Swell & (swell) - Live @ La Maroquinerie

David Freel known for his unique songwriting returned to Paris last Friday at La Maroquinerie for a long awaited performance. I don't know if it was for Emily Jane White or for Swell or for both but the show was sold out since weeks. It was the first Swell show since their Whenever Your Ready tour in May 2004 - I was there too - but I don't recall anything from the show at the Café de la Danse, maybe I was much more concentrate on something else that evening...
What I like on Swell studio records is the “embellishment” around the languorous rhythm proposed by the voice of David Freel and his acoustic guitar. On stage the songs of course are much rawer and direct. Where you lose nuances, you gain strength. The drums are in the middle of the stage, in the light, David Freel stands on the left facing the audience, but in the shade. The show lasted more than an hour. Many songs for me were new coming from the last two releases so sometimes I was a little confused.
I wish to encourage anyone to go to a Swell show with one little advice, listen to them before (just to have a first idea of what you will discover on stage). The band is touring in Europe until mid-November, mainly in Germany. Swell - or (swell) - is great and you won’t have so many opportunities to have the chance to see them live again. So, please do go.

Web: swellsongs.com
MySpace: swellthelostalbum or swelltheoriginalone

Swell - Next To Nothing .mp3

Photo: Leaky Sparrow – Swell – La Maroquinerie, Paris – October 17, 2008 (more pictures on flickr.com)