Erlend and Eirik
Erlend and Eirik

Why is King of Convenience so awesome to see live?

  • They look happy.
  • They sound beautiful.
  • …And effortless.
  • …And intimate.
  • They tell random funny anecdotes.
  • Erlend does cute little dances.
  • THEY ARE SO GODDAMN GOOD WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

It took four and a half years for King of Convenience to come back to New York City. The first time I saw them was one of the most memorable shows I had ever been to. And Thursday night…I’d say was the same. And not just because I’m known for having a penchant for weegies. (That is, Norwegians, not Glaswegians.)

And then Feist appeared in the balcony
Feist!

They mostly played songs from their new album, Declaration of Independence, but tossed a few older ones in at the end to appease the audience, along with a cover of “It’s My Party.” There were many memorable moments—I was a particular fan of when Erlend said they had eaten at Kampuchea and that we New Yorkers were lucky to live in a city with such good food—but Feist appearing in the balcony during the encore, amplification-less performance of “The Build Up” was the final “you probably won’t forget this” moment. Her voice is what makes me love the song.

There was also that time that Eirik gave us his best steely male model pose.

..STILL POSING
Smile!

Actually, they both granted the audience their best poses in return for us not taking photos during their performance. DSLRs are too loud; I don’t blame them. (I only took a few photos after that moment, during times that I felt were the least obtrusive. I swear.)

pretending to play a saxaphone
Toot.

And there’s Erlend pretending to play a saxophone. Because. Why not?