Tallest Man on Earth

Wednesday, April 27

Shoctor Theatre – Citadel Theatre

If you’ve become the Tallest Man, the Bob Dylan comparisons need to end.  Make comments about their sound’s relationship until the seats of the Gaslight are full of converts, but it need not matter — they are from different eras and inherently different. It seems the association might only be in the idea that they wonderfully strum guitars, can fill a room with their solitary sound and write magnificent, poetic lyrics. If anything, the connection could be a flow chart mapping the distance from Woody Guthrie to a very tiny man who has a taller alter ego.

Since seeing Matsson just over a year ago, things have strikingly changed for the Swedish singer-songwriter.  Certainly his career has propelled even higher, but more, his live performance has noticeably sophisticated.  Perhaps better meant for a sweaty, smoky basement bar, the plush-seated Shoctor theatre provided fans and their beloved Tallest Man the most fitting venue for his delicate performance.  The Shoctor is a venue that should surely receive some more attention.

Flowing his way through his perfected, well-crafted and intimately played 12-song set, Matsson kept the audience in his tiny palm.  Far from theatrical, his songs are fragile and lonely, still wildly engaging and delicate — his live performance has the ability to make the hundreds feel as though they’re privy to an absolutely private engagement.  And it’s clear to anyone who adores The Tallest Man’s music that it’s just that: his songs were written personally and took wings on their own.  Strong songwriting and high skill will do that.

I Won’t Be Found

The Garden

Troubles Will Be Gone

Where Do My Bluebirds Fly

You’re Going Back / I Wouldn’t Do That (Sade Cover)

Gentle On My Mind (Glen Campbell cover)

Love Is All

King of Spain

The Wind

Pistol Dreams

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The Drying of the Lawns

Sometimes the Blues

Photo By: Christian Watson