The Swell Season.

This rock show had some pretty magical moments! I didn't know much about The Swell Season prior to seeing them last night at the Flynn but, I'm really glad I was able to go. They managed to deliver almost 90 minutes of musical awesomeness including a couple of intimate moments they shared with the crowd, who they invited to hum along with them during a few songs...or in Laura's case, howl along? Nothing like 1,000 or so people joining together to make a beautiful melody in a space with kick ass acoustics. Marketa's piano playing and silky singing voice was lovely, albeit a little somber. Glen's little dances, Marvin Gaye moments and inclination to unplug from his amp and "let it rip" balanced the duo out perfectly. Oh, I forgot about the opening band, The Low End. They weren't really for me but, they did ask the audience to help them out with an interactive musical experience at one point. The instructions were for everyone in the crowd to wait until the horn played for a third time during the song. Then, we were each supposed to get out our cell phones, call the person we came to the show with and select speakerphone. We all started giggling when the lead singer got out his flip phone and actually did this on stage. That was our indication that it was OK for everyone else to follow suit. Laura and I scrambled for our cell phones and got them connected just in time. The result was pretty neat! There were all sorts odd sounds and reverberations coming from every corner of the theater. Music is always, always better live.

The Swell Season is a folk rock duo formed by Irish musician Glen Hansard and Czech singer and pianist Markéta Irglová. "The Swell Season" name is derived from Hansard's favourite novel by Josef Škvorecký from 1975 bearing the same title. Their debut album goes by the same name. Since their rise to prominence after starring in the 2007 film Once, they increasingly referred to themselves as "The Swell Season" in promotion of their performances until it has unambiguously become the formal name of their collaboration in 2008.