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Peter Bjorn And John Rock At The El Rey

Candice Aman |
May 20, 2011 | 12:46 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

 Peter Bjorn and John (Photo courtesy of Monica Nguyen)
Peter Bjorn and John (Photo courtesy of Monica Nguyen)
Swedish pop rock trio Peter Bjorn and John was high on energy and spirit as they played back-to-back shows for hundreds of their Los Angeles fans at the El Rey on Saturday. 

Opening the show was, Bachelorette, or Annabel Alpers, the person behind a one-woman electronic act, who entertained the crowd with her self-synthesized beats and stirring vocals that shone within her computer-generated tracks.

Although Bachelorette’s more subdued sound was a departure from the style of music PB&J fans are used to, her many musical talents, that includes guitar shredding and on-the-spot mixing her own background vocals to her tracks, garnered a warm reception from the 11pm crowd.

However no act could muster the same excitement and cheer than for headlining band itself, comprised of Stockholm natives Peter Moren, Bjorn Yttling, and John Eriksson who opened with one of their classic tracks, “Up Against the Wall.”

Their set list was a combination of tracks from their newest studio record, “Gimme Some,” and their blockbuster third album, “Writer’s Block.”

PB&J incorporated a wide range of songs throughout the show including danceable tracks “Breaker, Breaker,” and “Second Chance,” which highlights the ever popular cowbell to serve as their backbeat, to slower tempo songs like the “Paris 2004” and “Objects of My Affection,” that concertgoers could sheepishly sway to. 

Perhaps the most entertaining aspect of the show was lead singer Moren’s high voltage energy throughout the two hour set. 

Despite having played an earlier show, Moren spent the entire time high kicking, convulsing and gyrating, or doing whatever it took to engage the crowd.

The intimacy of a smaller venue like the El Rey made it the ideal place for Peter to drop into the crowd on several occasions and sing directly to his fans. In addition, his insatiable charm and electric personality caused a miniature dance party to erupt in the center on the floor. 

Once their set had ended, the crowd began the obligatory rhythmic chant for an encore “One more song! One more song!” To which Moren came out and said, “You asked for one more song. Why not ask for eight more?”

Amongst the eight songs that Moren had promised, the biggest crowd pleaser definitely came with their second to last track, “Young Folks,” the blockbuster single, which due to its irresistibly catchy hook was dubbed the unofficial anthem for whistlers everywhere.

It is safe to say that fans were taken back to the original record they fell in love with back in 2006 as soon as Moren drew the microphone closer to begin his famous whistle due to the resounding gasp from the audience. 

One of the biggest feats for any musical act to overcome during a performance is the challenge to sound like the original record in a live environment and in a world of auto tuning and computer engineered tracks, this is not an easy task.

Rest assured that Peter, Bjorn and John is one band that sounds just as good live, if not better, that it does in studio.

Reach Candice Aman here.



 

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