The Swedish trio had a go at the assembled collection of NYU kids, and people who hate NYU kids, last night; and it was good.
Proceeded on stage by an opening act calling themselves “The Craigslist Killuhz” (okay I made that part up; we purposely missed the opening acts), PBJ brought a swirl of festive eclecticism, lights, theatrics, irreverence, and tight musicianship to their stage performance.
Even if unfamiliar with their catalogue, you can’t help having a shitload of fun watching them dashing across the stage. There’s nothing wrong with having a great fucking time while being in a good band and playing to a packed and enthusiastic house in a foreign country, and they embrace it fully.
They played songs largely from their March 2009 release Living Thing, and of course earlier hits like “Amsterdam” and “Young Folks” were exceptional. The last song of the evening went on for seemingly fifteen minutes, and even meandered into a rousing, hollering rendition of Joy Division’s “Transmission”, which is maybe your Editor B C’s favorite tune of all-time.
Peter Bjorn and John’s music is a mix of cutesy-pop, 80’s sound, hip-hop, and straight up rock & roll. They seem to have something for everybody. And lead vocalist and guitarist Peter Moren is pretty much the greatest.dancer.ever.
So check these dudes out, if you haven’t already; methinks you’ll dig ‘em.
