As usual, the guitar pop giant served a big, soft, rolling and sparkling sound. However, the accompanying chamber orchestra emerged as the brightest star of the evening.
Rock
Mew & Danish Chamber Orchestra at Musiikkitalo 21.4
Mew is a special band. It celebrates its 30th anniversary next year, but it still somehow feels fresh.
The Danish band combining pop music and progressive rock is known for its rolling harmonies and sparkling bright sound.
Vocalist Jonas Bjerren the angelic high and soft voice is the band’s most famous trademark.
Singer Jonas Bjerre is known for his bright singing voice.
But wait a minute, were we in the training camp or in the concert hall?
You couldn’t be sure of that if you followed Bjerre’s actions. The singer’s performance style is of course modestly low-key, but his tired nature disturbed the intensity of the concert.
The singer was staring at the floor, standing in a small bow all the time, and mostly moved to pick up the water bottle next to him.
The concert in the beginning, hit songs from 2000–2005 were heard: 156, Special and The Zookeeper’s Boy.
156 brought with it problems when Bjerre’s voice began to break up in the high notes. Suddenly he was singing lower than usual.
It became clear, at least, that as incredible a singer as Bjerre is, he also has reason to stay in his tracks, i.e. on those high bright frequencies.
Keyboard player Nick Watts played with a relaxed touch.
Because the problems with the sound were 156in , so prominent, next heard Sometimes Life Isn’t Easyn listening was mildly frightening. However, it was overcome with honor, and Bjerre’s voice slowly began to clearly open up.
Guitarist Mads Wegner, who joined the band in 2015, performed enthusiastically and energetically.
Heard in the middle of the concert Cartoons and Macramé Wounds sounds great and strong. Above all, there was certainty in it, which was seen for the first time in the concert only at this point.
Heard after that Satellites brought movement and bursting energy to the stage. Guitarist Mads Wegner rocked together with the orchestra musicians who got up from their seats.
Director and conductor of the Danish Chamber Orchestra, Andreas Vetö (center). In the background, bassist Johan Wohlert and guitarist Mads Wegner.
The best the concert had interesting arrangements and a wonderful sound. The concert sounded unbelievably good.
Especially guitarist Wegner’s work was pleasant to watch. He had an energy that he would have liked to give even a little to the other members of the band.
He was constantly communicating with the orchestra: turning to face them and playing with them.
The concert the intensity, atmosphere and vibe grew and deepened all the time.
When Comforting Sounds -the first beats of the song came out, someone sighed behind me in an extremely satisfied voice: “Jessss”.
The song ended to a huge standing ovation, and the band disappeared into the darkness. The second encore started with a new song. The audience was excited.
However, the new song got the quietest applause of the evening. And when the evening culminated in the hit song of 2000, Am I Wry? Nothe audience went wild.
Even though it was a day concert that started at four in the afternoon, the audience was surprisingly loud and showed their popularity in abundance.
Message was clear.
Mew has moved to the nostalgia department. The public comes to its concerts to hear what they have heard thousands of times before.
The band released their previous album in 2017. Now they have to think about their relevance in the present.
At least based on this evening, the audience doesn’t expect new music.
End towards, the intensity increased and the band seemed to wake up from its initial hibernation.
Mew toured with the Danish Chamber Orchestra already in 2023 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his breakthrough album called Frengers.
The exceptionally loud audience clearly liked what they saw. Standing ovations were seen even three times.
The star of the evening was the chamber orchestra, which played wonderfully. It was on fire from the first bars and played bravely and with great enthusiasm.
It brought added value to the Danish band many times over. That’s what it really needed this time.