You know those kinds of nights thAet are just cozy and comfy and friendly and warm? Where you go out to listen to some music, and you buy a cup of tea or a glass of red wine or a Orangina with a straw? And you sit on the floor or on the edge of the stage during the concert, or you stand in the crowd, resting your head on the shoulder of your friend/boyfriend/girlfriend? And you close your eyes, when the music starts, in order to really listen to it? Well, Thursday night was exactly one of those nights.
It was at NBI, Kulturbrauerei, and it was with the Seattle based singer/songwriter Damien Jurado, who is now touring his ninth studio album Saint Bartlett, released May this year. Through multi-instrumentalism from Damien and masterful production courtesy of Richard Swift, his good friend and collaborator, Saint Bartlett does sound as though recorded with a full band lineup, even though really the product of just the two compatriots alone. Instead of hiring a group of session musicians to recreate the sound of the album live for the tour, Damien has done the opposite, relying on the strength of the material and the energy of his live performances to take the shows on solo, just himself, his guitar, and a small photo of Richard.
Opening the night, Australian Ned Collette set the tone beautifully with a series of soft songs in a folkie singer/songwriter style. Unfortunately the support act always turns out to be background music for people to finish their 
conversations and buy their drinks. Damien Jurado on the other hand, had an almost magnetic affect on the listeners. After the first couple of songs, a decent crowd had formed, the conversations were completely gone, and all attention was reverently focused on the stage.
For almost one and a half hours, Damien Jurado filled the room with his American folk ballads, mostly from the new album, but also with earlier and new material. And there is nothing there that isn’t good. To highlight a few, Arkansas, Beacon Hill and the older Ohio were especially moving.
All downbeat and sad. The lyrics are in general not the most cheerful in this world, and maybe to prevent the listeners from falling into a sweet, melancholic depression after the concert, Damien had to make a few jokes about it by the end, which, to be honest, felt a bit liberating.
Damien Jurado excels both as a singer and as a songwriter, and combined with a very dedicated audience, it all turned out nicely. But I wouldn’t have minded if he had brought a band, at least just for some of the songs. It was a lot of one-man-with-a-guitar, especially considering how great the new album sounds.
