Peter Bjorn and John
Date: April 26, 2009 I Usually Aim to Please Much of the advance press for the latest Peter Bjorn and John album, Living Thing, made it sound like a willfully difficult response to their 2006 breakthrough, Writer's Block. When I finally heard it, though, I couldn't see what all the fuss was about, as the album still had plenty of pop hooks and enjoyable songs. Given that disparity, I don't know why I was nervous in response to some recent show reviews that painted the Swedish trio as being unenthusiastic towards their most popular songs and unengaging in general. On the contrary, when the band made its Ottawa debut, the sheer enthusiasm of the players made for a surprisingly effective evening. Brooklyn's Chairlift set a mediocre tone to the night's opening. Singer Caroline Polachek took the stage wearing a garbage bag, an oddity that remained the most notable facet of the trio's short set. I did enjoy their synth rock sound more on the songs when they employed live drumming but nothing really seemed to make an impression, whatever the approach. The band did generate a buzz of recognition in the crowd, though, when they wrapped up their twenty-minute set with "Bruises," a song featured in an iPod ad. A half-hour wait for the headliner defied my standard concert preference that the changeover time not stretch longer than the opening set but this was the last disappointment that Peter Bjorn and John would give me in the night. The band came out with John Eriksson standing behind his unusual drum kit, Björn Yttling on bass at stage right, and Peter Morén behind the keyboards at stage left, facing his bandmates. The mix sounded good early on, and with Peter suit-clad and rooted behind the keys, it was a solid if somewhat sedate performance of the delicate song. Given the clean pop sounds that the group has mastered on record, one might have expected this early mood to hold for the duration of the concert. When Peter switched to guitar for "Amsterdam," though, he soon proved that he would take advantage of the freedom, shaking his way across the stage and playing to the crowd. By the time that he had a few songs under his belt, the jacket was off and he was in full rock and roll mode, hopping around, running the width of the stage to engage the audience, and nailing his vocals despite the workout. His performance may not have duplicated the mood of the recordings on every song but it made me sit up and take notice; and I loved the energy that built on stage and in the audience as the band found its stride. Other than the inclusion of "Beats Me Everytime," the set was split evenly between the two most recent albums. Considering that the Swedish outfit had never played Ottawa before, it was great that they didn't shy away from their breakthrough, Writer's Block, as the early inclusion of "Amsterdam" and "Start to Melt." "It Don't Move Me" represented Living Thing well, marking the point where I felt the band was in high gear; and a follow-up of "Lay It Down" and the title track kept the pace high. Still, it was the performance of their smash hit, "Young Folks," that proved to be the highlight of the concert. The crowd was ready for this one, cheering at the sight of the bongos, which were handled by Chairlift's Patrick Wimberly; and that enthusiasm was more than reflected in the band's delivery. Peter Morén went all-out, demonstrating an ability to drop coherent whistling sections in the middle of body-shaking aerobics; and the band extended the jam for a couple of minutes, including a beatboxing breakdown from Peter in the centre of the piece. Far from the press reports of a band going through the motions on its ubiquitous hit, this was a tremendously fun, lively, and inspired rendition that raised the already-high mood in the club. Peter Bjorn and John stayed on that album for "Let's Call It Off" and the rapid-fire march of "Objects of My Affection," which brought the set to a soaring end, just shy of the one-hour mark. The group returned for a well-paced encore, with "Stay This Way" slowing things down before the last punch of "Nothing to Worry About," with "Up Against the Wall" proving to be the perfect slow breather to sit back and soak in after a high-energy night. Peter Bjorn and John defied my expectations, both those created by some negative press and those arising from my impressions of their albums. They came out with an impressive rock kick and their enthusiastic playing made for a better night than I had anticipated. Although I feel that it can't be likely that the Swedish band will be back in Ottawa anytime soon, that's one more notion that I would love to see proven wrong. Until then, they certainly came through on this night. Peter Bjorn and John setlist Main Set
<--Prev (Black Mountain) | Next (Joel Plaskett Emergency)-->Return to Concert ListReturn to Main Page |