Scott Freeman

The Swell Season

Monday afternoon I loaded up the Hyundai and set out for Kansas City. Missouri, not Kansas. Apparently, that is an important distinction.

I wrestled with whether or not it was truly worth it to drive 275 miles to go to a concert by myself. (I would love to have a friend nearby who shared my music/film tastes). If you have ever traveled I-35 through Kansas then you know how dreadfully boring it is.

I arrived early, found the Uptown Theater and then killed some time before the show.

Seats were general admission so I arrived an hour before start of show to find the line backed up for three blocks. However, since I was the loser who was by himself it wasn’t hard to score a decent seat.

The Uptown is a great venue for concerts. Great acoustics and good seats throughout. The place, seating about 2500, was sold out. We were treated by another Irish act, Damien Dempsey, for a 38 minute opening set. He did a solid set and I was delighted to find that his work is available on eMusic. It’s quality Irish Folk and worthy of a listen:

The Swell Season finally hit the stage just after 9. Glen Hansard walked out alone, picked up his guitar and did a completely unplugged version of “Say It To Me Now.” Tremendous stage presence captivated the audience as he sung without benefit of even a microphone. Here is a brief clip that someone added on YouTube from the show that I was at:

After that he welcomed the band including the always stunning Marketa Irglova. She came out and sang “All The Way Down” which was surprising to me since Glen sang it in the movie and on the album but her version was so vulnerable that it was captivating.

From there they proceeded to perform for just over 2+ hours bringing all the heart and chemistry from the movie and their debut album. It was obvious that the two of them are romantically involved as the passion and emotion of the music was palpable in each song that they sang.

They did “Falling Slowly” about 45 minutes in:

Marketa Irglova unveiled a new tune that was absolutely stunning giving an indication that this could be a timeless musical union.

Here is the setlist from a show that was worth every bit of the expense and travel to get there. If you have the opportunity to see them, and they just announced more tour dates through the Fall, by all means get tickets now.

Setlist: Say It To Me Now; All the Way Down; Lies; This Low; Drown Out; When Your Mind’s Made Up; (new song, Marketa Irglová); Falling Slowly; Leave; What Happens When the Heart Just Stops; Bad Bone; Cactus; Your Face; Once; If You Want Me; Blue Shoes (fiddle instrumental); Fitzcarraldo; Star Star; Red Chord/Here Comes the Night.