Lydmor and Brian after one of the Capacity Tour shows.
No artist can perform truly without an audience. Dedicated fans mean the world to the musicians, give them energy and purpose. Lydmor has built a community of devoted supporters over the years and one of them, Brian Obbekjær Jensen, shared his experience attending several of Lydmor’s Capacity Tour shows in the passing year.
Brian: I’ve been a fan of Lydmor since 2018, when I discovered her by chance. This was just after the release of “I Told You I Would Tell Them Our Story” and I was immediately sucked into the music and the story. It wasn’t until late 2019 when I finally saw her live in Odense, and then at By:Larm Festival in Oslo in early 2020 as the world started to shut down. Luckily, a lot of livestreams and intimate concerts followed and brought me closer to the magical creature that is Jenny Rossander.
Jenny has been a big inspiration to me, not only through her music but through her personality too, and I enjoy talking to her about everything, from lighter topics to deeper ones. In 2021, I went on a ten-concert tour across Denmark and Sweden. I didn’t plan that many shows initially, but the first two had such a strong impact on me — both musically and emotionally — I wanted to stay a little longer. From 18 September in Aalborg, I visited Esbjerg, Thisted, Lyngby, Odense, Roskilde, Aarhus, Assens and Copenhagen before reaching my final concert in Malmö on 25 November. While all the concerts were great and had their special moments, some really stood out to me.
photo by Brian Obbekjær Jensen
A “UFO” of two plexiglas half circles, on which the keyboards, microphones and other equipment were mounted, was the key element of the scenography, but only some of it was ready for the opening night. Since her trip to Shanghai a few years back, UV body paint has been the trademark of Lydmor concerts, and this one was no different, enhanced by spectacular light effects masterminded by Oscar, Lydmor’s light tech and travel partner on tour.
The setlist was the same for the entire tour, a choreographed show of sound and light. From slow red light movements during the “Claudia” intro to full on strobe effects provided by eight pixel tubes, thundering kicks and roaring synths on “Someone We Used To Love”.
Every set would start with Jenny’s friend Amanda talking about dreams she had had. Not the dreams from “Capacity” — these were new. Amanda’s dreams were about losing a loved one, or standing on a stage, gripped by imposter syndrome. Every set ended with a glimpse into Jenny’s own fragility with “Nostalgia”, a song very dear to her.
She treated us to some older songs, like “New Cars and Babies” from the 2015 album “Y”, and reflected on how its bass line was one of her proudest creations. Or when the Blue Velvet recording slided into “LSD Heart” in a new version with a much faster beat, creating a dancefloor banger that would have you jumping up and down before it transitioned into the cover of “It’s Okay to Cry”, Lydmor’s tribute to Sophie who unfortunately died last spring but left this simple yet important message. Jenny echoed that message as the main point of her tour: fragility is not something to be afraid of and hide away, but rather to embrace and talk about. Every person in the audience is just as strong as her. And it is okay to show your tears to the world.
As her support act on tour, Lydmor brought Kamma, an upcoming Danish artist. Kamma threw her opening act and immediately struck a very positive nerve. The raw energy of her voice and stage presence were incredible!
The two would create a close bond over the tour, and their performance would become even more playful and dramatic. Jenny’s love for theater and performance really shone through: standing back to back, twisting and pushing each other, then facing each other like it was a duel of words, one strong voice vs another.
Studenterhuset, Aalborg
The first concert was on 18 September in Aalborg, in the north of Denmark. The crowd wasn’t terribly big, mostly consisting of volunteers. But that didn’t matter. Jenny and Oscar delivered, as did Kamma, who joined Jenny on stage for “Nevada”, singing the parts Eivør sings on the album.
Kamma and Lydmor, prefrorming “Nevada”. Photo by Brian Obbekjær Jensen.
After the show, we met Jenny and her manager Thomas at the merch booth. She brought her paintings, so-called fragments of “Capacity” with snippets of lyrics from the album. All of them were painted by Jenny just before a show, and they would be sold for whatever people deemed fair and could afford. As Jenny put it, “broke people should also be able to afford original art.”
One thing about this concert stood out to me: During “Claudia”, Jenny apparently decided to test how big of a fan I am. As she walked through the crowd, reciting the monologue from the song, she stopped just a few feet from me while saying the line “and my Stimorol has turned into…” She turned the microphone towards me and, right on the money, I replied “cocaine”. People looked a bit puzzled, but Jenny just continued with the song. We had a good laugh afterwards as we talked about that one. Imagine if I had failed it! We did it at the next few shows as well, where I was a bit better prepared.
Plantagehuset, Thisted
Before the main concert, Jenny played an acoustic afternoon at Rieders Vinyler, a tiny record store in Thisted that greeted us warmly and treated us with beer, soda and coffee. Jenny treated us with some older songs and covers, as well as a new song “Like a Building”.
In the evening at the main venue I remember thinking “this has to be the smallest one yet”. But it was so nice and cosy. Jenny always has a good idea of the vibe of the crowd and she adapts to it. There was a young mother with her daughter and a friend. Mid-concert, Jenny grabbed the daughter for a dance much to the latter’s bewilderment. Later, I sat outside next to them and could hear how impressed all of them were with Lydmor.
After the show, Jenny treated us with a special gift. She found a piano and played for a good half hour. It was just herself, another guy and I, and some staff until the venue had to close. It was one of those truly special moments I reflected upon during the drive home. Happy that it happened, sad that it was over.
