1000 Concerts: Concert: First Aid Kit

After my last class on May 22nd I took the bus over to the Wonder Ballroom where I was first in line for First Aid Kit later that evening. Two girls got in line right after me and had been at the KINK Bing Lounge show earlier. They didn't have tickets, but Klara and Johanna put them on the guest list which was really cool.

Willy Mason was the opener and he was super good. Very mellow; the kind of music you'd want in the background while you're reading or if you're relaxing in a hammock.
Then First Aid Kit came out. Johanna and Klara were wearing gold dresses, and their backdrop was this pretty gold material that shimmered in different lights.

They played a 16 song set which included a Bob Dylan cover of One More Cup Of Coffee, and a Simon & Garfunkel cover of America. They played 7 out of 10 new songs off their new album "Stay Gold", and for the song Ghost Town Johanna and Klara came to the front of the stage (Klara with her acoustic guitar unplugged) and sang the entire song completely acoustic without any kind of amplification. The crowd was singling along, and it ended up being really beautiful. Everyone was quiet and respectful when they were singing - even the drinking section which is notoriously noisy - and it was awesome. They said how much they love Portland and that they naturally wanted to start their tour here, and that they would try to come back soon (they're playing the Roseland in November!)

It was an excellent show, and you could really tell how much they loved doing what they do. They have a certain energy and brightness to their music and performance, and they're really phenomenal talents considering how young they are and how much younger they were when they first started.