Concert Review: Sondre Lerche Is The Marty McFly of Bowery Ballroom

 

Sondre Lerche is The “Marty Mcfly” of performers. Now let me explain. I love Back To The Future, and Marty McFly is a legendary character because he was cool and kind, all at once. You wanted to be him, and truly felt like, at the very least, you could stand beside him. Capturing that “cool’ balance, Sondre Lerche played to a packed house IN LOVE with him.

Starting a show with, ” Are you ready to get pleasure?” is a pretty strong statement, especially for a crowd that was INTO Sondre Lerche. I, sincerely, believe that one lady in front of me had a wedding registrar and a taxi outside with directions to city hall. The crowd was as open to loving Lerche as he was to adoring them. It is incredibly magnificent to be reminded by an artist that you are loved as a fan. So often, in concert, the love seems one-way. As if, it is the crowd’s blessing to experience his or her performance, and not their blessing to have a crowd. The key to a mesmerizing concert is to remember that you, the musician, want to see a crowd as much as they want to see you, and Sondre Lerche relished his audience like they were the last glass of champagne on earth. He sipped and guzzled the richness of their cheers and laughs at his warm anecdotes. Lerche never left a song without a tale of its inspiration, a sudden memory that came to his mind, or, at least, a reminder that his new album/ motto is named after Pleasure.

The very idea of pleasure has a sense of endearing mischief, which is a good way to describe Sondre Lerche’s aura. Bringing back my comparison of him to Marty Mcfly, even sharing a love for nike kicks, Lerche danced and swindled his guitar with a wry confidence that reminded me of the scene when Marty is asked if he can play and sing because the prom band needed a replacement lead. Marty with a child-like smile just gives them a look of, “I was born with a guitar, and sang my way out of the womb”. Lerche has that same attitude/ face, and even moves as if the audience has no idea how good he is and how well he can perform and, in a way, he is right. Lerche was so fresh on stage that he, ironically, reminded me of artists of old that entertained a crowd, not just by their talent, but sheer love for them. Lerche danced, knelt into the front row, and crooned songs such as, “Soft Feelings”, “Sentimentalist”, and “I Know Something That’s Gonna Break Your Heart” as if they were the final, love songs ever to be written. Even he acknowledged, humorously, there is nothing like “slow jams” , especially in this time of Trump. The singer proclaimed disappointment at having some of his long-time band-mates forbidden to come from Norway, but, luckily, his drummer convinced him the show/ tour must go on. Thus, for man feeling a little down, Sondre Lerche gave a show that I could see a  thousand times again with how uplifted it made me feel. For More Informtion on Sondre Lerche And To Buy Pleasure  Click Here.