Peter Moren @ Union Hall (11/9)

Last year the Swedish trio known as Peter Bjorn & John stormed onto the indie music scene capturing us all with a wonderfully catchy song called "Young Folks" and a deliriously awesome album called Writer's Block. At this point it seems that name is little more then a name as this band doesn't seem to be having much problem writing anything, and people covering the band never seem to have trouble spewing forth glowing reviews. Whether live or recorded or the band seems to be loved by anyone, so it was no surprise then last night when Peter Moren showed up for a "surprise" appearance at Union Hall that the room was absolutely brimming with buzz about this "surprise".

I say "surprise" like that because it was pretty well known that Peter would be taken the stage and performing for us. But we still didn't know exactly what we were in for. Was Peter going to play some Peter Bjorn & John tunes for us or were we in for something completely different this evening?

Well it turned out Peter had a lot more up his sleeves then just solo versions of "Young Folks" and "Let's Call It Off", instead he treated us to six original songs and a cover of Richard Hell's "Time". The tunes were just as sharp as anything found on the Peter Bjorn & John albums, with topics like love and annoying people captured within Peter's whimsical writing style and delivery. All the while he strummed along on an acoustic guitar showing a surprising mastery of the instrument, and prancing about the stage just like he does when he is with his band mates.

Between the songs Peter endeared himself to the audience, admitting his nervousness and chatting about the story behind each one of his songs, and then at points he forgot a few of his lyrics, but that was only more endearing. It was an astounding, though short performance that showed us that these Swedish folks are not just one trick ponies. The music is excellent, the talent is superb, and he put on quite a performance even if it was only slightly longer than a half hour. Peter will be playing solo again on Monday November 19th at Joe's Pub, and he promised us a string section and a much more impressive overall show. Considering how impressive last night was, I may just find myself in the audience when he goes the solo route again.