Live report: Nicolai Dunger @ Media Club, Vancouver, BC 07/22/06
Maybe it was because it was an early show; maybe it just wasn't publicized well enough, or perhaps Nicolai Dunger simply is less well-known in Canada, or in Vancouver, than I thought. All three of these reasons seem plausible when trying to explain the fact that by the time Nicolai came on, there were at most 20 people in the audience at the Media Club on that atypically hot summer evening in Vancouver. One thing, however, is for sure: anyone who didn't show up missed a sparse and intimate, but impassioned, performance.
The show mostly featured Nicolai solo on acoustic guitar, but sometimes backed by a friend on double bass. And not only was it intimate, but also charmingly informal. He came on, shirt half-unbuttoned, wearing flip-flops (which didn't end up staying on too long), his rolling tobacco sticking out of his shirt pocket. At one point during the show, he asked if there was anything we wanted to hear, at which point a group of Swedes in the corner shouted a request for "Hunger" (off his latest North American release, "Here's my song, you can have it..."). He immediately responded with "Oh I can play that one...easily." And he did, managing to turn a horn and organ-filled tune into a pared-down acoustic rendering of the song, naturally sounding like it could have been the originally intended version of the song.
The whole set was fantastic, but I did have some favourite highlights. There was "Last night I dreamt of Mississippi" off "Tranquil isolation", a one-verse song that never got old, but rather more expressive and stirring with each repetition. Halfway through the song, he changed keys by putting the capo up a couple of frets on his guitar, flawlessly making the transition. His jaw-dropping vocals were just as, if not more impressive than they are on record. "Wild white horses", also from his latest, was one of many songs that demonstrated his tender, but controlled, falsetto. "Old lovers", from "Tranquil isolation", started as a straightforward sad tune, before long building to a spine-tinglingly intense, heartfelt climax. He closed the set with "Blind blemished blues" from the first LP of his "Vinyl trilogy", a solemn end to an often invigorating performance.
For all the naysayers who think he is just a Van Morrison or Jeff and Tim Buckley imitator, attendance at his show would put all those doubts to rest. Nicolai Dunger is a musician with a voice of his own who deeply cares about his craft, and that came through more than anything else that night.
.:About the author:
Robert Ferdman is a Canadian that is trying to only eat meat once a day.