Monday's Earful: The Swell Season

By: David Schultz

Context is everything. No matter how good a band may be, how they make their first impression – how you come to hear about them – predisposes how you’re going to feel about them. If the backstory of The Swell Season consisted of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova coming together as the result of their shared experiences on failing to become American Idol, they would likely be ridiculously popular but would have as much credibility as Justin Guarini or Taylor Hicks. Well, on second thought, maybe they wouldn’t even be popular. Instead, Hansard and Irglova garnered raves for their starring turn in Once, a charming little movie for which they won the Best Song Oscar for “Falling Slowly.” There may be other paths to instant credibility but becoming the darling of the independent cinema isn’t a bad one to take. If you came across The Swell Season’s old school, blue-eyed soul dotted with twinges of modern Irish folk, which they build to Springsteen-quality crescendos, on Top 40 radio, they might be easy to dismiss as a manufactured label project. Take into account Hansard’s busking background, his role as Outspan in Alan Parker’s The Commitments and the manner in which his romantic roller coaster with Irglova intertwined with his involvement with The Frames, and it would be spiteful to begrudge them their sold-out return to New York City’s Radio City Music Hall.

After Hansard and Irglova opened the show on their own with “Fallen From The Sky” and “Lies,” Hansard welcomed The Frames, who many worry he’s forsaken for The Swell Season project. Along with an occasional assist from a horn section made up Clark Gayton and Steven Bernstein of Levon Helm’s Ramble band and Jake Clemons, E Street Band’s Clarence’s nephew, the full band fleshed out The Swell Season’s soaring melodies and delicate harmonies. The briskly paced two and a half hour set focused on material from the recently released Strict Joy, a couple newer songs and of course touched upon the songs from Once, including a lovely offering of “Falling Slowly.” Like most Swell Season shows, there were intricately laid out sing-alongs and some choice covers. Admittedly wanting to ingratiate themselves with the Tri-State audience, they played a powerfully soulful rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s “Drive All Night,” with Jake Clemons playing the role of his uncle. Hansard's throwaway reference to “and the colored girls sing” in the midst of the number prompted the audience to echo back the familiar bridge from “Walk On The Wild Side.”

After the show’s opening,” Irglova remained primarily out of the spotlight; she took lead vocals for a couple songs, added some surprisingly powerful piano counterpart to the thunderous finale of “High Horses” and, of course, featured prominently in “Falling Slowly.” The night though belonged to Hansard, an incredibly charismatic frontman. With the stage to himself, Hansard tapped into his days as a street performer, engaging the audience with nothing more than a guitar and his charm. He quieted the audience long enough to sing without the microphone and tore through Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks,” energizing the relatively serene classic into an impassioned acoustic rockers.

Possessed with the Irish gift of telling a compelling and entertaining story, Hansard eloquently prefaced each song with a brief introduction as to its origin. Instead of becoming some sort of egocentric Storytellers session, the context of the lyrics gave the night a couple unifying themes. In light of Hansard and Irglova’s romantic entanglements, Hansard’s constant references to being comfortable enough to wish someone happiness even as you are saying goodbye had an added poignancy. The sentiment didn’t quite match up with the turgid march of “Go With Happiness” but it made their finale of the Irish standard, “Parting Glass” come alive with Hansard channeling the ghosts of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem in wishing everyone “good night and joy be with you all.”