THE SWELL SEASON @ Le National

By Stephanie Ng Wan - We.Are.Canadian - 11/22/2007

Earlier this year, a small independent movie called Once, featuring Glen Hansard, frontman of Irish rock band The Frames and budding Czech singer Markéta Irglová in the lead roles, hit theatres.  Deemed the musical of our generation, Once generated quite a bit of buzz for a film shot for just $160, 000 (peanuts in comparison to the blockbusters of our day). 

Though Hansard and Irglová did know each other prior to the shoot, it was the time they spent making the John Carney-directed motion picture that allowed them to fall in love, both on-screen and off. The pair not only wrote and performed a majority of the songs in Once but the experience enabled the two to work together on an album they called The Swell Season, which was released in April 2007.  While The Swell Season is actually the name of the record, with the artist names being Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglováwith Marja Tuhkanen and Bertrand Galen, the musicians are being billed as “The Swell Season” on tour.

Last Thursday, November 22^nd, the group came to Montreal’s Le National and not only brought songs from the album of the same name to life, but also captured the audience’s attention with live renditions of songs from Once as well as part of Hansard’s discography with The Frames. 

Hansard and Irglová hit the stage at about 9:10pm, almost 40 minutes after the opening act, with a bassist and violin player in tow.  While Irglová took the lead vocals from time to time, it was evident that Hansard was the leader of this musical project.  Having been in the music business for over a decade with The Frames, he was in control and his voice rang loud and clear when it needed to be, and softly but strongly when you wanted it to be. 

Irglová looked even more her young age of 19, with her small frame sitting behind the grand piano, and her voice, though normally very subtle, seemed even more subdued when she sang alongside Hansard and his booming voice.  Despite the overwhelming experience Hansard and the rest of the crew had over her, Irglová’s timid persona was endearing and added to the mood of the pieces she sang.  Highlights were the tracks from Once that had Hansard and Irglová front and centre, such as “Falling Slowly”and “Lies”.  Irglová even held her own during her solo vocal performance of “If You Want Me,” a tune that is hauntingly romantic, both in the film and on the Le National stage. 

Hansard, for his part, was telling personal anecdotes, going off on tangents here and there and loving every moment of it.  Near the beginning of the set, when someone from the crowd requested he play the “Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy” song from Once’s opening scene, Hansard briefly hesitated but could not contain his appreciation after the audience burst into enthusiasm and cheer as he played the short but memorable number.  The fact that Hansard could laugh at himself, and at his art, was refreshing; at the end of the song, he joked that because he agreed to perform it, no one would remember the heartfelt music the band would play in the rest of their set. 

During a series of songs by The Frames including  “Lay Me Down” and “What Happens When the Heart Just Stops,” Hansard not only allowed himself to indulge in telling the drawn-out stories behind the songs, but also showed us his talent with his guitar.  In my opinion, this is where his personality really shone.

But of course, it was the songs from the movie soundtrack that got the biggest reaction as murmurs of “they’re so cute” could be heard throughout the crowd in reference to the way Hansard and Irglová interacted on stage.  The group played for more than an hour and a half and the standing ovation they got during the encore brought tears to Hansard’s eyes. Throughout the entire show, Hansard could not stop saying how much the show meant to him and by the end, from the looks of it, the fans felt the same way. 

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