Agnes Obel at Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis (30 Oct 2014)

Jennifer Castle at Dakota Jazz Club (Oct 30, 2014)

Toronto’s Jennifer Castle decorated the stage with flowers that she found along the long road to Minneapolis. She joking offered to sell the flowers too, along with her entire discography for sale at the merch table.

She started and ended her set with covers, starting with Bob Dylan’s “Walkin’ Down the Line” and ending with a traditional song “Sailor’s Blessing”, which she sang a cappella. Sandwiched between were mostly selections from her latest album Pink City, which came out last month on Idée Fixe Records.

For the first night of the North American tour, things seemed to get off to a good start. Agnes Obel affectionately called her landing in the US on a very late flight, “fresh off the boat”.

If you are not familiar with Obel, her debut album Philharmonics (PIAS Recordings) sold so well it was certified platinum. The album took home several Danish Music Awards: Best Album Of The Year, Best Pop Release Of The Year, Best Debut Artist Of The Year, Best Female Artist Of The Year and Best Songwriter Of The Year.

So there was a lot of anticipation for her follow-up, Aventine, which actually beat or met chart positions in the UK, and, even landed #1 in Denmark. Aventine, as Obel explained on stage, was a much more personal record for Obel.

We previously wrote that her music is dark, but I should point out that she enjoys playing literally in the dark. This probably has something to do with staging and the lack of available proper lighting… but both Obel and her violinist, Mika Posen, were in darkness. Poor cellist Anne Müller, who sat right in the center of the spotlight…

As you can see from the setlist, the majority of the live songs were taken from the sophomore album Aventine, including the title track and “Run Cried the Crawling”. Between her two albums (and currently writing new songs), she certainly had enough material to fill a set… but her love and affection for other artists had her covering Elliot Smith’s “Between the Bars” and John Cale’s “Close Watch” (which actually appeared on her debut Philharmonics album).

Also, according to Obel, she’s from Denmark, but living in Germany. Obel noted that when she moved to another country, she realized how alien and different other cultures are… and that’s what “Dorian” was about.

Obel’s been busy writing new songs, and she previewed “Spinet Song” for us. This song was a result of her working with other type of keyboards, like the spinet, which is a smaller piano.

Although this was Obel’s very first time in Minneapolis, based on the turnout and dedicated fans, this appearance certainly will not be the last. Agnes Obel and Jennifer Castle continues their North American tour through November: