Sondre Lerche (Bowrey Ballroom, 4/06/06)

As an artist, Sondre Lerche possesses a rare talent. Lerche is the only performer I have ever come across, with the ability to bridge all age and taste barriers (young, old, from rock to rap we all love Sondre). After Thursday night however, this only scratches the surface of the reasons for my love of this Norwegian boy.

The night opened up with a set by Leona Naess that both set the mood perfectly for Sondre's set, as well as winning herself a number of new fans (me included). She seemed almost like Sondre's female counterpart, while incorporating vocals reminiscent of Norah Jones. The set however, lost a bit of air towards the end, especially after the shock of the first interest grabbing song.

After a long set change, (from 3 person acoustic setting to 4 piece band) Sondre was finally up. Expectations couldn't have been higher for the 'Pop-Lounge' (as he called it) singer from Norway. Opening with a solo song (just him and a guitar), the audience was automatically silenced as his almost inhuman vocals washed over us. I am still in shock over the ability for a voice like his to come from that body. To have a singer like him in front of us was enough to bring us to the brink of tears (I'm not even joking).



Following a brief introduction from Sondre, the Faces Down band came out to really bring the noise (by noise I mean the jazz beats). After rolling through favorites like "Days that are Over" and "Modern Nature" (the crowd sang the duet part) we thought that it couldn't get any better; that is, until Sondre said that because they were on their way to LA to record their next album, and they needed some practice, they were going to play us the entire new album (before it was ever recorded mind you!). Warning us of the long night ahead of us, we braced ourselves for the wonder, and he started up.



New album verdict: Amazing! It combines all the charm and brilliance of the first two albums, with the jazzy beats of the newest cut, adding some rock into the mix. Sondre can make anything sound good (case and point, he sang a song he had written years ago titled something like "Look at the Blood" (eeemmmooo) and it still sounded like a song I'd put on repeat for hours on end) and this set was no different.

The night only got better after the encore (after playing a 2 hour straight set, they definitely deserved a break) when, with the same amount of energy as they had when they began, they played even more of our old favorites, as well as taking a couple crowd requests. (who still does that! I love him just for that!)



Sondre Lerche Highlights (aside from the entire concert):
1) "Days that are Over"
2) "Everyone's Rooting for You"
3) The entire new album
4) His jokes
5) "Lulu Vise" (because it's in his native Norwegian tongue, AND about my hometown, Honolulu, Hawaii!)

All in all, great show, one of the best I've seen (and you trust me by now right?). Definitely will buy that new record when it hits shelves, and I will also continue to play his 3 releases on repeat every morning when I wake up. If you take any advice from me (ever), take this one and go check out Sondre Lerche, you won't be disappointed (unless you hate good music. Then I'm sorry)

Sondre Lerche - "Two Way Monologue"
Sondre Lerche - "Everyone's Rooting For You"

Leona Naess Official Site
Sondre Lerche Official Site