The Tallest Man on Earth, Red Cortez & the Parlour Suite @ Turf Club

(The Tallest Man on Earth)

Folk music, which has it’s roots in America, is clearly feeling the effects of globalization. While many of the genre’s biggest stars and legends are from America, new artists from far away countries are showing just how ubiquitous the genre has become. Thursday night it took a small man from Sweden with a misrepresenting moniker to play one of the best sets of folk music I have seen in a long time. The Tallest Man on Earth, the nom de plume for Kristian Matsson, played a stirring set Thursday night at the Turf Club, highlighting the timeless songs from his amazing debut album Shallow Grave.

(The Tallest Man on Earth)

(The Tallest Man on Earth)

You could tell from the moment Matsson walked onto the Turf Club stage that this was not going to be a typical folk show. Although he had a chair sitting in the center of the stage with some guitars lying around it, the microphone stand was set up to standing height at the front of the stage. The singer, who is small in stature, stalked the stage making silly faces and searching for eye contact from the crowd that was gathered near the front of the venue, which prompted some slightly uncomfortable laughter. Although he continued the play a silly court jester for the entire set, the music he was producing was stunning and deadly serious.

(The Tallest Man on Earth)

Matsson started the set with a stirring three song set that included Shallow Grave tracks “I Won’t Be Found,” “Honey, Won’t You Let Me In” and the album’s title track. Throughout the show Matsson switched between a soft, soothing voice and a menacing growth which he used to emphasize the dramatic lyrics from his world weary songs. His guitar playing, which I worried would be lost in the live setting, was amazing. His playing was fluid and commanding and his nuanced melodies, which had him finger picking at a breakneck pace, were even more impressive in the live setting. The highlight of the show, which came in the middle of the set, came from Shallow Grave standout “The Gardner.” For an album that is solid front to back, “The Gardner” stood out as one of my favorite tracks from 2008, and live drew one of the loudest ovations of the night.

(The Tallest Man on Earth)

Matsson made light of his mellow sounds by introducing various songs as either “bar songs” or “not a bar song.” Unfortunately for the dedicated crowd massed at the front of the stage, much of the rest of the crowd members took it upon themselves to treat all the songs as bar songs, often talking over the more quiet parts of his song. When a dedicated fan yelled a stern “shhh,” Matsson said “you don’t need to do that,” before shyly adding in a quick “thank you.” This showcased the strange dichotomy of the show, which found Matsson mixing his stunning soulful folk songs with his silly stage presence, ironic mustache and all.

(The Tallest Man on Earth)

(The Tallest Man on Earth)

Going into the show knowing nothing about him other than his staggering album, I was caught a little by surprise by his constant motion and frantic energy. It was similar to the seeing Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy a few weeks ago, where Will Oldham seemed to go out of his way to loosen up the crowd as a sideshow to his dark song matters. Late set highlights included the subdued “Where Do My Bluebirds Fly?” and a new song titled “King of Spain.” Matsson played a great encore of “Death Letter” which the crowd into the night on a very high note.

(video by Kyle Matteson)

(The Tallest Man on Earth)

(The Tallest Man on Earth)

(Red Cortez)

(Red Cortez)

Openers Red Cortez, fresh off their stint on Morrissey’s tour, showed the crowd why the Moz had picked them to play. Their sound, which varied from propulsive, almost Walkmen style rock to more straightforward rocking alt-country numbers. Lead singer Harley Prechtel-Cortez has a great rock and roll voice, one that ran the gamut from subtle and soft to a voracious wail, that brings together the bands ramshackle sound. Their 40 minute set was strong and the band seemed to gain energy and strength as their set went on, with the last few numbers seeing the band really step up their sound and leave a great impression on the crowd.

(Red Cortez)

(Red Cortez)

(Red Cortez)

Local group the Parlour Suite, who are a three piece folk-pop revival group, opened up the evening. Joel Roberts played some great down and dirty blues-folk guitar on his acoustic while Inga Roberts and Leah Nelson kept the rhythm and added in their great vocals. For the last few songs the band even brought out an accordion, which really filled out its sound (which occasionally sounded a little thin with only one instrument). Their old-timey sound was light and fun and they had some great songs that got the growing crowd involved.

[Review by Josh Keller, photos by Jon Behm.]