New York – Friday was a tireless day of concert hopping for CMJ Music Marathon goers. With hundreds of bands playing in countless corners of the city, there was no shortage of amazing, emotive shows to choose from. And as many grappled with the decision headache attached to such a lineup, folk duo First Aid Kit’s show at The Hammerstein Ballroom offered an easily chosen landing pad.
The setting itself blew the hat off what most CMJ badge holders have come to expect. Built in 1906, the concert hall seats an impossible 3,500 guests. Originally, the venue served as the Manhattan Opera House and was home to Oscar Hammerstein’s Manhattan Opera Company. In the 70’s, the space fell into disuse before the current owners, Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church, bought and dusted off the opulent ballroom. The venue has since undergone extensive renovations, including the restoration of its stunning ceiling mural (think pseudo Sistine Chapel…it’s that good). The ballroom’s ceiling seemingly elevates ad infinitum, and lent an inimitable aura of grandeur to First Aid Kit’s showing.
The turnout was out of control as fans from of all age demographics cycled in to see the Swedish sisters in action. Gold-glittered costumes, masterful lighting and on-stage installation art rounded out the concert with flashy magnificence. This is a band that’s in tune with their public persona, and on Friday, First Aid Kit cemented that perception with powerful grace.
The band is Johanna and Klara Söderberg, and they hail from Enskede, a suburb of Stockholm. The sisters initially skyrocketed to Internet stardom in 2008, after their cover of Fleet Foxes’ “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” went viral.
Though First Aid Kit was listed to start at 7:45pm, Oklahoma’s own Samantha Crain took the stage around 8pm with the self-proclaimed task of warming up the audience. Crain’s work offers an intimate, tell-all landscape of reflectivity. Though somewhat downbeat considering her aim was to amp up the crowd, it was a beautifully rendered live set and smoothed attendees into a state of contemplative readiness.
First Aid Kit kicked off their delivery a touch past 9pm, and though most CMJ artists are allotted a strict 45-minute set time, the duo delighted the crowd for far longer. For their first cut, the Swedish sisters struck wordlessly into “Lion’s Roar.” This is a track that’s lovable from first listen, and won audiences early on with undulating force. Performed live, it all but glistened.
Highlights from the evening included renditions of “My Silver Lining” and “Cedar Lane,” two outstanding tracks from the band’s most recent album, Stay Gold, which surfaced this year via Columbia Records. (Ed., First Aid Kit has just released a new video for the title track from the album, shot on the Swedish island of Gotland.)
Midway through the set, the duo shared a casual anecdote about the writing of their latest album, and expressed particular gratitude for the chance to experiment more with string instruments that their latest endeavor afforded. True to form, a troop of string instruments joined the sisters on stage. “We don’t always get to play with string instruments,” Klara said with a smile, “but tonight we do.”
At a certain point Johanna cycled through a series of tongue-in-cheek cheese puns. But Klara added her own, slightly more ruminative sense of humor. “Why did the scarecrow win the Nobel Prize?” she quizzed her crowd. “Because he was outstanding in his field!”
Nearing the end of the show, the sisters boldly shed all technology for an acoustic performance of “Ghost Town.” Captivating such a sizable crowd without microphones is a lofty, if not unattainable, goal. But the pair pulled it off seamlessly, and the rendering shone through with boundless authenticity. Up next, the two struck into a two-part cover and homage to Jack White. In a fake out, they started in on “Seven Nation Army” before cleverly disrupting the delivery with “Love Interruption.”
The night in full was a hugely valuable addition to the Music Marathon at large, and cemented the variance inherent in CMJ’s annual endeavor. As First Aid Kit took their leave, concert goers sifted out into Manhattan’s congested mid-town with a pearl of artistic splendor in their back pockets, poised to dream of the many and myriad shows slated to unfurl in the coming hours as the CMJ clock ticked steadily towards it’s impending ending.
Go HERE for a full listing of First Aid Kit’s scheduled tour dates. They’ll also appear as musical guests on Conan on November 11.
Liz Rowley
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