First Aid Kit at the Sydney Opera House

4 January 2013

I’ve been in awe of Swedish sister folk duo First Aid Kit since the first time I heard them and I have blogged about them before. It’s incredible that ladies so young could have such a deep sense of folk and roots music but they do.

Last night I finally saw them live at the Opera House with a bunch of friends who also appreciate good music. They were fantastic.

First Aid Kit. Click to embigggen.

The perfectly genetically-matched harmonies were stronger live than on their recordings. While many songs sound the same it’s a great sound. The tone of the performance was emotional, coming as much from the girls’ disbelief at playing a sold-out Opera House as from the heartfelt lyrics of loss.

They were engaging without being overly cheesy. They came forward to take advantage of the House’s acoustics by singing “Ghost Town” without amplification. They asked us to sing along to songs like “Emmylou”. They smiled and told stories and made me shiver when they covered Simon & Garfunkel’s “America”. And it’s not many performances that get a shout out to Richard Dawkins.

First Aid Kit. Click to embiggen.

I find it encouraging that there are still young performers who can be successful doing the type of music that they love and not just what’s likely to be popular. Good luck girls.

You can listen to several First Aid Kit songs on their web page.

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