[ATTENDED: March 12, 2022] The Tallest Man on Earth [rescheduled from May 8, 2020 and March 6, 2021]
I first heard The Tallest Man on Earth back in 2014. I had a ticket to see him play Union Transfer in November 2018. But I had to skip that show because of a Scout hike that I was asked to go on.
I promised myself I’d see him the next time he came to town. That was October 2019. But at the least minute he had to cancel the tour because of personal problems back home in Sweden.
He rescheduled the show for 2020. The show was on my birthday, and I like to spend the day with my family. I bought at ticket anyway, just to see how the day went. And then Covid struck.
He rescheduled the show for March of 2021, but that had to get pushed back as well.
And here it is, March of 2022, four and a half years after the initial date, and I finally got to see him. Interestingly, four and a half years isn’t really that long given who infrequently some other bands tour. But for him, that’s a lifetime and a half.
The Tallest Man on Earth is Kristian Matsson, a Swedish folksinger with a great guitar picking style and a deep powerful gritty voice. The lights went down and the stage was full of pointy shards of plastic (?) standing upright as a backdrop. They were primarily white, but I loved the way the lights played off of them changing the colors of the stage.
After a recording of a Swedish song, Matsson came out on stage. I don’t know if he is usually solo (I assume so). He was dressed in a white T shirt with light pants that were rolled up. And he scampered and leapt around the stage with lightness (if not always grace). He capered. From one side of the stage to the other, he checked in with the audience while he was singing.
He played two songs on electric guitar (“The Foothills” which I think is new and “The Gardener,” which is very much not new). His voice is deep and gruff and incredibly powerful.
After two songs he switched guitars. This time to an acoustic 12 string.
There’s something really fantastic about his guitar playing that just fills a room. With just the one guitar (okay, like a dozen guitars, but one at a time) his songs never sound like a guy with a guitar. He has a very percussive style of play and he uses a lot of opening tunings so his notes ring out and fill the room. It’s pretty wonderful.
He also let us in on a secret. After the third song, he stopped to tell us that his nail had come off. He told a lengthy story about himself and Jose Gonzales and how they both glue extra fingernails on the tips of their fingers to help the with their playing style. And one of them had just popped off so he needed some glue. He told us that he took off the nails at the end of the show so he could look normal, but that he couldn’t play without them. So we waited while he talked and fixed his nail(s).
Then he switched over to an acoustic six string for the next couple of songs.
Joking that SHE doesn’t need fake nails, he called Daughter of Swords to perform a lovely duet of The Velvet Underground’s “I Found a Reason.”
When Alexandra left the stage, he went over to the piano that was at the side of the stage for There’s No Leaving Now.”
With a new six string acoustic, he played a few more songs like the fantastic “1904” and “King of Spain.” Then he brought out his banjo for “Somewhere in the Mountains, Somewhere in New York.” And he ended the set with an electric and electrifying version of “The Stranger.”
When he came back out for the encore, he sneaked around through the sculptures, hiding behind them and peeking out above them.
He started the encore with “The Wild Hunt,” and we all sang along. Then he ended the show with piano version of “Like The Wheel.”
At the end of the song he stood on the piano and waved to everyone in turn, rotating to make sure he got everyone. And then he leapt off the piano and scampered off stage.
What a fun show! (I didn’t even need to mention the group of ten drunks behind me who were talking really loudly about New York and their drinks and who knows what else. They sucked).
- The Foothills
- The Gardener ⊄
- Wind and Walls ⊗
- Dark Bird Is Home ♠
- Rivers
- A Lion’s Heart €
- I Found a Reason (The Velvet Underground cover) (with Daughter of Swords)
- There’s No Leaving Now (piano) ⊗
- The Running Styles of New York ♥
- I’ll Be a Sky ♥
- 1904 ⊗
- Love Is All €
- King of Spain €
- Revelation Blues ⊗
- Somewhere in the Mountains, Somewhere in New York ‰
- I’m a Stranger Now ♥
- The Dreamer §
encore
- The Wild Hunt €
- Like the Wheel (piano) §
♥ I Love You, It’s a Fever Dream (2019)
‰ When the Bird Sees the Solid Ground EP (2018)
♠ Dark Bird is Home (2015)
⊗ There’s No Leaving Now (2012)
€ The Wild Hunt (2010)
§ Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird EP (2010)
⊄ Shallow Grave (2008)
~~~~~
On February 2, Union Transfer posted this update:
The Tallest Man On Earth show has been officially moved to March 12 2022. With a date this far out, it ensures there will be no issues with TMOE entering the country and most important – we are near guaranteed to have a safe and normal show (finally!).
My first show for 2022!
I wonder if Courtney Marie Andrews will still open?
I have wanted to see The Tallest Man on Earth for a few years and things always seem to come up to cancel my opportunity.
In 2018 I had a ticket to see him, but then a camping trip came up.
In 2019, he had to cancel his tour for the first time because of a personal crisis.
I thought there was some excitement that Holly Humberstone was opening for Girl in Red, but it turned out that T. had never heard of her.
I Just Read About That... 