Jens Lekman

Swedish singer songwriter Jens Lekman amazed a sold out audience at the Paradise last Monday, masterfully playing his odd poppy tunes. He led the songs on guitar and sang while 4 girls took care of the drums, horns and bass. Everyone was dressed in traditional white Swedish suits, including Yakima-like hats, and watching them perform in such getups was more than endearing.

Jens had a story for every song, and told each perfectly, almost a little too perfectly. He gave the impression that he delivered the exact same story the exact same way at performance, and that took away from it somewhat. However they were still great stories, so the rehearsed aspect is forgivable.

Watching Jens pluck away at those strings, especially when he was alone on the stage singing slow, sad songs, it was easy to realize that Jens is simply splendid at guitar. He also knew how to throw in fun, unexpected moments, such as a cover of Paul Simon’s “Call Me All” during the encore, or everybody in the band flying like a bird in the middle of one of his disco songs.

Jens Lekman gave one of the best performances of the year, even if it seemed a tiny bit over-rehearsed.

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