Peter Bjorn And John - Living Thing

Coming right from the airport and soon heading further to the soundcheck, the Swedish trio, Peter Bjorn and John, takes a short break for us at the café at Funkhaus. At a prosaic setting with restricted equipment and no time for big arrangements, the smart-dressed group starts into a truly exhilarated and energetic performance. The spark of enthusiasm from the terrific melody, catchy chord progressions and drum patterns right away jumps across from “Lay It Down”; not to forget about the animating vocal parts as this song is really meant to be sung out loud. Yet when the drummer John goes for the “Hey shut the fuck up boy…”-chorus, some guy is walking by on his right side. In real life doubtlessly polite and discreet (like actually all of them), John is bashfully laughing in this awkward, because mistakable situation. Then, just some meters down the road, Peter takes their song “Living Thing” by word and shows an out-and-out performance of frisky singing, guitar-playing and dancing all at once with which he might also score off an orchestra of bagpipe players that practises in a nearby courtyard and can be vaguely heard in the background.