Oh, we promised to return to this series with scifi, fantasy and adventure, but since it’s Christmas… Jonas Bjerre’s favourite Christmas movie of all time is no surprise…

“Can I say The Snow Man? Even if it’s not a whole film? Otherwise… It’s a Wonderful Life“.

“Look, daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings”.

It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946)

Probably the best Christmas movie of all time… at least the most adored one. From director Frank Capra, it tells a fantastic tale of a suicidal man (James Stewart) who meets an angel and gets a chance to see what his home town, friends and family would be like if he had never been born. Nominated for five Academy Awards (including Best Picture), the film is shown every Christmas on television in many countries.

Happy Holidays from MewX!!!

Mew posted this holiday greeting on Mewsite.

*****

Want to see Apparatjik live? They will play their first ever show in Berlin (February 1st, 2010). You may also want to see this video by Jonas… and a new vinyl and some merchandise here.

Mew are on a well-deserved tour break once again. The shows in North America ended last Monday in Los Angeles (setlist below) and during this tour – surprisingly – almost every show had Louise Louisa as the last track played when Comforting Sounds has been completely absent.

Mew are also playing summer festivals in 2010. We know now that they will play at least Siesta Festival in Sweden (27th-29th of May in Hässleholm) and Skive Festival in Denmark (2nd-5th of June in Skive). Mew’s former bassist Johan Wohlert will bring his band The Storm to Skive as well.

The Danes will also perform at next year’s P3 Guld -award show on January 15th and you can watch the show live on channel DR2.

EDIT: Mew will also play a show at next year’s Jelling Musikfestival (27th-30th of May in Jelling).

Metro (Chicago, Illinois, December 7th)

On Mew’s latest visit to the States, they made a return to the Windy City. One would think that Mew have grown quite familiar with the frengers of Chicago: this being their fourth show in the city since the No More Stories -era began. These dates consists of two support slots for Nine Inch Nails, the Pitchfork Music Festival last summer and this solo show. The venue chosen for this event was the Metro, a concert hall just down the street from the iconic Wrigley Field (baseball). The smaller size allowed for a more intimate experience, especially with the standing area being particularly wide. The layout along with a balcony allowed for a great opportunity to enjoy the band’s backdrops and lights. There were still a lot of tickets on sale hours before the show, but in the end it looked like it was pretty much sold out (capacity 1100).

All the Day Holiday, the opening band, played an exciting supporting set. Their style could be described as pop punk mixed with a touch of art rock. Mew finally entered to begin the show. Bo Madsen was wearing a stylish grey jacket, Jonas Bjerre a buttoned sweater and Silas Graae had his signature white shirt with black suspenders. There was a balance between the number of songs from each of their last three albums. The set began with a block of four And the Glass Handed Kites -songs. Then it moved on to the usual Frengers -songs. The No More Stories -block began with Introducing Palace Players and went into an explosive Repeaterbeater. During the set, Bo used time between two songs to plug in his support for Barack Obama. He does not understand why the President has only a 50% approval rating when 100% of the girls in Europe would do him (!!!). Jonas also asked the audience if the band Chicago were really from Chicago and the crowd confirmed that they were. They closed their actual set with Snow Brigade. Although there was clapping to the beat at a few points during the show, the energy of the audience was typical of an indie rock concert: only the first few rows responding to the music with the others simply standing and staring. It’s a shame knowing that Mew make their music so exciting and danceable while their audiences tend to be so calm.

The encore was where the variety of Mew’s music really shined. The unexpectedness was cleverly used to take the audience on a roller coaster ride. Apocalypso faded into Saviours of Jazz Ballet, creating an explosive combination. The long version of Beach allowed Bo to show off his guitar skills that needed to be seen to believe. Bamse (also known as Bear) was a very beautiful, yet haunting addition to the show. To the surprise of many, Louise Louisa was the last song, taking the place of the expected Comforting Sounds. The sound quality of the performance was near perfect, with every detail of the instruments being able to be heard clear, especially Bo’s guitar.

Overall, the show was a dream come true for me, and everything I had hoped for.

