by Andrew Sacher

Marketa Irglova (aka 1/2 of The Swell Season) released her first solo album, Anar, this past October via ANTI-. Though she's credited as a main writer for a few of The Swell Season's songs, her personality as a songwriter comes through much stronger here than on any Swell Season album. The songs are all led by her piano which tends to suit her voice better than Glen Hansard's folk guitar. There's also a lot of early Joni Mitchell coming through and the horns on "Go Back" tread into Feist territory. The video for "Crossroads" is below and the album is available on iTunes.

She played some shows in November including one at Bowery Ballroom. She has a few upcoming dates in February including two in NYC happening on February 15 and February 22 at Joe's Pub. Tickets for both shows are on sale now.

In related news, the "Once" musical (which does not star Glen or Marketa) is running Off Broadway through January 15th. You'll have trouble getting a ticket to the remaining performances, BUT tickets are on sale now for the show's new home at the Bernard B Jacobs Theatre on Broadway. Broadway previews begin February 28th.

All Marketa dates and a video below...

Continue reading "'Once' musical moving to Broadway; Marketa Irglova schedules more live shows (dates)"

photos by David Andrako

"Iron & wine at T5 was incredible, duh. Full band serves him well. Also, 3 from Woman King!" -davidsankey

Iron & Wine return to Terminal 5 TONIGHT (10/13), after blessing the venue with Low last night as part of their two-night stay. The Low Anthem will do warm 'em duties tonight and tickets are still available for all of you procrastinators. Pictures from last night are in this post.

No word on if Marketa Irglova will join Iron & Wine like she did last night, but we'll let you know if that changes. You CAN catch her at her confirmed appearance on 11/30 at Bowery Ballroom though. Tickets are still available.

More pictures from night one are below.

Continue reading "Iron & Wine played Terminal 5 w/ Low & special guest Marketa Irglova (pics)"

Marketa Irglova @ MFNW 2011 (more by Autumn Andel)

"Marketa Irglova, the 23-year old Academy Award winner and one half of The Swell Season, will be releasing her first full-length solo album, titled Anar, October 11th on Anti Records. Citing references ranging from Otis Redding, to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, to the soundtrack from Jesus Christ Super Star, Irglova pulled from numerous influences to create a delicate balance of ethereal vocals and expanding instrumentals on her 10-track debut, including the R&B influenced "Go Back" and heart felt song "Crossroads." " [ANTI]

Continue reading "Marketa Irglova releasing solo album, playing shows (Bowery Ballroom included) "

photos by Autumn Andel

Shabazz Palaces / The Horrors

The Horrors took matters to another level of performance.. [utilizing] brooding electric grooves and jeering melodies. Forget the spidery androgynous demeanor and spazzy mannerisms - these guys bring it when it comes to live performance, pure and simple. Their new album is a solid piece of work, a considerable triumph over their previous and an exciting sampling of their continuing creative evolution.

The band opened with the first song off new album Skying, called "Changing The Rain," fearlessly putting their newest foot forward in a challenge to those hung up on the band's earlier sounds. We took the evolution in stride, however, as the British quintet delivered a solid performance that continually dipped into new material, finally concluding around the midnight hour with the new 80s throwback "Moving Further Away". [Crave Online]

MFNW Day 2 pics HERE and HERE. Day 1 HERE. More pictures from day three, including shots of Marketa Irglova, Iron & Wine, Shabazz Palaces, and The Horrors, are below.

Continue reading "MFNW Day 3 in pics (The Horrors, Shabazz Palaces, Marketa Irglova & Iron & Wine)"

Swell Season @ Coachella 2011 (more by David Andrako)

....but not starring Glen & Marketa...

..."At the American Repertory Theater, the lead roles in "Once" were played by Steve Kazee ("110 in the Shade") and Cristin Milioti ("The Little Foxes" at New York Theater Workshop); Mr. Hart said that he hoped the two would continue with the production but that negotiations with the actors were in the hands of the Off Broadway theater.

Jim Nicola, artistic director of New York Theater Workshop, said in an interview that it was too early to discuss casting but added that he was "greatly impressed" with the work he saw in Cambridge. As for the piece itself, Mr. Nicola said that loved both the film and the musical adaptation of "Once," in part because "they are snapshots of contemporary Ireland and not a sentimentalized view of Ireland."" [NY Times]

photos by Toby Tenenbaum

"While Glen Hansard is more recently known for his 2008 Oscar win for co-writing 'Falling Slowly' and being one-half of the folk duo the Swell Season, his first band the Frames is what has made this singer and songwriter a legend in the Irish rock scene. So when the band celebrated their 20-year anniversary, it was obvious that Hansard was overwhelmed by the heroes' welcome he, Colm Mac Con Imoaire, Joe Dole, Rob Bochnik and Graham Hopkins at New York City's Terminal 5.

