When describing Sondre Lerche (say: SON-drah LER-kay), the word "charming" will not suffice.
Spouting witty wordplay in slightly accented English while grinning shyly at the crowd, the Norwegian songwriter teetered on the verge of being downright precious. Since he shuffled onto the scene in 2002, Lerche has plucked musical tropes from the far corners of the pop genre, ranging from polished bossa-nova jingles to simple folk ballads. Perhaps the only constant throughout Lerche's large collection of ditties is his undeniable charisma. Let's be frank: there's a reason that two-thirds of the Record Bar was comprised of young, bright-eyed female show-goers on Tuesday night. (Lerche's cute, but between his sweetheart sense of humor, scruffy persona and sheer musical talent, it's a good bet that most of the chicks in the crowd swooned at the thought of being the muse behind Lerche's wry lyrical affections.)
Swapping back and forth between
electric and acoustic guitar, Lerche lavished the crowd with songs from all six
of his albums (and soundtrack, Dan In Real Life), including his most recent album, 2009's Heartbeat Radio. Lerche's live arrangements shed the cloying orchestral treatments that frequently coat his recorded tracks, ditching the inessential in favor of a more stripped, intimate set. Though bringing very little to the stage besides
his warm tenor, nimble fingers and a couple of guitars, Lerche didn't skimp on
showmanship: finger flourishes, intense strumming patterns and earnest
stage banter all made appearances during his hour-and-change performance before
a packed house at the Record Bar.
Decked out in denim, Lerche sustained an infectious buoyancy, miming the brisk pace of '60s pop songs with unbridled exuberance. His live presence reflected a barely-contained gusto and a (surprisingly) gruff edge to his vocals, tempered by sweet falsettos and effortlessly beautiful, Beatles-like melodies."My sincere apologies for taking so long," Lerche said; this is his first visit to Kansas City in a long while. "I
feel like my life has been a bunch of detours, and now I have finally arrived.
I promise to make the most of our time together."
He then launched into the "long version" of his 2004 title track, "Two-Way Monologue." Lerche has doubtless played this song hundreds of times in the last six years; yet, the tune sounded
startlingly fresh, sharply punctuated and perfectly stylized. Lerche took liberties with tempo, pulling on notes and releasing them like sonic slingshots. He also managed to supply his
own percussion, conjuring the rhythm and urgency of a full band with his
frantic, exacting strums.
Lerche has a penchant for adornment; but, his embellishmentsScott Spychalski
were at their best when his body articulated the rhythm he was seeking to
sound. From the movement of his wrists to the bobbing of his blonde bangs,
every twitch Lerche made was a manifestation of the song he was strumming, just as
essential to his live set as his exacting guitar
work. From Lerche's theatrical stylings to his gawky dance moves, it's obvious that Lerche feels perfect pop songs: their arcs, dynamics, pauses and
crescendos.
Of course, like any natural entertainer, Lerche is a bit of a ham. During the more eerie distortion
effects, he gazed out at the crowd from under his curtain of blonde
hair, gauging the crowd's reaction with a slight smile: Isn't this cool?
Finishing up "Sleep On Needles" with a jarringly dissonant guitar solo, Lerche earned a standing ovation, taking off his blue electric
guitar with a twirl of his wrist as he bowed before the crowd. Lerche scurried behind the Record Bar's stage
curtains for two seconds, shedding his jean jacket and returning to churn out
two more songs with the help of opener JBM on drums: the "disco" Phantom Punch, and a sing-a-long
version of "Modern Nature." Lerche's encore ended on a sweet note, with several devoted female fans (who our photographer described as having "eyes like silver dollars") singing choral harmonies. Lerche cut the electricity in favor of a campfire-like intimacy, ending the song in a soft fading of sound. "Thank you, that was beautiful," Lerche said. And then, the girls started squealing.
captivating, opening act JBM provided a solid set of Bon Iver-esque folorn folk tunes. For all its gorgeous minimalism, JBM's songs would make better headphone listening than show-going; after all, his performance didn't exactly have the audience on their feet (for most of the show, in fact, a good amount of the crowd remained sitting, like we were in a goddamned Youth Group Meeting or something. It was weird).
| Scott Spychalski |
SET LIST:
Good Luck
Airport Taxi Reception
Guess It's Gonna Rain Today
Two Way Monologue
Heartbeat Radio
Happy Birthday Girl
Dead Passengers
Pioneer
My Hands Are Shaking
Stupid Memory
Easy to Persuade
Words & Music
Sleep on Needles
ENCORE:
Phantom Punch
Modern Nature
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Perfect!Great! This helped a bunch! I've seen a few
rather confusing blogs lately, this cleared up a lot confusion I had.
Perfect!Great! This helped a bunch! I've seen several
rather confusing websites lately, this cleared up a lot confusion I had.
wonderful review! the youth group comment is dead on. i was supremely weirded out by the lack of movement in the room...
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