His second night through Wisconsin, Jens Lekman played easily the most beautiful set I’ve seen on a Madison stage in quite a while. The near capacity crowd was treated to a truly special night, and those patient enough to wait around after the show were rewarded with an impromptu 4-song encore performance (playing only requests) by a solo Jens Lekman to about 15 faithful friends and fans.

Madison native Marla Hansen (our interview here), now a full-fledged touring violinist for Jens’ band was warmly welcomed and definitely brought a wonderful element to her hometown crowd.

Proving to be more than just a musical performance Jens sprinkled whit, dry humor, and lots of laughs into his songs and between song banter. It’s no surprise seeing that he spent a good amount of time at SXSW taking in comedy sets. Listening to his catalog over the past couple days I’d forgotten the good amount of imagery and humor throughout his songs, he rarely misses an opportunity to point out interesting and humorous details.

In a night filled with highlights, my personal favorites were “Black Cab,” “Maple Leaves,” “The Opposite of Hallelujah,” and “A Postcard to Nina” (featuring the entire back story behind the song about his whirlwind trek to Berlin and his fake engagement). The crowd finally broke from their seats during the encore performance of “A Sweet Summer’s Night on Hammer Hill,” utilizing the dance space in front of the stage.

Thanks to everyone who made both the Milwaukee and Madison shows. I hope you had as great a time as we did, and we were truly honored to have had the opportunity to present Jens both nights! Leave us a comment and let us know what you thought of the show. We’ve got some special stuff coming in the days ahead from this performance, so stay tuned.

Photo: Daniel Brielmaier
MoB: From The Crowd | Jens Lekman
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MP3: Jens Lekman – ” The Opposite of Hallelujah”
MP3: Jens Lekman – “Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo”

Find MP3’s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic