SATURDAY, NOV. 10:

What can really be said about Jens Lekman that you don’t already know? He’s basically a Swedish pop deity and a dead ringer for Stephen Merritt in that he’s almost too clever for his own good. When I found out that he was coming back to L.A., I decided I couldn’t miss him again, and to take the experience to a whole different level I decided to bring my mom along. My mom is pretty damn cool, had heard Jens’ music before and liked it. As the videos of the tour popped up all over the internet, I watched them one by one until I figured that by the time Jens got to L.A., all his stories and jokes would be old news. But I was wrong. Throughout his Night Falls Over Kortedala-heavy set, I just couldn’t stop smiling. The best part about that feeling was that my mom was basically going through the same thing. Jens’ extended version of “A Postcard to Nina” probably spilled over into the eight-minute range, far exceeding the album version both in length and in absolutely ridiculous cuteness. Of course, the cuteness didn’t stop there, peaking during the bridge of “Sipping on the Sweet Nectar,” when Jens and his whole tall, beautiful Scandinavian backup band put down their instruments and ran around the stage, pretending to fly. My mom didn’t say much after it was all over; she was mostly just shocked that she enjoyed herself so thoroughly. The one question she did have was, “Why was his backup band so amazing? They’re like the Robert Palmer Girls, except they actually play music!” (CY)