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Todd Terje & the Olsens played T5 with Joakim (pics, review)

photos by PSquared; words by Bill Pearis

Todd Terje & The Olsens @ Terminal 5 7/21/2015
Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5
Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Following their appearance at Pitchfork, Todd Terje and The Olsens hit NYC on Tuesday night (7/21) at Terminal 5 for what was one of better live dance music shows I’ve seen in a long time. The Olsens reminded a little of Soulwax, in that they played it like a DJ set, keeping the beat going, almost treating things like one big multi-part song with little if any pauses. (The setlist/order has remained the same at every show they’ve played which furthers the all-one-groove idea.) “Strandbar” slid seamlessly the Miami Vice nostalgia of “Delorean Dynamite” and at the end of the night you suddenly became away that “Oh Joy” had morphed into “Inspector Norse.” That, of course, is his most well-known song, and was pretty much the unbridled joy moment at T5, with a flock of dancers, covered in string lights, invading the stage with a choreographed routine as the crowd went wild.

While “Inspector Norse” might have elicited a similar reaction if it had been just Todd Terje alone, the Olsens really made the show, with Todd’s brother Olaf on drums, bongo-mad percussionist Martin Windstad and jack-of-all-trades Lars Horntveth who, over the course of the set, played guitar, lap steel, bass, vibraphone, flute and saxophone. They really added a lot to It’s Album Time‘s more unconventional songs, like the Morricone-esque “Leisure Suite Preben” and the bonkers tropicalia of “Alfonso Muskedunder.” I think the only thing that wasn’t played from his album was “Johnny and Mary,” but without Bryan Ferry in town, that wasn’t likely to happen anyway. Really terrific show.

More pics from Todd & The Olsen’s set, plus a few of opener Joakim, below…

Joakim at Terminal 5

Joakim at Terminal 5

Joakim at Terminal 5

Joakim at Terminal 5

Joakim at Terminal 5

Joakim at Terminal 5

Joakim at Terminal 5

Joakim at Terminal 5

Joakim at Terminal 5

Joakim at Terminal 5

Joakim at Terminal 5

Joakim at Terminal 5

Joakim at Terminal 5

Joakim at Terminal 5

Todd Terje & the Olsens

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5

Todd Terje and the Olsens at Terminal 5