(These GREAT photos provided by Jon Behm)

Jens Lekman is one of the most popular musical artists in Sweden. But here in the U.S., he garners only underground praise from scenesters and indie rock fanatics. But let it be known that that underground following is devout.

It was a packed house on a COLD Saturday night at the Triple Rock, where, prior to the show, the line stretched a block and a half down Cedar Avenue, mostly due to the fact that the doors opened an hour-and-a-half late – Damn that Triple Rock Social Club!!! But once inside, oh, the treats for our ice cold wait were more than worth it. Now, I must admit, shamefully, that in an effort to warm up, I completely missed the opening act as I was curled up at the bar with a plate of nachos and a pint of Summit. But I made it back to the stage in time to see Jens open up the show with his patented crooning voice bellowing,

“If I had to choose a moment in time to take with me into eternity,
I would choose this moment with you in my arms.
I know we lost the final battle.
I know we are prisoners.
I can hear chains rattle.
I’m a prisoner of this moment with you in my arms.”

The crowd was split 50-50 between girls who want to marry Lekman and guys who either wish they were him or wish they had some of his lyrical skills with which to woo the girl/guy of their dreams. Lekman has a special way about him – A gravity that pulls people close as they are taken by his simple storytelling and exotic Swedish musical experience that includes an all-Swedish band made up of women dressed in white and a dj dressed as a chef. The ladies in the band provide a particularly intriguing supplement to Lekman, as they play every instrument under the sun from violin to saxophone to flute to bass to drums to trumpet to accordion.

(These GREAT photos provided by Jon Behm)

After the show, Lekman & Co. loaded up their musical gear into a minivan, pulled out of the parking lot, and started their long journey out to Seattle. It was this last scene that will be my finest memory of the night. To know that a guy with the popularity of Lekman loads his guitar into a minivan is charming in it’s own right. And the vision of these Swedes traveling across the country to Seattle amongst the everyday automobile traffic of Americans is enough to make even the most pessimistic of Americans smile.

Please read Jon Behm’s review of the show as well!