VEGA 09192008: I honestly didn’t believe that Swedish duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums would get anything really good out of their gig at Copenhagen venue VEGA Friday night. Scheduled to take the stage at half past midnight in one of the busiest nightclubs in Denmark, packed with glow-stick kids and styled-up party people, the duo’s freak-folk seemed destined to crash and burn. It didn’t…

It is hard, if not impossible, not to be impressed by Wildbirds & Peacedrums. First because of the incredibly powerful, nuanced voice and unique stage presence of Mariam Wallentin. Second because of the duo’s ability to create complex and diverse songs with mainly drums and vocal (here and there bells, a toy organ and other bits were added to the mix).

A magnum achievement that made husband and wife Andreas Werliin (drums) and Mariam Wallentin (vocal) the unlikely heroes of the nightclub, creating an almost spiritual atmosphere when at their most tribal (like in ‘Places’ and ‘There Is No Light’ from their second album ‘The Snake’) with Wallentin taking the shape of a shaman summoning a wide variety of musical gods and goddesses.

An atmosphere that seemed to fit perfectly with the hedonistic Friday night purposes of the crowd.