The Tallest Man On Earth

Summer hasn't officially started yet, but at Hana-Bi in Marina di Ravenna it already feels like the height of July. Were it not for the accursed midweek Wednesday and a light breeze, the sand underfoot and the sea at your back would already taste plenty enough of holidays.

The summer edition, ever more popular, of Ravenna's Bronson club welcomes tonight one of the indie revelations of recent years: Kristian Matsson, aka The Tallest Man On Earth, with his so blatantly Dylan-esque voice, a superb command of fingerpicking, and above all a songwriting style as simple as it is moving.

Before the diminutive Swedish singer-songwriter takes the stage, it's the turn of fellow travelers Francis: "spring brings with it everything we need," they write on their website. And indeed their music truly carries the colors and sounds of spring: Petra Mases's voice doesn't even sound Swedish, it's sweet and biting at once. On stage, together with the other three members, there's a rare chemistry, and the songs are genuinely lovely. The feeling is that, while not saying anything truly new, Francis's music has an unpretentious, disarming simplicity. For many in the crowd, a very pleasant discovery.

Kristian takes the stage just minutes after the Dalarna band's set ends, amid applause and an impatient crowd. "It makes me want to drop the guitar and jump straight in the water! Is it always like this here in Italy?" Maybe it's because it's his first time in Italy, maybe it's because he's playing with the sea right in front of him, but the tallest man on earth carries an emotional charge that radiates from the very start, running through a great many songs from his debut, "Shallow Grave". And so, one after another, come "I won't be found", the gorgeous "The Gardener", the title track "Shallow Grave". Kristian seems to be having fun, the audience is warm: some thrilled to see, in the flesh for the first time, this year's big discovery, others simply curious about the incredible hype built up around this lanky Swede who seems to have come straight from across the ocean. The spectacular location helps enormously in creating just the right intimacy for the performance: it almost feels like everyone already knows each other.

After a few songs, a semi-acoustic guitar appears in Matsson's arms, with which he accompanies most of the remaining songs, several drawn from the wonderful "The Wild Hunt": "Troubles Will Be Gone", the tear-jerking "Love Is All" and "King Of Spain", which inevitably draws the crowd into a singalong.

The loveliest surprise comes when two-quarters of Francis (bass and drums) join Kristian for the achingly sweet "The Dreamer" and for a brand new, previously unheard song ("the next one is a new track, feel free to run off if you want") "There's No Leaving Now", perhaps the finest moment of the entire show: the track hints at something slightly more produced in the future, without losing an ounce of the essential quality - at times, up to now, perhaps taken a little too far - that has made this skinny Swede so beloved.

To close, after an intense hour and fifteen minutes - a few more songs certainly wouldn't have hurt - Mr. Matsson's other half takes the stage, the lovely Amanda Bergman, aka Idiot Wind, to accompany Kristian on "Thrown Right At Me", the waltz that closes the Ep "Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird". The final moments bring the loveliest gem of the night: Mr. Matsson is alone again, just a banjo and the sea in view. "Kids On The Run" is his farewell.

So then, long live The Tallest Man On Earth, fingerpicking, and free concerts on the beach.

Ride the wave of great music

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