Sun Kil Moon’s frontman Mark Kozelek plays an artistic and introspective show in Montreal. Folk101 brings you highlights from his moving set.
Throughout Mark Kozelek's Montreal concert on July 9, horns could be heard honking outside. This was the night of Italy's World Cup victory, and a short distance away revelers were turning the streets into a chaotic party.
Inside, however, the indie-folk veteran created an environment of absorbing, contemplative music.
Shortly after 10 p.m., he took the stage armed only with his guitar and a single accompanist. Wearing a white polo shirt and jeans, Kozelek came across as an unassuming performer who appeared slightly uncertain of how to interact with the audience when he wasn't singing.
After every few songs, he would shyly comment, "I feel like I'm suppose to talk to you guys, but I don't know what to say." Members of the crowd, sitting either at tables or cross-legged on the floor, merely clapped in appreciation, as if to say that the music would be enough.
As frontman for Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters, Kozelek has become known as a linchpin of the sadcore movement in indie rock.
His solo work carries on this tradition with dark, down-tempo songs that are intense, desolate and often strikingly beautiful. His lyrics regularly deal with loss and pain, and are sung with a deep, emotive voice.
On this night in Montreal, he played a wide array of guitar-driven folk songs. At one point, he brought out a twelve-string and demonstrated true artistry while finger-picking complex chord progressions and trading licks with his onstage companion. The reverb-drenched notes filled the tiny venue to the rafters and seemed to wrap around the captive audience.
Local talent Zac DeCamp opened the show with his disarming wit and an appealing sense of melody. His songs ranged from idiosyncratic looks at love to poignant protest songs. Like Kozelek, his lyrics can exude a sense of bleak uncertainty. And yet, his keen perception of the world often inspired smiles and chuckles from the audience.
Overall, these two talented performers provided listeners with an evening of passionate and captivating music that granted a much-needed reprieve from the craziness outside.
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