The Junk Bar is a tiny venue located inconspicuously in Brisbane’s northern suburbs.
Its interior resembles a dimly-lit wooden cabin with animal heads mounted to the walls, and Swedish troubadour Jens Lekman was besotted with the place. “I want to play this room every night,” he said. “It’s beautiful and kind of creepy.”
Finding beauty in moments, whether sad or embarrassing, is a delightful trait of Jens’ songs.
At his second Brisbane show (15 March) he regaled stories and songs about small moments and big emotions to a sold-out crowd of entranced fans.
Carefully tip-toeing through the crowd to the stage, Jens picked up his acoustic guitar and opened with The Lovin’ Spoonful’s ‘Do You Believe In Magic?’ Still strumming, he sang directly: “Do you believe in magic, Brisbane?” to chuckles. “I can’t quite hear you,” he crooned, urging fans to fill the intimate space with cheers.
The audience's silence was often broken by Jens’ humorous lyrics. Lyrics like: “They drew a swastika in your cappuccino” from ‘Waiting For Kirsten’ drew laughter, as did the song’s closing lyric/ punchline.
Just as funny were his stories giving further context to richly detailed songs like ‘A Postcard To Nina’, about pretending to be his lesbian friend’s boyfriend during an uncomfortable dinner with her parents.
“I feel like my songs are slower whenever I play in Australia. I think it’s the heat,” Jens quipped. With the press of a button on his sampler the jaunty violins of ‘The Opposite Of Hallelujah’ appeared, bringing smiles to fans’ faces.
It’s a spirited performance, with Jens putting down his guitar to play tambourine. The crowd applauded when the music seemingly finished, only for Jens to shush them for the sparkling xylophone outro he mimed to.
Without his guitar, an energetic Jens bounced around with his tambourine and took a knee to mock-propose to a fan: “Only for the citizenship,” he clarified. Still having so much fun, he said: “I was going to stop the show there, but I didn’t want to.”
The party continued with the funky ‘What’s That Perfume That You Wear?’, transitioning into ‘Sipping On The Sweet Nectar’, both of which he smiled and danced through.
Earlier Jens told the story behind ‘Hotwire The Ferris Wheel’, where a friend told him to write a happy song about her bad day. “It’s in your hands now. Make something beautiful,” she said.
At The Junk Bar, Jens Lekman did exactly that.
