once again

'Once' Stars Captivate Music Audience

The Swell Season, composed of Irish singer Glen Hansard and Czech pianist Marketa Irglova, performed before a sold-out crowd at the Grand Theater, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, downtown Seoul, Saturday evening. Hansard and Irglova last year won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for ``Falling Slowly," which was featured in the hit independent film ``Once." / Courtesy of Private Curve
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter

Academy Award-winning singers Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova gave a truly ``Once''-in-a-lifetime concert experience, captivating fans with their music, Saturday evening.

Hansard and Irglova, also known as The Swell Season, were in Seoul for the first time, but the Grand Theater at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts was packed with thousands of fans. Their independent film ``Once'' was immensely popular in Korea, making its soundtrack one of the best selling foreign albums in 2007.

The concert began with Hansard coming out with an acoustic guitar with a scuffed body that looked similar to the one he used in ``Once." He went directly to the edge of the stage, and started singing ``Say It to Me Now'' without any microphone. The audience fell quiet as his powerful voice filled the hall.

After the song, Irglova and Irish band The Frames joined him on stage to sing several songs from the ``Once'' soundtrack.

Hansard appeared amazed at the film's success here. He said, ``The best response we've had to our film was in Korea," adding, ``We were walking around before the concert, and I think we met most of the people here."

As they sang their Oscar-winning song ``Falling Slowly,'' there was a palpable stillness in the audience as Hansard and Irglova's voices washed over them.

In the middle of the song, Hansard asked the audience to sing along. ``One of our friends told us that she saw the film in the cinema in Korea and people were singing along there. Is that true? Can you sing with us? It will make us feel better,'' he said, but the audience was content to listen to him and Irglova sing.

It was a very intimate, low-key concert. Wearing a dark jacket and pants, Hansard looked very much like the street singer he played in ``Once.'' He sang with raw emotion and played the guitar with ferocious intensity, especially on ``Leave'' and a cover of Van Morrison's ``Astral Weeks.''

Irglova, meanwhile, quietly played the piano and added her lovely voice to the songs. She switched to playing the guitar for solo songs, like ``If You Want Me.''

Hansard, who is also the lead singer of The Frames, performed several of the band's songs like ``Fitzcarraldo,'' ``People Get Ready,'' and ``Star, Star.''

As the show went on, Hansard, Irglova and The Frames' performances were passionate but seemingly effortless. Thanks to Hansard's friendly banter, the audience felt a sense of closeness with him. He even talked about how he saw a Korean boy on YouTube perform one of his songs.

The Swell Season also treated fans to new tunes like ``Happiness,'' ``Low Rising,'' ``Back Broke,'' and ``I Have Loved You Wrong.''

There was a small surprise during the concert when Korean group Mate was invited on stage to perform. Hansard was apparently impressed with Mate's cover versions of his songs during a performance at the lobby before the concert.

After two hours of almost non-stop music, Hansard, Irglova and the rest of the band ended the concert with a lively version of Bob Dylan's ``You Ain't Goin' Nowhere.'' They all stood at the edge of the stage, and sang their heart out, without microphones, and with just Hansard on guitar.

``We had a great night. It was fantastic,'' Hansard said, as the audience gave them a standing ovation.

cathy@koreatimes.co.kr