setlist
nýja lagið
ný batterí
svefn-g-englar
syndir guðs
untitled with steindór andersen
untitled with steindór andersen
untitled with steindór andersen
untitled 3
untitled 8
von
olsen olsen
hafssól
(encore)
pop song
georg's tour diary
nice place, and good sound. we had a long and good sound check and then it was time
to hang around. our band mascot, svanhvít (my girlfriend) arrived so i was
feeling relaxed about the show, well she is the mascot you know.
i started to experience some severe computer problems today so i think you won't be reading this in some time. i will do my best to fix this or find another way of getting this online. now the concert was really good even though it wasn't perfect. we had a lot of fun on stage and everybody was happy with the night. after the concert there was an after-party in the backstage bar. we met a lot of people that we haven't met in a long time and it was good, the only bad thing about the night was that we had to leave early. so a lot of fun and a good show.
hope: n. and v.i. (hõp) state of mind combining desire with expectation, in which one believes one's desires will be realised... "hope springs eternal"
sigur rós: a band i've revered for almost 15 months now finally came 'home'. it's not everyday sigur rós play round the corner from your house, and the shepherds bush empire, an unconventional setting for the group usually, is literally a stone throw away from my house in ealing: west-bound of the uxbridge road. tonight was going to be special. not only for me, but for two thousand hopeful punters and maybe for the hopeless ones who tried desperately in search for mr scalp ("£85 mate") making me feeling all the more privileged, clutching the green ticket. along with my sister jas, we skived the day of studies and arrived early (3-30pm) to avoid the commotion and hopefully get decent standing positions. there were two french girls already camped, who i'm positive were the ones that wrote the letter to goggi at the milano concert the previous week. there was another guy who we got chatting to about standing arrangements and numbers (don't ask), and after 10 minutes of awkward silences and murmurs, both realised who each other were. it was francois from the french site- nybatteri! (http://nybatteri.free.fr) i had visited his site numerous times to download mp3s and images, and he was signed up in my sigur rós yahoo! club (http://www.clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/sigurros18secondsbefore). we all excitedly anticipated for the doors to open, but that wasn't before we had acquired our 'souvenirs'. some people earlier had arrived in a ute to hoard a1 scale advertising boardings -ágætis byrjun cover with quotes from the face "sonorous, epic, tender, higher then heaven"- on various street lamps /poles /traffic lights, which just cried out to me to be taken from the elements. it's in a better place now.
the doors opened at 7:11 sharp and the union chapel this aint. the open bar made me wary of how it could affect the crowd to how they relate to the band but it thankfully didn't catalyse to any major problems (regardless of the neanderthal making chimp yelps upon the bands return from a break.) inside we also hooked up with a long-time boardie, bill and all stood together at the front barrier, dead centre in front of jonsi's mic. watched as guy places candles around precise areas of the stage, only to remove them because of the venues fire safety policy. flickering lights consumed the stage in an almost imperceptible, darkly romantic glow. this was a no nonsense evening- and there was no support act to taint an evening of unadulterated sigur rós who- as the lights dimmed- took to the stage at just half past eight to kjartan's opening chords of the radiohead- tourist-esqe, 'nyja lagið'. pontificating to an extent that makes a mogwai performance look like a chord-chopping guitar free-for-all, every single drop of aural power and every last trickle of feeling is extracted from every note, an intense, grinding approach that demolishes expectations. 'ny batteri' follows suit to georg's delicate bass notes, building up to orri's harsh drum part, later becoming a ferocious crescendo as they roam wildly into the unknown, where they destroy everything in view. then to the crowds delight, svefn-g-englar opens to two rounds of applause. the most transcendent radox bath ever created takes you underwater with the angels. an unborn infant ready to escape the womb, kicking around and ultimate peace. 'songs' don't get much better then this and you can't help but feel in awe as barefoot jón þór begins to sing to his guitar. his truly terrifying vocal range lies somewhere between the pure, angelic tones of an exceptionally gifted choirboy, and...well don't mention the whales please. throw in the blue tinted radiance of surrounding spotlights, and the exceptionally slow-burning nature of this performance, there's a sincerely melancholic edge going on here.
