Mesmerized by ‘s charisma, a small-ish group at the got a glimpse at an artist who promises to be the talk of this week. The crowd was happy to be saddled with Olsen’s last tour stop here in Denver on Monday before she heads down to Austin for an exhausting week. Currently a media darling, Olsen played with confidence and brought forth the connective tissue of her songwriting at Larimer.
Naturally a crowd will chat between songs at any show, but not during Olsen’s set. The young singer had the power to keep the audience quiet, keep it focused, as if waiting permission to connect with Olsen’s next volley of music.
Olsen’s stage presence is fierce, but inviting. She exhibited a smoldering intensity akin to that of Ian Curtis — albeit with a trained and beautiful voice — that somehow paired well with Roy Orbison and Patsy Cline. Add to that the artistic isolation of Jandek, and you come close to Olsen’s feel.
On her own, Olsen commands a crowd with her presence and strong, acrobatic vocals. But when she’s joined by a band, that power is somewhat dwarfed. Olsen is more than able to carry the music as a single artist on stage, which she did alone for the last two songs (there was no encore). When Olsen entered a song, she became possessed — a different person. She never ceded control of the audience, and they never seemed to want to let her. There were times on Monday when she checked out, bodily, remaining entirely engaged, creating and exploding musically and artistically.
Audiences better be ready for Olsen at SXSW this week, and anyone who’s going should not miss her.
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Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s explorations at , and his giglist at .
