, former lead singer for the concretes. her voice was quite sweet and lovely, much like her.

we arrived early so we could get prime seating in the balcony. we had a nice view into the stage from the left. jens was touring his latest album i know what love isn't. after making music about being in love and breaking hearts, this was heartbreak. his heartbreak. despite that, he can still put on a show.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

jens lekman at nightlife

venue: california academy of sciences
artist: jens lekman
who: ro
when: 29 september 2011 (thursday)
doors open at 6:30p

it has been two years since we last saw jens. plus, it was twice in 2009 and twice in 2008. he's spoiled us! he is still so so adorable! he has a new ep out and plans to release the new album sometime in the near future. which hopefully means, we'll get another double dose of him. i can't wait!

for more on jens and how i heart him, please click on his name below in the "labels" section.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

double the shows, double the love

venue: bottom of the hill (sold out!!)
artist: jens lekman & tig notaro (opening act)
who: ro
when: 1-2 june 2009 (monday & tuesday)

i flew back early from LA last weekend to make it to the jens lekman show on monday. ro was kind enough to pick me up from the airport to head straight to the show. we planned on going to goat hill pizza again but the wait (it was all-you-can-eat night) was too long so we ended up at lingba, just across the street. no wait and actually, not a whole lot of people in the lounge. we ordered the seafood platter, which was nothing special. maybe it was all the fried food (french fries & onion rings) i'd had in burbank. but i couldn't really handle all the fried calamari and fried prawns. ro & i barely touched the calamari but we finished the spring rolls and grilled prawns. i also ate the pineapple base for the grilled prawns. it was so-so for the price.

ro read that the opening was something we shouldn't miss. so, we got in line and waited to get in. tig notaro is a stand-up comic who does this type of awkward comedy. she was very entertaining. so much that i became of "fan" of hers on stalkerbook. check her skits out on youtube.

about jens... i don't know if this post can convey the awe & love i feel for him and his music. and, i know i'm not the only one. as i stood in the middle of this sold-out crowd watching him, i could see and feel everyone around me doing & feeling the same. we were all completely and utterly mesmerized by jens. he's spellbinding. and his voice is perfect with every pitch and beat. we didn't want him to stop. even if he was just talking, i think we'd still all be totally hooked and hanging onto his every syllable. to top it off, he's absolutely adorable! this was just from the first show.

on the second night, we decided we could skip tig notaro and make it to goat hill pizza. we were seated next to these two guys. i swear, if i couldn't hear their voices but heard every single word of their conversation, i would have thought they were chicks. because they were whining about the opposite sex like stupid little girls. i mean, the guy was analyzing every l i t t l e thing. and the chick he was in love with was playing him like the fool he clearly is. pathetic. ro & i hardly said a word to each other in an effort to eavesdrop on our neighbors. you couldn't not eavesdrop as you are seated in such close proximity to one another. they were so absorbed with this guy's girl problems that i don't think they noticed us listening. heh. oh yeah, the pizza was yummy.

at the last two shows (three including this second night), jens makes an announcement about recording his shows. well, a request really. he asks that if we so choose to film the show, that we don't put it online. this second night, i decided to bring my flip and i'm not talking about ro. hahaha. anyway, ro was again, so kind to be the guest videographer for the night. he has the creativity for it and frankly, if i had filmed it, it would just be a bunch of backs & heads of the people in front and all around me. the sound on that little camcorder is pretty amazing. i was quite impressed with it as well as ro's zooming in & out at all the right times. thanks ro!

jens invited us to stay after to talk to him as he did the last two shows. i was a bit too tired the night before so tonight was going to be the night! we went outside and waited for him, along with everyone else. i so wanted to talk to him but i didn't want to be the retard i was the last time. so i chickened out and we left. booooo. i know, i'm lame. :(

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ bom, bom, bom, bom, bom....

top live show of 2008

looking back at 2008, i notice that there were more 5 ♥-rated shows than any other year. the nominees are (in chronological order): starting in march 2008, jens lekman gets two 5 ♥ ratings. next up in october, stars scores a 5 ♥ rating at the fillmore. then we have lykke li at the independent and she & him at the fillmore. and finally, the rosebuds at the independent. all three of those in november.

