Live Review and Photos by: Mary Grace McKernan
Last Tuesday night, The Tallest Man on Earth (Kristian Matsson) played to a sold out crowd at the Wiltern. This week he just released his fourth studio album, “There’s No Leaving Now” and his set included much of that new album. Matsson performed alone on stage with five guitars (that nobody would hand him between songs), a piano and a single chair. He opened with the elegant “To Just Grow Away” a song about time and loss, “Look when you’re hopeless/I would figure/There were moments when I was not/Only real a flag and fought out of rock/And with an awful broken air/Send away free for the boat/And your kid will lose a battle/But your ways will let him go.”
Matsson played for over an hour and between each song he thanked the audience for listening and told them how excited he was about the release of his new album. And after each song, he would spike his guitar pick to the ground like a football player does when he scores a touchdown. It’s difficult not to think of Bob Dylan when he sings and his charismatic stage presence engulfs and sweeps you away to the place where it’s all about the music.
For an encore, Matsson’s was joined by his wife Amanda Bergman and performed “Thrown Right at Me” and the audience could no longer stay seated. This was a captivating performance by an artist who is true and incredibly talented and has the courage to take the audience with him on a musical journey.
Setlist:
To Just Grow Away
Love Is All
1904
Leading Me Now
I Won’t Be Found
The Gardener
There’s No Leaving Now
Troubles Will Be Gone
Where Do My Bluebird Fly
Wind and Walls
Like the Wheel
King of Spain
Little Brother
On Every Page
Encore:
Thrown Right at Me
The Dreamer
Photos by: Mary Grace McKernan
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