Monday, December 29, 2008

The Tallest Man on Earth


So you go to a show to see a guy who's billed as "The Tallest Man on Earth", and naturally, you expect him to be kind of tall, at least, right? Well, not in this case...try maybe 5'6" including a pompadour and black boots. Overall, picture a rockabilly version of Peter Pan with an acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder. He's got a voice that's way bigger than it ought to be, and a fabulous fingerpicking guitar style. He gets loads of comparisons to Bob Dylan, but that's just lazy. Sure, there's some Dylan in there, but overall, he sounds like a young, white, Swedish version of Mississippi John Hurt with a rock n' roll sneer. I had the good fortune to be in the front row of a very intimate venue, watching this guy prowl around the stage, making fabulous music come out of his guitar and shouting and crooning his obtuse lyrics into a mic that was just a little too hot. No matter, it was damn good. Funny to complain that a show that was just voice and guitar was bordering on too loud. Maybe I'm just getting old?

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