Every now and again, a chilled-out gig is good for the soul. While there was an overabundance of raucous alternatives on tonight, it was this lady and her fantastic voice that I wanted to hear. (Besides, I had just come from the mayhem that had taken place around the corner!)
Indeed, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the room was quite full, only to realise that the Scandinavian ex-pat community was out in force to support one of their own. Some of them even managed not to talk right through the show! It was a sweet little gig though, with maybe a dozen or so people sitting on the floor at the front, with a row of people in chairs behind them, and then the rest of us thronged at the back. With Ane’s shining good looks and gentle anecdotes between songs, it felt like we were being read a fairy tale by the princess herself.
As for the songs, Lullaby for Grown-Ups was so softly sung, it did threaten to put you to sleep. I was also really impressed by Changing of the Seasons, The Fall, and The Treehouse Song. However, last night really emphasised just how fantastic I find The Puzzle to be – imaginative, poignant, and delicate – it is such a well crafted song.
The encores consisted of a spur-of-the-moment decision to play a cover of PJ Harvey’s fantastic The Dancer, followed by Rubber & Soul, and her Ron Sexsmith duet, Song No.6. Ane even managed to get the crowd to hum the conclusion unaccompanied to the second of these! It sounded fine at the time, but I would not like to have this recollection put to the test either!
Ane came across as being a warm and genuine person last night, even if she did show an unhealthy enthusiasm for being out in extremely cold weather or for making a video on a Danish beach in January. Relaxed, smiling, and wanting to create a natural bond with her audience, it was really quite captivating. Even when only accompanied by her own acoustic guitar playing, her voice has an enchanting yet tender quality to it. In all, it was a fine performance that I quite enjoyed.
