Kings of Convenience

Was bummed out when the Kings of Convenience gig at the Esplanade was sold out three weeks in advance. At D's suggestion, decided to try my luck for returns at the box office today. Ecstatic to find out that a couple of tickets had been released at the last moment and I was able to get two seats.

I had expected a mellow, mellifluous and melodic evening, and the KoC delivered this in spades. They began with Until You Understand from their 2000 Play Live in a Room EP, followed by Love Is No Big Truth and Cayman Islands off Riot on an Empty Street. They also performed Misread and Gold in the Air of Summer from 'Riot,' while Quiet is the New Loud was represented by a slightly speeded-up variation of Toxic Girl, I Don’t Know What I Can Save You From, and Winning a Battle, Losing the War, which segued into The Girl from Back Then. They also performed a new song, which was as anguished as KoC have ever been, with a plaintive repetition of 'I can never belong to you.' The most exquisite moment came with the thrilling intimacy of listening to Homesick in the darkened hall, 'two soft voices blended in perfection' indeed. The absence of Failure and Weight Of My Words hardly even put a dent in my enjoyment.

And they proved to have a few tricks up their sleeves as well. Audience participation was encouraged on a couple of songs - to whistle the viola part on Stay Out Of Trouble, to snap our fingers, to hum along, and most exhilaratingly, to dance. Eirik was soft-spoken and the quieter of the two, and yet it was perfectly apt to hear him proclaim "Rock n Roll Singapore!" during the set-closing I'd Rather Dance With You, a measure of the surprising turn the concert had taken. Erlend was unexpectedly funny and cheeky, inviting folks to take advantage of second row seats for which sponsors had failed to show. The versatile DJ Oye, who had spun a set the night before, also gamely danced a gangly dance. There was even a Norwegian birthday song for the lone guy, Rico, who admitted it was his birthday in response to the band's open query, backed by the small but enthusiastic contingent of Norwegian fans.

It was obvious that they loved performing in Singapore and the feelgood vibe was infectious. They were two guys with guitars, tapping their feet and singing their songs and it was an inspiring sight. They revelled in the fact that two guys from Bergen, Norway was playing before a crowd of 1600 in Singapore and admitted that if anyone had suggested such a scenario a couple of years back, only the optimists would have believed. Erlend chipped in to say that their mothers' response would have been 'Hmm.'

The encore was Little Kids and, D had to point this out, A-Ha's Manhattan Skyline. KoC then endearingly took photos of each other with the audience in the background. And thus ended a very lovely evening for Eirik and Erlend and us.