"Sincerely everybody, we really appreciate you coming out to us," Hansard told the packed venue on Saturday night (Nov. 20). "We thought you've forgotten us. You've given us a great welcome."" [Spinner]

Jake Clemons opened the show with, according to Toby, "a 40 minute set of up-tempo country pop tunes. Before he left the stage he declared his gratitude to the Frames for allowing him to open for them and was quick to credit Glen Hansard for being the reason he learned to play guitar in the first place."

The Frames kicked their North American tour off in Philly on Friday, but stopped by Late Night With Jimmy Fallon one night earlier. Video from that TV appearance, with more pictures, videos, and the setlist from Saturday night's NYC Show, and the rest of their tour dates, below...

Continue reading "The Frames (and Marketa Irglova) played Terminal 5 & Fallon (pics, videos, setlist & more tour dates) "

photos by Chris La Putt

The Swell Season's new album, Strict Joy, is out October 27th on Anti-. On Monday night, September 14th, the Irish & Czech duo (who are no longer a couple) performed at 92YTribeca in Manhattan. 92YTribeca is an intimate, and kind of swanky, downtown NYC venue that is much smaller than the places the Academy Award-winning band played last time they were here (Radio City and Summerstage). It's also probably much smaller than the ones they'll play next (nothing announced yet) (Beacon Theatre?). Bands often visit NYC for press purposes before an album, and I think that's related to why this show happened. Limited tickets were sold for $35 a pop. It was a packed house with tables taking up most of the room. People stood on the sides and in the back.

The setup on stage was spare. Glen Hansard had an old acoustic guitar which sometimes had "a mind of its own". Markéta Irglová sat at the piano when she wasn't standing up singing, either with Glen or by herself. They alternated playing solo and together. They flew in the night before, and hadn't performed in a while. Glen related that last fact to his forgetting to pack a few things, like his guitar tuner. To remedy the situation, he told us he downloaded iTune, an iPhone app that helps you tune your instrument. He even gave a demonstration of it after showing us how the Brian Eno iPhone app works (not sure if it was the old one or the brand new one). The iPhone segment was one of Glenn's many trademark (and entertaining) stories of the evening. His funny anecdotes offset the feelings of woe that dominate Swell Season songs.

Glen was as modest and down to earth as ever. He became frustrated when his guitar didn't do what he wanted. He thanked everyone for coming (especially Paddy, or is it Patty, in the front row who he thinks has been at every NYC show he's ever played), and for paying money to do so. He acknowledged that he expected the great success of last year to not always be there in the future. I imagine he is fine with the possibility that it won't always be Radio City and the Academy Awards, but I have no doubt The Swell Season can do it again (even if their demographic becomes less my friends, and more my mom's). Everything else aside, Glen (who is also in the band The Frames), can sing and play. And so can Marketa. It was especially noticeable since I'd just returned at 5am that morning from ATP NY, a festival in upstate NY where I saw a variety of bands, of varying musical abilities, perform.

The Swell Season setlist ranged from new songs to old songs to covers to something Glen wrote the night before. I don't know exactly what Glen's relationship is to Nico Muhly (Nico may have worked on the new album), but I know that Nico and Glen have a friend and collaborator Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman) in common. I didn't see Thomas there, but Nico (who performed with Thomas at the Miller Theatre just a few days earlier) was, and he played a solo piano song in the middle of Swell Season's set. It was kind of weird - maybe out of place. Glen introduced his friend Nico before leaving the stage (Marketa was already off). Nico then came up and played his song, and then Nico left and then the Swell Season came back. Regardless, special guests are always fun and I like Nico.

"Falling Slowly" (the big hit) was played early in the set, and my initial excitement turned into "I guess I'm sick of this song", but the Once songs they played at the end, "When Your Mind's Made Up" and "Lies", felt much better. Other highlights included an upbeat cover of Tim Buckley's :"Buzzin' Fly" mixed with a bit of Jeff Buckley's "Grace", anything Marketa did solo, and the closing number which was a cover of Daniel Johnston's "Devil Town". During that, Glen had the NYC crowd singing along to the chorus which he repeated a few times, partially A Capella and sometimes with accompanying funny faces, accents, and vampire gestures. He sang part of it with a German accent, and he ended with a pose he called a "Kanye moment". The crowd followed with a laugh and a standing ovation.

More pictures and tour dates (which were recently announced, but no NYC yet), and the NY show's setlist, below...