J.J. Lundy

Two shows in Finland have just been announced. House of Culture and Pakkahuone fit under 3000 attendees together, so the shows are going to be much more intimate than the Old Ice Hall (that fit 4500 alone). Mew have played gigs in both venues before. They performed two shows at Helsinki’s House of Culture in March 2006 when all tickets were sold out within minutes. In May 2002 they supported Kent at Tampere’s Pakkahuone and that was one of the first ever shows for Mew in Finland. Tickets are priced 40€ for both shows.

February 16th, 2010 – House of Culture (Helsinki, Finland)
February 17th, 2010 – Pakkahuone (Tampere, Finland)

Jonas Bjerre’s favourite comedies are as follows:

“Well, it’s one louder, isn’t it? It’s not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You’re on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you’re on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there?”

Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993)

A very funny movie about a weatherman (Bill Murray) reluctantly sent to cover a story about a weather forecasting groundhog in a small Pennsylvanian town. Soon he finds out that some sort of curse has been placed upon him and that he must relive the same day over and over again. He must make the best of it. Andie MacDowell plays his love interest. This movie came out in 1993, arguably one of the best years in cinema – and Murray can be seen in one of his best performances. Groundhog Day is also THE movie Jonas would take on a desert island.

This Is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, 1984)

The best mockumentary of all time. In fact, it set the bar for the whole category. Marty DeBergi (Rob Reiner) is a film-maker who decides to make a documentary about the world’s loudest band, the British heavy metal group Spinal Tap. The movie satires the whole rock and roll scene and it passes itself off as a real documentary. The actors (who in real life are American) play the music themselves and the band still exists. Actor Reiner’s debut film as a director is a must for all music lovers.

A Mighty Wind (Christopher Guest, 2003)

Not as funny as the aforementioned movie, A Mighty Wind is about a fictional folk music group that consists of the same actors as in This Is Spinal Tap. Directed by one of the band members, Christopher Guest, this mockumentary is based on their own Saturday Night Live sketch. A fun fact: The Folksmen opened for Spinal Tap in the early 90’s and were booed during the show. The audience had no idea that the musicians were same people in both bands.

Next up in ‘Jonas At The Movies – Part III’ : Fantasy / Science Fiction / Adventure.

As has been hinted before, Mew are returning to Scandinavia for live shows as soon as next February. They have just finished their Nordic tour a week ago, so the break will be very short. We don’t know anything about Denmark or Sweden at this point, but something will be announced for Finland next Monday (9:30 in the morning local time). Be here! All the shows will be played just before the previously scheduled Japanese dates. Here are the two confirmed dates for Norway:

February 12th, 2010 – Samfundet (Trondheim, Norway)
February 13th, 2010 – Sentrum Scene (Oslo, Norway)

Scandinavian Congress Center (Aarhus, November 27th)
KB Hallen (Copenhagen, November 28th)

It had been three months since Mew played a show in Denmark, and since then a lot has happened. The Danes have developed into a slightly more flexible and interesting live band during those months, and now it was Denmark’s turn to experience the new show.

Scandinavian Congress Center – Harmonious Harmony

The first of the two planned shows was held at Scandinavian Congress Center in Aarhus. When you first entered the big building it almost looked like a big shopping mall. It seemed awkward to have a rock show there. The doubt about the surroundings was quickly replaced with happiness as soon as you came into the actual concert hall where the giant screen for the backdrops hung.

Oh No Ono was the opening act that evening. The conditions were perfect for the audience – the sound was great, the backdrops crystal clear and huge, and the band members were in great shape. The setlist seemed incredibly well-balanced and at the same time a bit bold. They started out with And the Glass Handed Kites -heavy part only with Am I Wry? No and 156 as exceptions. The first song from No More Stories… wasn’t played until half way through the gig, where the new songs took over. It worked splendidly and you got the special No More Stories -vibe as you get on the album. The audience witnessed the best performed Repeaterbeater on Danish ground so far. It sounded marvelous and the new backdrop and an overflow of stroboscope lights added so much more energy to the chorus. A proof that Mew had changed a lot was the amount of songs which had their debut in Denmark this evening – Intro, Hymn, Medley, Silas the Magic Car, Hawaii, Beach and the remarkable Bamse. All in all the show lasted more than 90 minutes!

