Kim Vestin @ Stockholm Jazz Festival, Nytorget 6, October 13
On the third day of the 2014 Stockholm Jazz Festival, I climb down the stairs of restaurant Nytorget 6 (obviously located on Nytorget on Södermalm) where this evening Kim Vestin is scheduled to perform.
I can honestly say that Kim Vestin blew me away. She’s one of those artists that in between songs are shy and modest, but once they start playing and singing there’s no sign of doubt.
During Vestin’s relatively short gig this Monday evening, she manages to capture the audience and impress with a set of lyrically and melodically powerful tunes. The ballad-like ”Mycket vill ha mer” puts emphasis on Kim Vestin’s skills as a piano player, while challenging her vocal ability at the same time. The song ”Far Side of the Moon” captures something immense–the imagery clashes perfectly with the arrangements and is definitely the strongest moment of the night.
Vestin displays a joy for building up songs slowly, octave by octave, with her radiant appearance. The big, curly hair is reflecting the stage light in a really cool way while her band is taking us, the audience, on a trip with an unknown destination. There’s really no way of telling where Kim Vestin’s songs are going to end up, which brings an appealing mystery to her songwriting and composition.
There’s something about her that makes me think of Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez and Regina Spektor all at once, even though Kim Vestin surely is playing in her own league. A league she herself has described as epic pop, which is quite fitting since emotions evoked while listening to her play could both be described as intimate, but also very grand.
The set-up is different than usual, Vestin explains at the end of the show. Her regular band were unable to join her, therefore she can’t offer us songs to cover more than the 55 minutes she’s on stage. A simple set up guitar, bass, drums and piano is just enough to create a little taste of magic from the world of Kim Vestin.