introducing steindor anderson. the crowd warm to him as his nervousness is apparent, but the first solo performance has the audience- including myself- scratching our heads. its more speech then song really, but then when backed by the full band -and orri has finished his cigarette! - his deep, bleak voice, singing in an old norse language- rimur, conjures images of landscapes where man has yet to discover. to walk. to touch. its astonishing to experience and the crowd are captivated throughout. his thanks are given and received as he and jonsi embrace before his departure.
after an instrumental interlude transpires, orri quickly perches next to kjartan on the keyboards, asking something in his ear, kjartan-complete with the finest side burns this side of the 50s- simply gives his friend a wink. then goggi joins the fray and positions in front of the pair on the xylophones, leaving jonsi to sit with his back to crowd on his red pattern-threaded rug. the onstage chemistry and tight atmosphere between them is a joy to watch, as they create a vivid sound-scape that takes you to the outer reaches of their collective imaginations and leaves you there, without a feeling of utter desolation. this was an image that summed the band up for me. let myself drift to the indulgent, expressive music these four 'guys' from iceland make.
olsen olsen soon followed to again the crowds pleasure, and by now accompanied by the four piece string section of females, one who we saw earlier adding xylophones to svefn-g-englar. olsen olsen ending with kjarri playing his piccolo/ flute and jazz piano. nice. while this is all occurring they dare not look at the crowd, eyes are firmly closed and immersed in the expansive, voluminous meisterwork bristling with beauty and overwhelming intensity.
whilst the comparisons of mogwai and godspeed (and the rest of the post rawkers. you know the ones) will always linger, goggi himself revealed that they grew up on nirvana and led zeppelin and heavy metal of all genres. these citing are clear in the heavier and rockier death and pop songs though not in the conventional formulaic 4/4-guitar rock, more like stretched out in ten-minute opiums. during 'death song', his neck appears ready to pop, veins bulging, seemingly unable to contain these high pressure sounds from far, far within. the emotions conveyed through his facial expression display overwhelming pain as his forehead rests on the microphone, shaking in disbelief. hafssól proceeds to blow the entire roof of the empire from its hinges, and in a moment that will stay with me forever, when jonsi faces orri in full blooded, triumphantly repetitive instrumental trashing and breaking his infamous bow in the process. he puts down the guitar, walking straight off stage after the second encore.
after a period of continuos applause, the band returns for one final assault. the 'pop song' which is the perfect end to close the show on. even though the vast majority of the material played tonight are all but alien to the people, its just as accessible and rather than resting on their laurels and making an ágætis byrjun 2, followed their muse to create a stunning work of art. (death/ pop songs.) like most innovative art, it will take time and diligence (repeated listening, with headphones) to fully appreciate them for what they are. sonic masterpieces.
and when it's all said and sung, the entire crew takes to the stage for not one, but two fully deserved- standing ovations. the facial expression on jon þor says it all as he meekly waves to the crowd until he is out of sight.
with the future radiohead show to follow, proceeded by a short north american tour, surely it will catapult sigur rós further into the limelight they are already being blinded by. in the meantime, with their status as our premier visionaries confirmed, we'll busy ourselves with the poignant tapestry, happily acknowledging that it's difficult to imagine a better band this side of 2k. lord knows how, and when, they'll follow it, but for now, sigur rós is a complete joy, a true spirit-lifter.
afterwards, when asking for a set list, the technician onstage bluntly put it that "they don't have one". maybe that's a bigger compliment then it seemed. we also tried to get the roadie to throw jonsi's adidas trainers which were placed in front of his amp, but to no avail. just anything. just another glimpse. perhaps goggi will criticise the sound levels on his tour diary, it looked like he was having troubles midway through to which the band broke away to discuss with their sound engineer. however, for those two hours they instilled two thousand people with a state of mind combining desire with expectation, in which we believed their desires will be realised. their message is ultimately one of hope. beautiful music in an ugly world.
there is von for us after all...
(amadeep chana)