Last time Mew played in Jutland (Western part of Denmark) was in 2005 at the same venue, and you would think that the Western Danes would be starving to see Mew again. With the conditions the venue offered, it should have been a reunion with a big emotional participation from the audience. Unfortunately, the show was not sold out and for some reason the enthusiasm never rose to the highest levels, as you could have hoped. This won’t change the fact that Mew did what they’re always so good at, in a very fine setting.

KB Hallen – Mew On Homeground

The following day the Danes dropped by their home city Copenhagen where the venue KB Hallen was captured once again. KB Hallen was built in 1938 and is primarily equipped for sports events. The place is being used for shows often though, for shows which are too big for actual music venues. The gig was obviously sold out and the first fans had been queuing from 9:00 in the morning (the doors opened 19:00). Oh No Ono opened for Mew once again and they also felt the tension when they thanked the audience and went off stage. As Mew went on stage, Intro (followed by Hymn) caused a massive cheer from the audience. Neither Mew, the audience nor the neighbours nearby could have doubted that the Danes had returned home.

Those frengers who were among the audience both nights could have hoped for a different setlist in Copenhagen. After all, Mew have been extremely good at varying it lately. Unfortunately it didn’t happen, but a blessing in disguise was that the setlist from last night was really good. Especially the She Came Home for Christmas -part from the new Medley was received very well this evening. Bo Madsen seemed to get carried away by the 3500 frengers’ elation and therefore he was very energetic on stage. Jonas Bjerre also showed us some new sides from his live act. During Snow Brigade, he confidently held the microphone towards the audience that sang along. Paradoxically the two shows ended up as counterparts to each other. Aarhus didn’t really have the right atmosphere, but the sound was so much better there than at KB Hallen where it tends to get quite muddy. It’s a shame that Copenhagen doesn’t have better venues for a band of Mew’s size. As mentioned, it didn’t affect the spirit of the frengers though. Mew, with a vigorous show, once again reminded the Danish people why they are one of the most beloved bands in the country. And vice versa, Mew were reminded where they belong.

Aarhus / Copenhagen setlist:

Intro / Hymn / Circuitry of the Wolf / Chinaberry Tree / Special / The Zookeeper’s Boy / Am I Wry? No / 156 / White Lips Kissed / Introducing Palace Players / Repeaterbeater / Medley / Silas the Magic Car / Hawaii / Sometimes Life Isn’t Easy / Snow Brigade —– Beach / Apocalypso / Saviours of Jazz Ballet / Bamse —– Comforting Sounds

Frederik Voss

Jonas Bjerre’s side project Apparatjik have finally released something official. Sure, they released Ferreting a year ago, but we don’t know if it’s going to be featured on the upcoming album or was it just for the charity album. Apparently Electric Eye is going to be on the yet untitled upcoming record that may or may not be released on February 1st 2010. The aforementioned track itself sounds like a futuristic pop song from the 80’s. There have also been other tracks like Snow Crystals, but it’s hard to tell what Apparatjik are really up to. Their website is as cryptic as can be – and it’s quite annoying, too. Follow the band on Twitter, they update quite frequently. Also, Apparatchick.com is quite informative.

Many have asked us who are the support bands for Mew on the current US tour. Well, they are announced during the tour and we don’t know all of them at this point. Only that Gabriel the Marine are opening for Mew tonight in Boston, Bear In Heaven in New York (December 4th) and All the Day Holiday in Chicago (December 7th). Yesterday Mew supported The Pixies which have had great influence on the Danes. Surely, Mew will post about the show on Mewsite and their other official websites. Jonas did talk about the band and his expectations just a few days ago, read about it here.

*****

All the frengers in Denmark, vote for Mew at Gaffa!!!

PS: There’s an additional show added for Tokyo, Japan. You may find it from our calendar above this post.