Owen Pallett, Stockholm, Debaser Slussen

10 Reasons Why Owen Pallett Rocks Live

1. He is to violins what Slash is to guitars. And tonight his instrument doubles up as both fiddle and kickdrum. Stay tuned for future concerts where the magnificent Owen Pallett plays violin upside down, behind his head, and with his teeth. Thankfully, no violins were hurt during the making of this gig.

2. He makes Mariah Carey songs enjoyable for skinny jeaned girls and heterosexual males alike:



3. To feel ‘more comfortable’ during an encore-set shirt change, he calls THIS the best moment in cinema history. ‘Period.’:



4. He is an ‘artist’ rather than an egoist - and could be the only musician out there that rejects raucous handclapping. ‘Do you think you can snap instead? I’m creating a loop!’

5. He conducts a ‘Question and Answer session’ during the set:
‘Any more questions?’

‘How is Mariah Carey? I dunno I’ve never met her. She’s very voluptuous. She’s what yoghurt would look like if yoghurt were a person. Any other questions?’

6. His arrangements are spine-tingling; making use of delicate pizzicato as well as fashioning violin riffage a la The Strokes on ‘Independence Is No Solution’.

7. He stops performing ‘He Poos Clouds’ to encourage a fan to ‘kick the habit.’
OP [singing]: ‘He’s the only friend I have who doesn’t do cocaine.’
Fan: ‘YEAH!’
OP: ‘What? Have you ever dated anybody who does cocaine around you? And then they come home late at night and decide to get a little intimate with you? Then you won’t be YEAH about cocaine anymore! You’ll be AAH!!! Why did you do this to us?!!’

8. He keeps things spontaneous and fresh and is not afraid to try new things out on stage. When he fluffs up a song part way through, he fixes it like a jolly handyman, ‘OK.. I’ll play a new song. This is a very nice tribute and another part to the current song. 1, 2, 3 - go!’

9. He stays back at the end of the show to have a chat and a fag with fans.

10. He plays most of beautiful sonic landscape, ‘Heartland’ in its entirety and proves himself as both a great entertainer and an incredibly gifted musician. Whilst DIY can’t wait to welcome back the Arcade Fire, it is clear tonight that Owen Pallett burns very brightly as a solo artist.