Backed with a solid, live rhythm section, Catharina Stoltenberg and Henriette Motzfeldt, the duo best known as Smerz, took the stage at Webster Hall in Manhattan and delivered a stunning, hour-long set that had the capacity crowd weak in the knees as they churned out brilliantly crafted minimal-pop and noirish-R&B that made the venue feel like the ultimate destination for the night's hippest crowd. Riding high from last year's great record Big City Life, the duo were in immaculate form, their shyness and reserved qualities giving their music even more of an elusive, mysterious appeal as they teased out sinewy guitar lines over downtempo beats while their drummer gave everything an added sense of enthusiasm, his grooves accentuating the exact right moments while their bass player provided just the right level of funk. As the duo switched off vocal duties, one would stand over a fan, letting her hair hover and fly about in slow motion, matching the tempo of the music as they oozed their coolness. Taking parts of Björk's trip-hop, the vibes of Aaliyah, the haziness of Mazzy Star, and the lyrical wit of Fiona Apple, they captured a strong essence that radiated throughout the room as they plunked away at jazzy piano chords for "What" and slowcore rhythms that helped them elongate notes while still giving off some real dance moments that had the crowd bursting at the seams. The tension hung tight all evening, the duo keeping everything firmly within their control, never giving in to temptation and letting the night run off into something of total grandeur, their magic reveled in their restraint and their ability to create more from less. At one moment their sound engineer strapped on an electric guitar and stood up from behind the mixing board in the crowd to add more texture to their set while Astrid Sonne joined them on stage to play violin, the metallic string element doing even more to raise the excitement from the crowd. Sonne would join them again in the night for "Easy," the track she contributed to the group's remix album which made for real high mark of the night. Keeping the dialogue to an absolute minimum, the duo didn't need to speak between songs to command the attention from the crowd as each track seemed to elicit even more passion from an already committed audience. "Roll the Dice" picked up the speed with it's thudding beats and the crowd ate it up, people swaying with sensual vibes and getting down with the highly stylized melodies. When they hit us with the finale of "You Got Time and I Got Money," the night hit its pinnacle moment, everyone giving in to temptation, swaying along, and shouting the words right back to the band onstage, nailing the backing vocals with a sneering lilt. Already the duo's standout track, this took it to a new level and cemented its status as an all-time vibe check that brought home the night with flying colors.
Set list:
02 "But I Do"
03 "Imagine This"
04 "What"
05 "Big City Life"
06 "Win"
07 "Feisty"
08 "A Thousand Lies" [with Astrid Sonne]
09 "You Got Time and I Got Money (VVTZJ Edit)"
10 "Big Dreams"
11 "Easy" [with Astrid Sonne]
12 "Sorry"
13 "Its Here"
14 "Street Style"
15 "Roll the Dice"
16 "Dreams"
17 "You Got Time and I Got Money"
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