Swell Season at the Malkin Bowl is Strict Joy

Friday, 08. 27. 2010  –  The Good Life

Jesse Donaldson

All told, it’s been a bizarre week for The Swell Season. Sunday night, just three days after a 32-year-old fan committed suicide at their Saratoga, CA performance by throwing himself from a nearby rooftop and onto their stage, the Irish-based folk/rock duo played to an appreciative crowd at Vancouver’s Malkin Bowl.

“We’re glad to be here,” singer Glen Hansard said, “we’ve had a very strange couple of days.”

As a result of the tragedy, security was tighter than usual - in fact, oppressively so, and the mood at the open-air venue was decidedly tense. Opener Black Francis (of The Pixies fame) and his band were sloppy and under-rehearsed, and managed, with “Nimrod’s Son”, to somehow butcher a cover of one of their own songs. And finally, the Livenation decision to fill the audience area with plastic lawn chairs and charge an additional $10 entry fee was a near-fatal blunder that managed only to turn the front of the stage into an audience dead zone. While a number of seats in the front sat empty, the remainder of the crowd was relegated to a distant hilltop, mere metres from the fence, and a bank of less-than-aromatic outhouses. In fact, were it not for Hansard’s warmth and congeniality, the performance could have been a very dour experience indeed.

Hansard noticed the mood, exclaiming, after only a few songs: “Why are you all so far away?”

A nervous chuckle ran through the audience.

“No, really,” Hansard continued, “what are you all doing back there? I’d like you all to move up, if you can.”

People began, uncertainly, to stand.

“Nobody move!” shouted Security.

But Hansard pressed, motioning to the stage itself. “Right up here,” he said.

Suddenly, the audience surged forward, clambering onstage, and spent the next several songs literally seated at the band’s feet, treated to up-close renditions of Swell Season classics like “When Your Mind’s Made Up”. The joy of the moment didn’t last long, however. Within two numbers, an embarrassed-looking older fellow with a sizable stomach had waddled onstage, and shooed everyone away, to resounding audience “boos”.

“We’re sorry,” Hansard called after them, jokingly, “we thought we were doing a good thing.” And they played the audience off, with a tongue-in-cheek rendition of Blue Moon.

Clashes between crowd and security continued throughout the evening, finally prompting Hansard to exclaim: “A little peace would be nice. Let ‘em sit where they want. Fuck the formation.” Then, he added, sheepishly: “Pardon my language. It’s an Irish thing.”

With the mood settling, the 7-piece band turned in more than a 90-minute set, performing well-known songs from the “Once” soundtrack (including the Oscar-Winning “Falling Slowly”) as well as newer fare such as “Young Hearts Run Free” from their recently-released album “Strict Joy”. Hansard’s visceral, straight-from-the-guts singing voice contrasted wonderfully with the ethereal, bell-like tones of his counterpart Marketa Irglova. Hansard remained an attentive and convivial host; in fact, he remained so attuned to the crowd that at one point, upon hearing the wailing of a small child, he dedicated a song to them, remarking with a smirk: “But it’s okay. If your kid doesn’t like our band, that’s fine with us.”

Irglova, by contrast, still seemed shell-shocked, on one occasion having to leave the stage and collect herself. However, moments such as this only served to bring performers and audience closer together; the performance was vital, emotionally-charged, and despite the happenings of the past few days, the band remained wholly committed to their audience, playing three separate encores. The finale, a spirited rendition of The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” (performed with Francis and Hansard on vocals) was a triumph.

“Everybody just get down here!” Hansard screamed.

And, suddenly, the aisles were filled with bodies, surging toward the front of the stage, cheering, chanting, and, much to the chagrin of Security, (who, by this point, had no choice but to step back and glower) finally being able to behave like actual music fans.

Given the circumstances, it’s a testament to The Swell Season’s professionalism and commitment that they performed at all. But that it was a show so energetic, emotional, and affecting in spite of everything it had going against it is what made the performance a truly memorable one.

Tags: Malkin Bowl, The Swell Season