It’s not often that within a year I get to see the same artist perform three different times in three different cities and two different countries. But this year I have seen Helgi Hrafn Jonsson open up for Teitur at the Roxy, open up and play with Sigur Ros in Omaha and now playing a solo show at Huset in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was Helgi’s first time playing with bass player Daniel and drummer Thorvaldur and it was apparent that the Danish crowd was looking forward to a good show as it was sold out and when all the chairs had backsides in them plenty of people opted for the floor and those without tickets were just plain out of luck.
Opening up for Helgi was Danish vocalist Katrine Ottosen or CALLmeKAT as she goes by. It’s been a long time since I have seen a woman on stage surrounded by so many synths and thing-a-ma jigs. With her smooth voice, a hint of melancholy, a mixture of beats and samples it all came together in songs that are thoughtfully charming and often times mesmerizing. For me the highlight of here set was a cover version of Britney Spears Toxic, which can be heard online and for sure dug up on YouTube.
As I mentioned before this show was the first time Helgi played live with his band mates so when I meet them five hours before the show they were hard at work figuring out how the songs would play out between the three of them, banging away at an out of tune piano and working through the kinks in the sound system. But they pulled it off and on stage came a band that sounded like they had been playing together for some time now. By adding bass and drums to his harmonic voice and guitar playing Helgi’s music took to the next level and people at the show even said that Helgi’s voice and presence had given them goosebumps; no surprise there. Music wasn’t the only thing coming from the stage that night: between songs Helgi became a story teller/comedian and even got people involved in figuring out the mess with the sound when the band kicked into rock mode. So if you find yourself looking for some new tunes to get you trough the day until spring and summer comes be sure to check out For the Rest of my Childhood by Helgi Hrafn Jonsson
Helgi will be touring in the US in march alongside danish singer songwriter Tina Dico, starting the 8th at the Roxy in LA and ending in New York on the 24th with stops in San Fran, Seattle, Austin at SXSW and Chicago, be sure to check out their myspace pages for dates.
