The Swell Season & Rachael Yamagata @ Warehouse Live

If you've ever seen the movie Once, than you know who The Swell Season are, but if you haven't, there's a good chance you probably don't. The Oscar award-winning duo is made up of Glen Hansard, front-man of Irish rock group The Frames, and Marketa Irglova, a Czech singer-songwriter who performs predominantly on piano. They write some of the most inspirational folk music I've heard in quite some time, and a live performance by the duo is unlike any other. I first caught them live at Austin City Limits last year, and left their show glowing from its genius. They were the first act I've ever witnessed that have made being in an over-sized festival crowd feel like you were in a much smaller, more intimate venue. Hansard has a certain way of involving the crowd that makes them feel more like they are performing the set with them, rather than just being a witness. Their set was definitely a sight to see, but was too short at forty-five minutes amongst all the other great bands playing that day at ACL. Fortunately it wasn't too long before The Swell Season hit the road again, this time in support of their latest release, Strict Joy. They found themselves back in Texas at Houston's Warehouse Live for a headlining set featuring up-and-coming singer-songwriter Rachael Yamagata filling the support slot.

Read all about the show, browse my photos and watch a host of videos after the jump.

Words and photos by Jim "Eggs" Bricker

I arrived in the packed Ballroom at Warehouse Live to find Rachael Yamagata a few songs deep into her set. I've known about Yamagata for several years now, with Cereal being a big fan and seeing her live on several occasions, but I myself was yet to catch one of her performances. From the get-go, her set was enjoyable, but somewhat of a downer. She has a very fun personality, though, with her stage banter providing some pretty laughable moments in between her sad songs. I figured her music would be a bit happier, but her setlist for the evening contained nothing but slow, almost-depressing songs. She has a good voice, and her personality shines through, but as an opener, she needed to turn up the energy a bit. Still, she has a certain talent that will most definitely warrant another listen in the future.

Rachael Yamagata

Signs were posted throughout the venue that warned concert goers that the two main bars in the Ballroom would be closing before The Swell Season took the stage. Without the added distraction and noise coming from the bars, and with less drunk people overall, I immediately knew this show would be much different than the usual Houston fare. The crowd was abuzz in anticipation for the ensuing set, but what they didn't know (and what the head security guard informed me of earlier) was that they were in for a two-plus hour set of emotional, awe-inspiring musicianship from the duo known as The Swell Season.

Hansard and Irglova marched out to center stage and kneeled down – him with acoustic guitar and her with a Casio keyboard. They cutely made their way through "Fallen From The Sky," before stepping up to the bigger, more amplified version of their chosen instruments for a take on "Lies." I had spent the first three allotted songs to jump into the off-to-the-side pseudo-pit that had been established as my only real chance to get up close and personal to take some shots. The third song was in a full band format, when the duo was unexpectedly joined by Hansard's other band, The Frames, for their latest hit "Low Rising." The song took on a much more light-hearted tone in a live format, adding a comedic interpolation of Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" to the tail end of the tune. Soon they were into a mix of new and old, showcasing several tracks from both their debut album, The Swell Season, the Once OST and their latest release, Strict Joy.

The Frames

The true point of brilliance started when Hansard was left alone by the Irglova and The Frames to show off his busking roots with a few acoustic tunes. "Leave" had him plugged in, but he soon decided that the crowd – one that I swear didn't come from Houston – was quiet enough for him to step away from amplification. He unplugged, mounted a speaker stack that inhabited the usual photo pit area, and belted his way through a jaw-dropping version of "Say It To Me Now" from the soundtrack to Once. Next, Hansard plugged back in and represented his Irish roots with a strum-heavy, blood-letting cover of Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks" that completed a perfect solo acoustic set from the enchanting front-man. Soon, Hansard departed, while the Frames and Irglova returned to stage so they could also have a chance to show off. Irglova performed a beautiful solo that was matched by the equally stunning violin efforts of Frames player Colm Mac Con Iomaire. One of the ladies I attended the show with found this song to be the most musically satisfying moment of the entire evening. I couldn't help but agree. The set finished with the popular "When Your Minds Made Up," one song that is just ok in my book. I took this time to re-up on beer at the Studio bar, and made my way back just in time for the duo to return for an encore.

Glen Hansard ::: The Swell Season

Marketa Irglova ::: The Swell Season

Their hit single from Once, "Falling Slowly," started the encore portion of the evening which invited the biggest sing-a-long of the night. What came next was unlike anything I've ever experienced at a live concert. With a crowd that was already in the singing mood, Hansard introduced the next song as a new one and took the first few moments to teach the audience the harmony. After a few bars of the audience sing-a-long, one voice clearly stood above the rest of the crowd – a soulful "Aretha" as Hansard put it. This voice was so potent that Hansard decided its owner needed to be on stage to lend additional support during the tune. The next six or seven minutes were pure magic. Introduced as Moji upon her arrival to stage, Hansard started out the song by announcing to the crowd that "clearly Moji can sing her ass off, but still we don't know this song together, so we're just going to be jamming." The song started out as a slow acoustic number, but as soon as Moji opened up her pipes it turned into something completely different. The crowd ate up every minute of it, screaming each and every time Moji uttered a note. By the end of the song, Moji had completely won both the band and the crowd over, with everyone standing in complete awe of the incredible moment they just bared witness to. Moji was as ecstatic as can be, and gave both Hansard and Irglova the biggest hugs after excitedly professing her love for The Swell Season into her microphone. Soon she was off stage leaving Hansard to ponder, "where do we go [from here]?" I'm not sure if anything will top that moment at a live concert in quite some time. Absolutely brilliant.

For the last song, all four members of The Frames joined Hansard and Irglova at the lip of the stage for an A Capella version of Houston/Austin-area artist Daniel Johnston's "Devil Town" – a humorous-yet-satisfying way to cap off such an astounding night. After watching videos to re-cap this show, I've come to realize that it was easily one of the best live performances I've seen all year. Don't pass up an opportunity to see The Swell Season live. You'll seriously regret it.