The Tallest Man On Earth, aka, Kristian Matsson, opened for John Vanderslice @ House of Blues in Dallas, Texas on 6/25/09
by Weijia of Death FYI – Selected video is available HERE from The Weijia of Death
Depending on the personality of the artist, a one-man show can be hard for an audience. Some soloists choose to play for themselves, forgetting that they’re performing live and completely ignoring their crowd. Tallest Man on Earth is no such artist. The Swedish native switched between two acoustic guitars throughout the set, playing them like they were an extension of his arm. Moving agilely back and forth across the stage, he even stuck his instrument in his audience’s faces, plunging them into his world. TMOE’s songs are generally upbeat; their messages speak to the everyman. During one song, a cell phone rang loudly; TMOE raised his head in acknowledgement, his inflection unchanging. With an expression of slight apologetic wonder, he stared in the direction of the disruption, as if asking ‘oh, I beg your pardon, is that for me?’ He then smiled, continuing. He was enjoying the show as much as his listeners. Deftly tuning his arm to his liking during the last song, with a glint in his eyes, TMOE says “this guitar does not want to say goodbye”.