Kings of Convenience
Antone’s, Saturday, March 19
The Nordic duo of Eirik Glambek Bøe and Erland Øye took the stage about 10 minutes late with only their guitars, reinforcing some folks’ suspicions that this would be Simon & Garfunkel with accents. Rather than launch into their set, however, Øye presented a laundry list of requests for those assembled. “Before we start our concert,” he said while strumming his guitar, “We would like you to turn off your cell phones if they have a loud ring.” Also on the list of directives: move over a bit to let more people in, and take all your photographs now. They posed for a few “candid” shots, which got the crowd laughing, then quietly broke into a placid tune from their debut, Quiet Is the New Loud. The set was peppered with both old and new songs, including “Cayman Islands,” which garnered a few hoots from the audience. “Six people really like it,” Øye joked. The high point of the showcase was the pair’s cover of Tom Petty’s “Free Falling,” inspiring cheers – quiet ones – from the devoted throng. Bøe encouraged the audience to sing the chorus, and the guitars all but dropped out so that the choir could hear itself sing.
This article appears in March 25 • 2005.