The Tallest Man on Earth, Thalia Hall, Chicago, Illinois

The evening opened up with Lady Lamb, who like the Tallest Man on Earth, is a nom day plum for a solo artist. In this case, it’s New York-based singer-songwriter Aly Spaltro. Her set didn’t begin until 9:30, which is very late for a weeknight. I hate that. Her set was enjoyable, but with just her electric guitar and quiet voice on stage, it wasn’t particularly engaging. Her style is tough to play as an opening act, as the voices of the people talking over you tend to drown out your performance.

Taking the stage at around 10:30 was the Tallest Man on Earth, the chosen moniker of Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson. It still amuses me that despite his name, he’s short, squirrely, and full of nervous energy as he hops around the stage. Though this was my third time seeing him overall, it was the first in which he was accompanied by a band. Behind him were a group of extremely talented musicians that have toured with a number of other significant acts including Mike Noyce (Bon Iver) on guitar and violin; Ben Lester (S. Carey) on keys and pedal steel; Mike Lewis (Andrew Bird, Bon Iver) on bass, clarinet, and sax; CJ Camerieri (yMusic) on French Horn and trumpet; and Zach Hanson (Bon Iver, S. Carey) keeping the beat.

Despite this, he still played several songs solo, with only his beautiful warbling Dylan-esque voice and either an acoustic or electric guitar. As opposed to his previous more stripped down sets, when it was just him and a single guitar, this new setup provided the advantage of not having to wait as he tuned his guitar during the show. During his solos, the lights would dim save for a single light illuminating him. Though I prefer his solo performances, seeing him with a full band was a nice change of pace. During the set he shared a few stories, always in perfect English.

While I don’t have the exact set list, I know that it more or less lined up with the average setlist from other performances on this tour, with his biggest and best songs woven in with some deeper cuts, including at least some songs from each of his albums.

Average Setlist:
Fields of Our Home
Slow Dance
1904
Singers
Darkness of the Dream
Love Is All
The Gardener
Timothy
Sagres
Revelation Blues
The Wild Hunt
A Lion's Heart
Little Nowhere Towns
Where Do My Bluebird Fly
Beginners
Dark Bird is Home
Like the Wheel
Encore:
The Dreamer