Take a seat in the front row with...

Teitur 

Bitter End, NYC

October 11, 2004

Review by: Erica Futterman

For fans of Teitur (pronounced tie-ter), the smooth-voiced singer-songwriter from Denmark’s Faroe Islands, perhaps the last thing expected at a show was his wry sense of humor.  “Poetry & Aeroplanes,” Teitur’s debut on Universal Records, offers a collection of sweet and effortless melodies, but gives no hint of the personality that comes out during live performances.  But when Teitur took the stage at the Bitter End in New York City on Columbus Day, his singing wasn’t the only effortless part of the set; Teitur’s humor fit into his commentary better than anyone in the full-to-capacity audience could have guessed.

The show opened with sets from two other foreigners – Jeremy Fisher and Tina Dico.  Fisher, who hails from Canada, had a raw early-Dylan sound (complete with harmonica playing), while Dico proved herself as one of the most engaging solo female artists to come along in a while.  In addition to doubling as the featured vocalist of Zero 7 when not gigging solo, Dico has also performed with Teitur back home.

Accompanied by a rotating duo of band members (five instruments were played among the three men on stage that night), Teitur’s set covered almost all of the tracks on “Poetry & Aeroplanes,” as well as several new and non-album numbers.  Rather than playing just an acoustic guitar as he had done for many of his past shows, including an opening spot on John Mayer’s fall tour in 2003, Teitur switched things up on the electric guitar, piano and the harmonium – even though he admitted, “it's in its last days...leaking air...coughing...it's trouble.”

The time between songs was filled with amusing banter, such as the story before “Josephine,” in which Teitur explained – or tried to explain – the song’s history: “I’m going to take you back, back before puberty,” he said.  “This is a song called Josephine, but the girl is not.  That’s an F.A.Q….I’m just setting the tone!” 

Teitur’s last song before exiting and re-entering for an encore was a cover of Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire.”  “It started out as a joke, but now it’s quite serious,” he explained, describing how he had started playing the song to pay homage to Lewis.  Then, in true Teitur fashion, he added, “It’s done in the key of minor, because Jerry Lee Lewis had a thing for minors!”  The audience laughed appropriately at the band’s dark interpretation of the song, during which Teitur also appeared entertained by himself. 

Although “Great Balls of Fire” would have been a fitting conclusion, Teitur came back on for two songs – the first with Tina Dico on lead vocals, and the second solo on the piano.  He finally exited with a humble “thank you so much.  Have a good one,” – a reminder that this was just another Monday night.   

www.tunedinmusic.com