I can't exactly remember how I found out about Richard Swift. But I remember that it was august last year, the rain kept pouring down outside of my house on Gotland, and I remember that I was stuck instantly.
There was this vast variety of styles he used and the huge musical talent coming through in all the songs that made me think about Jeff Lynne or even Brian Wilson.
A few days later I had bought a flight ticket for London and a show ticket for Richard warming up for his buddy Damien Jurado in Camden Town. (Richard produced both Damien's last album and his coming album.) The show was kind of a dissapointment though. Richard seemed a bit withdrawn and played the piano with his back against the audience. Damien appeared extremely exhausted. Anyway, next tuesday both me and Elvira will see Damien perform at Södra Teatern in Stockholm, then we'll probably find out if at least Damien just had a bad day at work in London. I hope so.
Link to open Richard Swift on Spotify >>
I saw Richard Swift open for Wilco in 2007 and he was in a bad mood then too. I have a feeling he's not a friendly dude. At one point, someone from the audience shouted, "hey, who are you?" and he replies, "it doesn't matter."
ReplyDeletehm. And it's too bad because I really enjoy his music too.
Anyone who's ever worked with him would tell you he's incredibly friendly and fun to be around. He does inject a bit of dry sarcasm into his live shows.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys, everyone can have a bad night and after having seen Damien performing at Södra Teatern tonight I'm a very forgiving dude. Damien was sooo good. (Hear the show, icluding my barks at http://www.gimmeindie.se/live/konsert/damienjurado/)
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