I think it was that day Jenny asked me, “You’ve been to a few concerts, can you tell that we’re getting a hang of it by now?” Yes, it was so clear that she and Oscar were getting comfortable.
Templet, Lyngby
This one stands out as one of the best shows I have ever attended. Lydmor and Kamma put on a show and a half! The crowd was singing so well and loud that it almost left Jenny speechless several times. The more we sang, the more pumped she got, smashing her wine glass on stage in a fit of pure euphoria. The chemistry was just over the top, not to mention that between Jenny and Kamma on “Nevada’. They had grown so comfortable with each other, and Kamma’s powerful voice fit perfectly for that song.
Posten, Odense
I met a fellow fan and watched Lydmor play some acoustic songs at a local record store Moby Disc before heading to the main venue. Some of my coworkers joined for the night, as I had convinced them that Lydmor was something they just had to experience.
Only half the venue filled, but that only gave more room for dancing. As always, Jenny adapted and wanted to make this night special, so she sat down at the front of the stage and told us all to come closer until we were bunched up right in front of her.
My coworkers were amazed by the way she played live, not just pushing play on a deck, and especially how she interacted with the audience. Jenny seemed to know exactly where we were mentally and emotionally, and she would react to that. They were also in awe over her courage to speak about fragility in a way that everyone could relate to. I am so happy to see how many artists come forward to share those emotions and show that we are, above all, just humans.
photo by Brian Obbekjær Jensen
Gimle, Roskilde
Like in Aalborg, most of the crowd consisted of volunteers well below my age of 45, which meant that this would be a party like no other.
A guy in the audience asked for water when Jenny grabbed a bottle to drink, and ended up getting “baptised” by her. “Maybe we could start a cult?” she asked and everyone just lost it. Jenny had to calm us down, saying that maybe a cult wasn’t a great idea after all.
After the concert, the sweetest young guy humbly offered 50 DKK, a glove and a ring for one of Jenny’s paintings. As she sold them on the premise that everyone should be able to afford original art, he of course got his and a big hug from Jenny. That clearly made his day.
Tobaksgaarden, Assens
From Aarhus, the tour went to Assens, the town where Jenny grew up and attended music school. While my friend and I were having dinner in a cafe, Jenny joined us for a chat. I gave her a copy of “A Pile Of Empty Tapes”, her first official release, which I had saved for the ten-year anniversary in 2022 but I just couldn’t hold my excitement anymore. She liked it and even shared some fun facts about it, like the design being done by Lau Højen of Carpark North, a detail I had missed on the cover credits.
After three songs at the concert that night, Jenny decided that a seated audience would not work, neither for us, nor her. So, she simply went into the audience, grabbed each of us by the hand and pulled us to the floor before returning on stage with an “Ahh! This is so much better!” and continuing the show.
During her “Capacity” shows, Jenny would pick a few people to have a short dance with. That night was my lucky night. One more thing to add on the list of fond memories.
Store Vega, Copenhagen
The day before this, GAFFA posted Jenny’s article, in which she described how a sold out Store Vega was just as epic as it was frightening for her. She took the words she had told us at the previous concerts and put them into writing. That she too could be fragile and afraid. Afraid that it would all come crumbling down and the show would be a failure. Luckily, it was not.
Before the concert, Jenny did a special ceremony with sixteen fans at a square near Vega. She brought a painting with the words from “Amanda’s Lullaby” — “The more that we open, the less space they’ll get” — which she then tore up into pieces and placed on the ground before us. Each of us had to name one thing we were proud of before picking up a fragment. It was another deeply special thing by Jenny to give something back to us.
Despite a hiccup with UV paint and lighting, people had fun, some being very creative with their paint jobs. We felt welcomed and invited into Store Vega, one big, sweaty, dancing, celebrating crowd. Everyone included, no one left out.
Lydmor’s performance made it seem like it was someone else who had written that GAFFA article about being scared. This was her territory and she owned it, along with her two supporting acts: Kamma and a Belgian band Compact Disk Dummies.
Final thoughts
Having followed Jenny, Oscar, and Kamma for ten concerts, each one with the same songs and almost the same setup, you might wonder if it ever got boring. It never did. The crowd was never the same, the energy was always slightly different and, in some cases, more than slightly.
All these shows had one thing in common: Jenny made sure that everyone had a good time, that everyone felt welcome and included. She and Kamma put on performances we would not forget.
I think back to all the nice conversations we had about music, life, technical stuff and everything in between. Jenny and her crew taking time to connect with the fans was something that really matters in a world where it is so easy to become distanced. We shared a connection, not only through music but in person as well.
Tour setlist
Amanda’s Dream (taped intro; two different versions, played at random at each concert)
Go Slow but Go
Amandas Lullaby
Nevada (with Kamma when possible)
The Mansion
Claudia
Someone We Used to Love
Shanghai Roar
New Cars and Babies
Money Towers
The Golden Lounge (From a coming album)
Blue Velvet (Taped song by Tony Bennett)
LSD Heart (New live version)
It’s Okay to Cry (SOPHIE cover)
If You Want Capacity
Dim
Nostalgia
Words by Brian Obbekjær Jensen.
Our small team of music lovers runs Good because Danish with one goal: to share songs and stories that spark emotions. We believe that music is the great equalizer: it’s for everyone. Therefore, we keep our content free. There’s no ads, no clickbait, no sponsored posts. Every article was written out of pure love. If you like what we do, please support us via a PayPal or Patreon.
You will help us cover website maintenance, software, equipment, and travelling to events. In return, we will continue to set an example of unbiased music journalism. More info HERE