and the artist with the best show in 2008 is...

jens lekman. he won two 5 ♥ ratings and i think the best show was his at the bottom of the hill. it was very special. intimate, awesome sound, and the cherry on top, an unsolicited hug from jens after the show. *sigh*

in second place is... stars. i've seen them 7 times now and they just get better and better. the fillmore show was quite fantastic. i just wished we got fillmore posters for that show.

runners up are lykke li, rosebuds and she & him. they were fabulous shows in their own individual ways. funny, i went to all of these shows with ro. he must be a factor in the 5 ♥ ratings. ;)

speaking of she & him, a little gossip for fans (but you probably already know)... i read that zooey deschanel is engaged to ben gibbard from death cab (congrats!). i didn't even know they were dating!

happy birthday, sweet lisa!

#2.1-j lekman - happy birthday, sweet lisa
by lablogotheque

i ♥ ♥ jens lekman pt.2

venue: bottom of the hill (sold out!)
artist: jens lekman (soloact) & a horrendous opening act
who: ro
when: 23 mar 2008 (easter sunday)

yep, ro & i saw jens lekman two nights in a row. the two nights were different. the bimbo's show was bigger with a full band. and last night's show was him, his guitar and tammy from the band. oh yeah, the easter bunny came to last night's show too.

the opening act was called something-claro (with a rolling rrrrr). as soon as he started singing, he lost me. i was answering work emails (thank goodness for my phone). it was the longest set ever. and one of the worst openings i'd had to endure in a long time. his songs were repetitive. and the worst part was that he couldn't shut the fuck up inbetween his songs. ugh. if he didn't talk between his songs, it would have felt like one long boring song. thinking about that guy gives me a headache.

during the opening act, EVERYONE was talking and no one was listening. when jens lekman came on, it was completely silent. you could hear the bar serving drinks. and again, he was better than perfect. the sound there is pretty awesome too. the only negative thing for me, personally, is that i couldn't really see. but that's sort of the case at most venues. especially the small venues. that is, if i'm not sitting at the bar or something. the bottom of the hill is a much smaller venue compared to bimbo's. the song list was slightly different. and songs were played differently as well. he transition into songs without a beat and seamlessly. he can really bellow out those notes. he's amazing. it's hard to believe he wrote black cab when he was 18.

during the encore, he sang se a vida é (that's the way life is) by the pet shop boys from their bilingual album. jens's version was slow and beautiful. this show was really very special.
after the show, he had this sort of meet & greet thing. after the last two shows at bimbo's, he says he will come down and dance with the audience. we never stayed for those. and i rarely make the effor to meet musicians unless they are at their merch table. jens was different. i actually wanted to wait around with the rest of the crowd to meet him and get a picture. we waited a bit and followed the crowd to the smoking area outside. he was singing with his guitar. after which, i squeezed my way to the front to get a closer look and the chance to tell him how much i ♥'d him. he is so much cuter up close. he's tall, skinny, young and cute. and has the coolest white shoes. he's also as funny and down to earth in person as he is on stage. i was so nervous and as a result, was a total retard. i kinda froze. told him how much i enjoyed all three shows and glad he did this afterwards because i could barely see him from where i was. and then, he hugged me! i don't think i've ever hugged a rock star before. well, maybe we hugged the caesars but that was after hanging out with them all night long. anyway, i think i'm still feeling shiny & happy from last night.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
i would have seen him a third night if he played another show in the area, alas, he is in portland tonight...

i ♥ jens lekman pt.1

venue: bimbo's (sold out!)
artist: jens lekman & the honeydrips
who: ro
when: 22 mar 2008 (saturday)

before the jens lekman show, we went up early to get some dinner. lou (thanks lou!) recommended rogue to us. he said to get the kobe burger and a hazelnut beer. he's been into hazelnut flavors lately. i personally love hazelnut anything so i'm not complaining. ro & i order the exact same thing. a kobe burger with their white cheddar and a hazelnut beer. the burger was soooo good. and for some reason, ro got twice as much french fries as i did. the hazelnet beer was also quite delicious. we could only eat half of it but wow, it definitely hit the spot. we were happily satisfied and ready for jens.

