Loney Dear & Melpo Mene @ Mercury Lounge, NYC - pics

December 11, 2008

Loney Dear

Last night (12/10), two Swedish one-man shows Loney Dear and Melpo Mene (I missed Boy Genius) invaded Mercury Lounge in NYC. First, the young and lanky Melpo Mene came on (his first time in NY) in a blue-t-shirt and blue eyeshadow drawn raccoon-style around his eyes, with a suitcase of pedals and gadgets and an i-pod. He finger-plucked ethereally, almost drunkenly, with his eyes closed most songs. It was appropriate for his dreamy, made-in-bedroom songs of being in love, having lost love, and longing for love. He’s got this quirky, unique stage presence; his non-sensical chatter had the crowd laughing while his awkward shy flirtation won over most girls in the room. A surprising highlight? A mellow, slow tempo cover of MGMT’s “Kids.”

Melpo Mene

Loney Dear meanwhile came on in similar form. In fact, pitting the two acts next to each other actually almost diminishes each of their own appeal because they sound so similar. But Loney Dear livened up the tone of the show a bit, asking the whole crowd to snap or sing along as chorus, or baseline, to his light, lofty songs. The room was fast to react, some couples snapping while locked in each other’s arms………….(which was kind of awkward for the rest of us). Bottom line is that it felt a bit like date night at Mercury, but regardless the Swedes brought dreamy, soothing respite from the rain and recession. (Um, if you’ve ever been to Sweden, you wouldn’t be surprised……)

You’ve got many more chances to catch both of them in NYC this week. More pictures from last night below…

Melpo Mene…