Swedish folk sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg of First Aid Kit had played New York City earlier this year at a sold-out show at Webster Hall. They had also played Webster Hall during CMJ in 2012 at a sold-out show supporting their album The Lion’s Roar but this year, during CMJ, the duo moved across town for a show at the larger Hammerstein Ballroom. This year saw the release of their third album Stay Gold a bittersweet work that I’ve listened to frequently. Having missed the earlier show, I had to catch them this go around and they did not disappoint. Their opener was Oklahoma singer-songwriter, 28-year-old Samantha Crain, another folk rocker that was a good match for First Aid Kit as the front row fans watched and listened to her very appreciatively.
First Aid Kit were accompanied by a drummer and a string quartet to bring their Stay Gold and older material to life on stage and their intimate, bittersweet songs drew the audience in. The intimacy of the show was enhanced by the confession that Johanna doesn’t like the time between songs, though it allows her to share jokes, like the one about a scarecrow winning the Nobel Prize. As they performed, through “Cedar Lane” and “My Silver Lining”, two of my Stay Gold favorites, as well as a cover of Jack White’s “Love Interruption”, an acoustic “Ghost Town” and into the closer “Emmylou”, the sisters beautiful voices shone with the finesse and beauty of folk singers more than twice their age.
Samantha Crain:
First Aid Kit:
First Aid Kit setlist:
Stay Gold
Blue
King of the World
In the Hearts of Men
Waitress Song
Shattered & Hollow
Cedar Lane
Ghost Town
My Silver Lining
Seven Nation Army / Love Interruption (Jack White cover)
Heaven Knows
Wolf
[break]
Love Like That Again
A Long Time Ago
Master Pretender
Emmylou
First Aid Kit Tour Dates (w/ Samantha Crain through the end of November):
Tue 11/04/14 Orlando, FL The Beacham
Wed 11/05/14 Tampa, FL The Ritz Ybor
Thu 11/06/14 New Orleans, LA House Of Blues
Fri 11/07/14 Dallas, TX Granada Theater
Sat 11/08/14 Austin, TX Auditorium Shores
Mon 11/10/14 Santa Ana, CA The Observatory
Wed 11/12/14 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
Thu 11/13/14 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
Fri 11/14/14 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
Sat 11/15/14 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre
Mon 11/17/14 Salt Lake City, UT The Complex
Tue 11/18/14 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
Thu 11/20/14 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
Fri 11/21/14 Plymouth, WI Bradley Theatre
Sat 11/22/14 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre
Thu 12/04/14 Trondheim, Norway Byscenen
Fri 12/05/14 Oslo, Norway Den Norske Opera
Sat 12/06/14 Bergen, Norway USF Verftet
Sun 12/07/14 Stavanger, Norway Stavanger Konserthus
Tue 12/09/14 Helsinki, Finland Savoy Theatre
Wed 12/10/14 Helsinki, Finland Savoy Theatre
Wed 01/14/15 Bath, United Kingdom Bath Forum
Thu 01/15/15 Cardiff, United Kingdom St. David’s Hall
Fri 01/16/15 Birmingham, United Kingdom Symphony Hall
Sat 01/17/15 Manchester, United Kingdom O2 Apollo Manchester
Mon 01/19/15 Edinburgh, United Kingdom Usher Hall
Tue 01/20/15 Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom Newcastle City Hall
Wed 01/21/15 Nottingham, United Kingdom Royal Concert Hall
Fri 01/23/15 Cambridge, United Kingdom Cambridge Corn Exchange
Sun 01/25/15 Norwich, United Kingdom Univ. Of East Anglia LCR-Union
Tue 01/27/15 London, United Kingdom Eventim Apollo
Sun 02/08/15 Linkoping, Sweden Konsert & Kongress
Tue 02/10/15 Huskvarna, Sweden Folkets Park
Sun 02/22/15 Eskilstuna, Sweden Lokomotivet