we got there around 9:15ish. which just so happened to be the end of the honeydrips set. i think we were there for 1 and a half songs. we concluded that he played for like 20 minutes. weird.

the show was sold out. his show back in november was pretty packed and surprisingly not sold out. this show was everything i remembered except better because i knew most of the songs. he also sang a new one about google maps. and the nina story, i don't think i'll ever get sick of it. here is a line from the chorus: nina i can be your boyfriend, so you can stay with your girlfriend. and if you want to hear the story, you'll have to see him live. it's totally worth it. he's also very interactive with the crowd. for example, he asked people to whistle because he was missing a sax player on one song. and there was the pocket full of money song where the crowd sings part of the chorus. it was so much fun.

i think he sounds better live than his recordings which is already flawless. he sings every word perfectly that it makes you listen to his lyrics more carefully. he's totally brilliant. it's so hard to describe how good and wonderful he is. just thinking about him and his music makes me all warm & fuzzy inside...

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

reflections on november at bimbo's

last month, i went to 3 shows. all at bimbo's. while i see bands at popscene almost everytime i go, popscene is mostly for dancing. there's only ever a handful of bands that play there (per year) that i actually want to see. but seeing 3 bands all at bimbo's, that's rare. and might i add, unplanned. it was supposed to be 2 but voxtrot postponed their september show to tour with the arctic monkeys. ew, whatever.

the jens lekman show was pretty impressive. it's hard to believe he's only in his mid 20's. he's an amazing singer/songwriter/performer. he's one of those rare natural artists. but, i still can't get over the level of passion in which torque (et al.) exert during their shows. they are super cool, funny & awesome. i've seen them about 5x with the first one about 6 years ago. and there is a huge difference between the first shows and this last one. i've seen the hard work. the sweat & blood. and tears shed to produce such art. it's almost magical. as for voxtrot, i'm still trying to get over the disappointment. ugh.

while i rated both the jens lekman & stars shows 5 ♥s (that's a whole lotta love), the stars show was definitely the best of the 3 last month if not out of the entire year. i would most certainly see mr. lekman again. no doubt, the next stars show is a must but i'm almost sure that i will not be attending the next voxtrot show. boo.

quite the swedish ladies' man

venue: bimbo's
artist: jens lekman
who: ro
when: 9 nov 2007 (friday)
doors open at 8p

the last time i was at bimbo's, it was back in february for the camera obscura show. this month, i will have seen 3 shows at bimbo's. funny. last night, i went to bimbo's to see jens lekman with my very good friend romano. i'd been listening to his songs since i got a hold of night falls over kortedala (thanks ro!) before it was even released in the us. and i'd been looking forward to his show since i heard he was playing.

we got there during the opening band's set. they were called something statue and were from half moon bay. they weren't too bad. but they weren't who we were there for. we were there for jens lekman, swedish hotties on stage (his bandmates), and to be surrounded by swedish hot things. that's right, surrounded. it was packed.

listening to jens lekman in the car or at home is nothing like listening and/or seeing him live. he's really cute and surprisingly small for being swedish. his voice is flawless live. there's also a lot of horns and violins in his music. it's very orchestral yet with witty lyrics that are also silly at the same time. his harmonic arrangements are amazing and grandeur. you really want to listen to the words, all his songs tell a story. most of them ridiculous and funny. he started of talking about the last time he was in the area and his fond memories of rollerblading in sausalito. hilarious, really. and during many of his songs, he tells you the background on the story. more than you get from the song. it reminded me a little bit of sondre lerche when we saw him at slim's back in 2004. he gabbed a lot between his songs and you wished he'd just shut up and play. not jens, his stories were so personal and such a treat to hear.

he ended his set with two encores. the last song was his very own rendition of paul simon's call me al. which is funny because camera obscura also ends one of their last songs with it. and apparently, jens seems quite the ladies' man. shoot, i'd do him.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ it was magic.