Kristoffer Ragnstam
Piano’s
August 27, 2008
In the packed back room of Piano’s Bar on Ludlow Street an audience of young American hipsters learned why they should support Swedish music- because it rocks. From the very first stroke of the guitar, Kristoffer Ragnstam and his band captured the attention of the crowd with an addicting melody and a diverse, innovative rock sound. The hour-long show highlighted a number of tracks off of Kris’s new album Wrong Side of the Room most notably “Swing That Tambourine” and “May I Admire Her.” The performance was cut with a great raw energy and the songs were tight musically and more than just a little iPod friendly. Kris closed the show with the song “Delicious,” which showed off the band’s great ability to play live as they worked through climatic changes in tempo and a terrific keyboard solo.
Tim Needles
Anonymous Said,
i was there too (but i'm no hipster). i wandered in to check out the buzz - no one packs pianos early - just doesn't happen. so i was curious. the act that played before this guy was great too. and closed their set with a ukulele (solo) version of an 80's song I know i should have known (it escaped me, yet haunts me). i stayed because the previous act was great and some guy sad the next act was on the same label. again, an escaped name. but damn - i felt like pianos was the center of the universe wednesday night and i stubbled into greatness (and hipness it turns out). that doesn't happen enough though i'm sure we all imagine it does just cause it's f*ckin' nyc. but that's another lie we tell ourselves to justify stupid high rent. whatever, i digress. the fact is - this guy, his band, and the one prior - i WILL figure out who they were- were simply amazing. the vibe in the room was that we were all seeing/hearing new music that mattered. much pinching of selves to make sure it wasn't an amazing dream. seeing your blog reminded me it was real. more of this please nyc.
Posted on August 31, 2008 at 7:50 PM
Sebastian Said,
I was there too! And Kristoffer Totally Fucking rocked my boat. I went to Virgin store the day after and bought both his albums.
This guy will get an Emmy very soon. Soo happy that I catched the small painos show before he will do all the arenas all over the world.
Posted on September 3, 2008 at 10:56 AM