Peter Bjorn and John at Granada Theater [Show Review]

Sweden. It’s known for meatballs, cold weather and Ikea. After Thursday’s Peter Bjorn and John show at the Granada Theater, I think we have another solid addition to that list. The veteran indie rock band brought down the house with a nearly two-hour long set that brought the crowd from head banging to complete hysteria.

Lead singer Peter Morén took the band through songs from its newest album, Gimme Some, and the band’s biggest hits, often jumping down into the crowd to bring the show even closer to the huddled masses. The audience was eclectic – young (and seriously… young) hipsters grooved with big “x”‘s on their hands, but the older attendees, some who clearly have followed PB&J since their inception, were the partiers of the night.

The marathon of a show included not one, but two encores (or intermissions, or breaks for the band to get beer. We’re not really sure). Drummer John Eriksson looked a bit like Animal PLAYING THE DRUMS, and Peter and Bjorn interacted just enough with the crowd and each other to keep things interesting. Most surprising of the night was the rock star reception the crowd gave Peter each time he stepped their way.

The Granada Theater was the perfect venue for the show – we got there a bit late, and were still able to get up close to the stage. Their beer selection (which could only be enjoyed by about half of the crowd) is second only to Club Dada’s for music venues in the city, and, judging from the previews of shows coming soon, we’ll be seeing a lot more of the Granada these next few months.

The show was part of a Dallas Indie Crawl that started downtown with a performance by Smile Smile outside the AT&T Performing Arts Center. From there, crowds headed to the Granada for the show, then hit Beauty Bar, where DJ Sober was spinning to keep the party going.

This was one of the best shows we’ve seen, and the major reason for that was how much this crowd loved Peter Bjorn and John. At the slightest sign that the band was winding down, the  crowd would begin chanting “P B J! P B J! P B J!” Which makes one think…

Somebody. Get these people a sandwich.