Continue reading "The Swell Season (and Nico Muhly & Brian Eno's iPhone app) played 92YTribeca - pics, review, setlist & 2009 Tour Dates "

DOWNLOAD: Swell Season - In These Arms (MP3)

August 10, 2009 - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova record and tour together using the name The Swell Season, which is a shorter but far less descriptive moniker than "Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, Who Won Oscars for the Song 'Falling Slowly,' From the Hit Indie Musical Once." So when we informed our coworkers that last Wednesday's Tiny Desk Concert would feature the pair, the response generally ran somewhere along the lines of, "Um, okay. ... Wait, who? THEM? REALLY?"

Hansard and Irglova stopped by our Washington, D.C., offices as a way of passing time between trips to New York and Denver, with the understanding that 1) we'd set up a keyboard for Irglova to play; and 2) they'd be expected to perform the standard three- or four-song Tiny Desk set. Both plans fell by the wayside quickly. The gigantic keyboard we'd provided would have been far more suitable had Irglova been a member of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, so they opted to scrap it and huddle up around Hansard's battered acoustic guitar. And three songs? Well, that wouldn't do. Hansard kept asking to play longer; not surprisingly, he met little resistance." [NPR]

According to a news posting today, The Swell Season will be announcing a full North American tour next week with a presale for most tickets going on sale September 9th. They also list a few previously announced shows including November 18th at The Wiltern in LA. What isn't there is the show they're playing at 92YTribeca in NYC on September 14th which is ON SALE NOW. All dates below...

Continue reading "The Swell Season - new album, stream, MP3, small NYC show (ON SALE NOW) & other tour dates (and more coming)"

More pictures and the setlist from Monday night's show below....

Continue reading "updated setlist & more pics from Swell Season @ Radio City"

The Swell Season (Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova performing songs from the motion picture Once) played a triumphant, sold-out, and emotional (though at times a bit 'adult contemporary') two hour show at Radio City Music Hall in NYC last night (May 19, 2008). A setlist will surface soon enough and that will help summarize things better than I can do right now, but... there was a lot of storytelling, a shout-out to Pianos where they played two years ago, two Van Morrison songs, Marketa's singing sister from the Czech Republic, an opener from Ireland who later came on stage with the Swell Season, a violinist who played one of his own songs, and at least two standing ovations. There was not any Kraftwerk or Pixies.

The Swell Season's next NYC show will be at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park (Summerstage) on September 17, 2008. Tickets go on sale Thursday.

Sound seepage is a common problem at Coachella and Glen Hansard found himself in the thick of it when he started the Swell Season's outdoor stage set solo with just an acoustic guitar. Rock from the mainstage and beats from the tents gave him pause.
"How to be louder than the Raconteurs? You turn it up," he said midsong, and indeed the PA was boosted a good 20-30% louder. Thrilled when Jack White and company finished, he half joked " now all we've got to worry about is Aphex Twin."

Not only did Hansard, who won the best song Oscar this year with his partner Marketa Irglova, handle it all in stride, he turned the Swell Season set into a Coachella celebration. He recruited the National's drummer Bryan Devendorf and played covers of other acts' songs: in honor of meeting Kim Deal, she was here with the Breeders, Hansard and Irglova dueted on the Pixies "Cactus," and with the full band did an impressive version of Kraftwerk's "Model." [VARIETY]

Continue reading "the SWELL SEASON - covered KRAFTWERK & the PIXIES @ Coachella, played Kimmel -- videos & tour dates "

Tickets go on sale Saturday for the Oscar-winning Swell Season show at Radio City Music Hall. There's also a presale going on now (possibly sold out) (password=FALLING).

Continue reading "Glen Hansard/Marketa Irglova - Falling Slowly - Oscars video"

Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova @ the Oscars, Feb 24, 2008

'There is a certain poetry in a Grafton Street busker playing the Oscars," grins Glen Hansard.

"I feel like a plumber at a flower show. The indie rocker in me wants to say it's a load of bollocks, but if you are gonna get an award in this life, why not try and get yourself an Oscar?" The 37-year-old Dublin musician's life has the kind of fairy-tale arc that would make a good film, if it hadn't already been turned into one.

Hansard is the co-star of Once, a shoe-string budget feature (made for under £100,000) about an Irish busker and his platonic relationship with a Czech immigrant, played by 19-year-old Marketa Irglova. From extremely humble beginnings ("We never even thought it was going to get released, we just thought we might sell some DVDs after gigs"), it went on to win an award at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and become one of the art-house hits of the year, grossing $7 million in its first three months. Hansard and Irglova have been invited to perform their duet "Falling Slowly" at tomorrow's tonight's Oscars, where they have been nominated in the Best Original Song category. [Telegraph]

UPDATE: 2: Watch their performance & acceptance speech.

Next up: Radio City Music Hall, and another tour.....

Continue reading "The Swell Season (Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova) @ the Oscars, playing Radio City, Coachella, 2008 Tour Dates"