For the last date of this Nordic mini-tour that started in Denmark, ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF found herself in front of a sold-out Tavastia, filled with one of the most varied crowds we have seen in a while. Supporting her latest, highly acclaimed “Iconoclasts” record, the Göteborg-based musician has been accompanied in these shows by fellow Swedish and experimental/ambient artist KLARA LEWIS.
It had been a while since the last time inside Tavastia, and some small renovations made the space somewhat more accessible to the crowd, although it’s still really hard to squeeze into the main hall when the venue is full, as was the case tonight. However, people were still flowing in when KLARA LEWIS took her spot on stage at the big table set up with festive Christmas lights with all her synths. Her set proved to be a good background for the audience to chill while waiting for the main act: filled with samples and sound recordings, it was more akin to an art performance than a concert, setting up the atmosphere just right.
When ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF took over about half an hour after the previous show, she started strong with the new record, very heavily represented in tonight’s set. Introduced by Otis Sandsjö‘s saxophone, “Consensual Neglect” kicked off the show as the other musicians slowly took their place on the crammed stage, at the center of which stood Anna‘s platform with her keys on one side and a pipe organ on the other. Perhaps the band and their crew was lagging a bit in space and time, given the last show was in Stockholm, as not only the first few words spoken to address the audience were in Swedish, but also the price tags at the merch stand were in crowns instead of euros (not sure if Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish, given the band went through all three countries in the previous days).
Despite the small glitch, the concert itself was a striking testament to the music of the talented Swedish musician – and her accompanying bandmates, of course – enriched by a well-timed combination of very faint smoke and laser lights, which added to the performance, giving almost a festival vibe to it. Anna‘s incredible vocals stood out and easily impressed the fans who listened in awe while trying to secure a spot to actually see the stage, too. At times, she left her platform to sing closer to the audience or to pick up her guitar, as the show went by in the blink of an eye. A two-song encore (“Funeral For My Future Children” and “Struggling With The Beast“) closed this very pleasant Sunday evening, and even better, the show ended at half past nine, giving people plenty of time to go home early before heading to work the following morning.
KLARA LEWIS
ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF
