***Glen Hansard Appreciation Thread***

samjam said:

eldarion75 said:

Was it Moji he got up to sing on Her Mercy? Here's a clip from the show at the ed Sullivan theatre. http://youtu.be/wy6OQXQ_s74

I believe it was, thanks for that! She was amazing.

Wait, so he is planting the woman in the audience at his shows and acting like he's pulling her up from the crowd?? I suppose this was the woman who was pulled from the audience in Vancouver too. Now that I know she's a plant I feel like we were all tricked. Before he did that, Glen actually had pulled a real fan from the crowd for a song, so then when he pulled up his plant, the whole crowd very reasonably assumed she was another fan. And even more so after, because she came back into the audience and pretended to be all flustered and was talking to those approaching her as though she was stunned and amazed that such a thing had just happened to her, like "oh my god! I can't believe that just happened! Oh, you all really thought I was good??" kind of shit. She allowed people to say stuff like "you should be a professional!" to her, and she pretended to be bashful about the suggestion. The fact that she appeared to be a local, and a fellow fan, was a big part of why the crowd loved the performance, not to mention the perceived spontaneity of it. The crowd was expressing their joy about that aspect too.... So now I'm realizing that she's planted in the audience every show, and I don't appreciate the big fake act at all. They need to stop with that crap. It's just a big lie. Have her just come out on stage as part of the performance instead of lying to everyone. I'm a bit disappointed in Glen for doing that.

PJ_Soul said:

samjam said:

eldarion75 said:

Was it Moji he got up to sing on Her Mercy? Here's a clip from the show at the ed Sullivan theatre. http://youtu.be/wy6OQXQ_s74

I believe it was, thanks for that! She was amazing.

Wait, so he is planting the woman in the audience at his shows and acting like he's pulling her up from the crowd?? I suppose this was the woman who was pulled from the audience in Vancouver too. Now that I know she's a plant I feel like we were all tricked. Before he did that, Glen actually had pulled a real fan from the crowd for a song, so then when he pulled up his plant, the whole crowd very reasonably assumed she was another fan. And even more so after, because she came back into the audience and pretended to be all flustered and was talking to those approaching her as though she was stunned and amazed that such a thing had just happened to her, like "oh my god! I can't believe that just happened! Oh, you all really thought I was good??" kind of shit. She allowed people to say stuff like "you should be a professional!" to her, and she pretended to be bashful about the suggestion. The fact that she appeared to be a local, and a fellow fan, was a big part of why the crowd loved the performance, not to mention the perceived spontaneity of it. The crowd was expressing their joy about that aspect too.... So now I'm realizing that she's planted in the audience every show, and I don't appreciate the big fake act at all. They need to stop with that crap. It's just a big lie. Have her just come out on stage as part of the performance instead of lying to everyone. I'm a bit disappointed in Glen for doing that.

Whoa, chill, slow your roll before you burn your Glen Hansard fanclub card! (Not that there is one, but you know, metaphorically). I've been seeing Glen live in various incarnations for 20 years, all over the US and UK, and I have NEVER EVER EVER seen him "plant" someone in the audience. If you saw Moji, she was in the audience and did not know she'd get pulled up. Clearly she knows Glen and has been brought onstage before, but that doesn't mean it was all planned out and she was acting surprised. She did NOT tour with him on this tour; most of the shows on this tour she did not go onstage (and likely wasn't even there). Maybe by SamJam's show she knew she was likely to go up, but he met her on the street before an Eddie Vedder show originally and brought her onstage that night, so he just does that. I doubt anything you saw was an act.

Obviously if you believe she was a fake plant and acting all excited, you're gonna react how you react. But I have never seen anything go down at a Frames/SwellSeason/Glen show that was all acted out or fake or done night after night and made to look "improv", and I've seen several shows in a row at times. So before you're so sure everything was fake, make sure a) she was the exact same person, and b) that she wasn't acting when she looked all flustered. As far as I know she's NOT a professional musician, she's a busker who got lucky before a Glen and Ed show awhile back and he's stayed in touch since then. To be clear, she did NOT appear at most of the shows on this tour. She is not part of the tour. Look at show reviews or whatever else you believe in to see that this is true.

Believe what you will but unless you're sure she was actually there every night (and not just 2 nights from these posts), don't state that she was there every night, that it's a nightly fake act, and that it's "a big lie" as if it's a fact.

JH6056 said:

Whoa, chill, slow your roll before you burn your Glen Hansard fanclub card! (Not that there is one, but you know, metaphorically). I've been seeing Glen live in various incarnations for 20 years, all over the US and UK, and I have NEVER EVER EVER seen him "plant" someone in the audience. If you saw Moji, she was in the audience and did not know she'd get pulled up. Clearly she knows Glen and has been brought onstage before, but that doesn't mean it was all planned out and she was acting surprised. She did NOT tour with him on this tour; most of the shows on this tour she did not go onstage (and likely wasn't even there). Maybe by SamJam's show she knew she was likely to go up, but he met her on the street before an Eddie Vedder show originally and brought her onstage that night, so he just does that. I doubt anything you saw was an act.

That's more how I saw it, honestly. It seemed like Glen just spotted her in the audience during the song and made a decision right there to bring her up. And when she was singing, it obviously sounded like she knew exactly what she was doing; like she had done that before (and looks like she has). She was really surprised/shocked after, but I suppose it was the rush of it all happening fast in front of a crowd who gave her quite the ovation. It was the last song, and Glen motioned for her to come backstage with the band as everyone was leaving. I thought it was a really cool moment, personally. Didn't look particularly "planted" to me.

PJ_Soul said:

But i talked to this woman after the show, and she acted like she'd never even met Glen before.

That is certainly strange, though.

buck502000 said:

don't hate on Glen - he is a top-notch performer and a better person - gracious and kind with his fans. C'mon now!!!

I don't hate on Glen. I adore him and his music. I am just criticizing something dine at his show, relax.

PJ_Soul said:

JH6056 said:

PJ_Soul said:

Just because I criticize him it doesn't mean I am not still a fan.
But i talked to this woman after the show, and she acted like she'd never even met Glen before.

You are completely sure the woman you spoke to was actually Moji? Like positive? And she said she'd never met Glen before?

Well, it was a black woman who looks and sings like Moji, and sang Her Mercy with him to close the show. So I guess I'm pretty sure. That would be quite the spectacular coincidence otherwise.... i suppose anything is possible, lol.
She didn't literally say she'd never met Glen before. She was just acting like that. Me and every other person there clearly believed that she was just a random fan from the audience. She certainly didn't correct anyone.

Well then that's a wholly different thing. The fact that in your opinion she acted like she'd never met him is... really your impression of how she acted. It IS possible that someone who is not a professional singer can get wildly excited and freaked out by being asked onstage for something like that, even if she's done it before and knows Glen. I have a friend in NYC who has been invited up to sing a Frames song called Red Chord at least 3 times over the years, and every time you'd think she'd never met him or been onstage before because she is just *that* excited. And if no one actually asked her if she knew Glen or was professional, and she never answered, it's unfair to say "she didn't correct anyone". How would she know her excitement meant everyone was SURE she had never sang onstage with Glen before?

You said: "So now I'm realizing that she's planted in the audience every show, and I don't appreciate the big fake act at all. They need to stop with that crap. It's just a big lie. Have her just come out on stage as part of the performance instead of lying to everyone. I'm a bit disappointed in Glen for doing that."

You made a lot of assumptions there and in the rest of your post about this, mainly that this occurred every night on the tour, that it was planned and planted and fake, and that she'd never met him. And 2 of those are definitely not true (if it even was Moji, although there are other Black women who sing and know Glen so... but we'll assume it was Moji): It didn't happen every night and in fact so far it's only confirmed it happened 2 of about 16 US shows; she never said she never met him, so it's not true that that was faked (and it is totally possible to be freaked out and pumped up each time it happens); and for those of us who've seen multiple shows on many tours the 3rd one is highly unlikely that it was a "plant" because he asks people spontaneously to come up onstage all the time. Sometimes people have an idea it might happen, sometimes they've got no idea, sometimes he doesn't even know they're there until he hears them singing or spies someone he knows in the audience.

And jumping on her as if she was being fake just because she was gracious about being complimented, and again, if it was Moji, she is NOT a professional... again really harsh and unfair to assume she was lying and faking.

Of course you're still going to have whatever impression you have, but wow that was a lot of jumping to conclusion.

JH6056 said:

PJ_Soul said:

JH6056 said:

PJ_Soul said:

Just because I criticize him it doesn't mean I am not still a fan.
But i talked to this woman after the show, and she acted like she'd never even met Glen before.

You are completely sure the woman you spoke to was actually Moji? Like positive? And she said she'd never met Glen before?

Well, it was a black woman who looks and sings like Moji, and sang Her Mercy with him to close the show. So I guess I'm pretty sure. That would be quite the spectacular coincidence otherwise.... i suppose anything is possible, lol.
She didn't literally say she'd never met Glen before. She was just acting like that. Me and every other person there clearly believed that she was just a random fan from the audience. She certainly didn't correct anyone.

Well then that's a wholly different thing. The fact that in your opinion she acted like she'd never met him is... really your impression of how she acted. It IS possible that someone who is not a professional singer can get wildly excited and freaked out by being asked onstage for something like that, even if she's done it before and knows Glen. I have a friend in NYC who has been invited up to sing a Frames song called Red Chord at least 3 times over the years, and every time you'd think she'd never met him or been onstage before because she is just *that* excited. And if no one actually asked her if she knew Glen or was professional, and she never answered, it's unfair to say "she didn't correct anyone". How would she know her excitement meant everyone was SURE she had never sang onstage with Glen before?

You said: "So now I'm realizing that she's planted in the audience every show, and I don't appreciate the big fake act at all. They need to stop with that crap. It's just a big lie. Have her just come out on stage as part of the performance instead of lying to everyone. I'm a bit disappointed in Glen for doing that."

You made a lot of assumptions there and in the rest of your post about this, mainly that this occurred every night on the tour, that it was planned and planted and fake, and that she'd never met him. And 2 of those are definitely not true (if it even was Moji, although there are other Black women who sing and know Glen so... but we'll assume it was Moji): It didn't happen every night and in fact so far it's only confirmed it happened 2 of about 16 US shows; she never said she never met him, so it's not true that that was faked (and it is totally possible to be freaked out and pumped up each time it happens); and for those of us who've seen multiple shows on many tours the 3rd one is highly unlikely that it was a "plant" because he asks people spontaneously to come up onstage all the time. Sometimes people have an idea it might happen, sometimes they've got no idea, sometimes he doesn't even know they're there until he hears them singing or spies someone he knows in the audience.

And jumping on her as if she was being fake just because she was gracious about being complimented, and again, if it was Moji, she is NOT a professional... again really harsh and unfair to assume she was lying and faking.

Of course you're still going to have whatever impression you have, but wow that was a lot of jumping to conclusion.

Moji was in Madison, WI as well, and was in the audience. I don't really remember how she was introduced though.

Moji is a friend of the bands and not a touring band member nor a 'plant'. If she's at the show glen will sometimes call her up. Not at all shows either. He plays very much in the moment and to accuse something spur of the moment and random is staged is quite cynical but also totally uninformed and incorrect.
And if It was moji you spoke to after the show and she pretended to not know Glen or the lads that's to protect them and her from requests and hassle.
I'd rather make friends with someone them Taking me on my own terms rather than trying to make friends with me cos I know Glen. Wouldn't you?

The only part of glens show that's prearranged at all is the auld triangle, all the techs and whatever guests are each up on stage to take a verse.
That's hardly even staged as you put it.