georg's tour diary
now this is a nice different venue. it was like a roman amphitheatre, big stage and
no roof. the weather was nice so it was good to have a sound check outside. we had
some problems with the equipment especially our new micromoog that i was going to
use in one of the songs. after about half an hour i realized that i had one of my
effects switched on so that was why the moog sounded so strange. i am a genius sometimes.
when we finally started the concert about an hour and a half later than planned because everybody arrived so late, probably because of traffic, it was getting really cold. it was so cold that during svefn-g-englar i couldn't actually feel my fingers. during "dauðalagið" there was a police helicopter sircling around the venue. we didn˙t expect this but it gave the song a new kind of feel to it. but it turned out to be a nice concert and i think everyone was happy about it. so it was a good start to the american tour.
sandra derian
the john anson ford theatre in los angeles, california, is a 1200 seat theatre in
the outdoors and is designed in a medieval style, a fitting venue for sigur ros. tuesday,
the 1st of may, marked the beltane holiday, coincidentally, the night of the sigur
ros show. it was a mild, breezy night with the fog rolling in off the mountains, mingling
with the smoking incense on stage. the setting enhanced the mystical and enchanting
presence of the band as they started playing their instruments. after a few songs,
sigur ros completely let loose with "svefn-g-englar", which included the xylophone.
singing into his guitar, jón þor (jónsi) birgisson's angelic voice
electrified the audience. the crowd showed immense appreciation by yelling out in
the middle of the song. "olsen olsen" was exquisite with a flute and string accompaniment.
five or six songs into their set, steindor anderson joined the band for one song. his voice is reminiscent of brendan perry of dead can dance. it lusciously resonated throughout the valley and it seemed as though it reached all the way to the moon. he then exited the stage and the string quartet entered and they elegantly strummed throughout the rest of the songs. the string quartet coupled with jonsi's bowing on his guitar was quite a phenomenal sound for this already exhuberant audience. "the pop song" was the last song before the encore, for which they performed "haffsol", again, with the string quartet. steindor anderson came out at the end to take a bow with the other eight people.
all the press and all the reviews cannot desribe this reverential feeling created out of hearing sigur ros live. it is 100 times as epic and, so much, that listening to the studio albums is anti-climactic after seeing them live.
a side note: unfortunately, there are uncontrollable factors that make los angeles
the least ideal city to see a concert. first, the traffic is always heavy so it's
important to allow plenty of time in order to not miss the beginning. second, an outdoor
show such as this can easily be interrupted by the sound of a helicopter because the
police often use them to search for a suspect in a crime and most likely it involves
following a car in a high-speed chase. such was the case for four songs during this
show. the sound of the helicopter was a distraction to a degree that the keyboardist,
kjartan, broke concentration to look up at the sky. imagine attending a concert outdoors
in reykjavik with the small aircrafts landing next door at the city airport. this
doesn't necessarily ruin the show, but the mere distraction from the music can be
irritating. it will be interesting to see if sigur ros mentions the helicopter in
their online tour diary.
(sandra.derian@travelocity.com)
l.a. times
for a band that is receiving truckloads of media attention, sigur ros creates a sound
that's unusually placid. the icelandic quartet, whose sublime new album, "agaetis
byrjun," has sold an astonishing 20,000 copies in the u.s. as a word-of-mouth import
(spurred in part by endorsements from such patrons as radiohead's thom yorke), is
more interested in nuance than bluster.
sigur ros' music is a series of subtle, intimate gestures, and the john anson ford amphitheatre was an ideal setting for the band's los angeles debut tuesday. under a celestial landscape that was frequently disturbed by a police helicopter, the group sculpted richly textured soundscapes that held the crowd in a velvet-glove grip for nearly two hours.
the band inverted all of the tenets that live rock bands hold dear, replacing velocity with its own unhurried, insistent momentum. all of sigur ros' compositions were a slow teasing out of the sonic possibilities of simple melodies; any hard edges or major shifts were arrived at over time. tonal variations came slowly, but packed a potent charge.
the band's lead singer, jon por birgisson, bowed his guitar for the duration of
the set and sang in an otherworldly falsetto that had the spiritual surge of baroque
madrigal; keyboardist and guitarist kjartan sveinsson created epic grandeur from simple,
processional chords, while drummer orri pall dyrason tapped out tribal patterns with
brushes. the overall effect was coolly evocative, hypnotic and frequently transformative.
(marc weingarten)
secretultram@tomgreen.com
wow... wow owo wowoowowowowow.....
that was it in a word or two. every song would build on itself, and every song would build on the other songs.... it was just fabulous. a small theatre, packed tight, surrounded by trees and sky and stars.
a helicopter was flying around, shining a light into the chapparral, and occasionally into the theatre, making a slideshow of tree silhouettes. i'll bet a lot of people were annoyed by it, but the droning sound of the blades, imo, just added to the density of the sound. i thought it was quite complimentary... each of them looked up @ it once or twice throughout the show... i wonder what they were thinking.... "crazy americans and your controlling/insecure actions!" "hmmm we should use a heli-sample in our next recording" "don't shine that damn thing in my eyes!!" who knows *l*
mr andersen sang two songs with them... the string quartet played a majority of the set with them... some instrumentals, some instrument swapping.
not quite sure of the set list, everything is running together hehe. unfortunately the mix was reeeeally loud, so my good mic was too sensitive and the sound was distorted.. so i switched to my other mic which is very... well, not sensitive *l* i turned it up all the way and it was recording at a low level.. and i missed the first few songs becuase of this nonsense... *sigh* oh well, i really enjoyed those first few songs hehe. i only wish i could have gotten them down so you could too. i also ran out of power at one point [not sure how long--wasn't paying enough attention :) ] but i replaced it as soon as i noticed it hehe.
ok now back to tonight hehehe.. the last song of the set was amazing... it just built and built and built... i don't have von, so i don't know if it was from that album or if it was new... nevertheless, it was great! when it built up so big, jon was smiling equally so. : ) looking at the pickups, but i could still see the corners of his mouth had crept up. it ended, and they all left the stage, and the crowed cheered like crazy, and they came back on for an encore... also a crazy dynamic build up to max song. again i dunno if it was from von or the new one.... but the bass was played with a drum stick [one not the whole time], the strings plucked, and drums were just bass and cymbal, with some ornmental guitar picking over it all. it went on at max for a while, lights flashing like crazy, every arm on the stage flailing, and then it ended, jon was hunched over and let his guiter gently fall to the ground... they all left the stage once again, and once againt the crowed cheeeeered like crazy, standing... then they all came back, lined up in a big long line, and bowed together, then left again for the final time : )
the house lights came up, and if people weren't silent, they were talking to eachother about how great it was, songs they loved, songs they missed, and a whole show that anyone who wasn't there missed!
there were some "famous" people there... i saw eric erlandson, my friend saw emiliana t , and flea. i'm sure there were more hehe. anyone who was there should be famous for having such good taste in music!
a big demographic of people too... younger, older, i saw a kid with his dad :*)....
surfers, goths, glamers... local band folk... i let my boss listen to sig today and
if it wasn't sold out i bet she'd have gone too!!! *l*
(secretultram@tomgreen.com)
daniel piccolino
sigur ros has not released much to the states, so posting the set list is near impossible.
i can say a few things about the evening, however. the outdoor ampitheatre was a perfect
choice for such a show (although seeing them in a church would have been nice too).
half-hearted clouds above where dancing with a cirling helicopter that decided to
join the show. the searchlight of the flying vehicle, possibly helping some near-by
chase of some kind, splashed light here and there around the hillside that we were
nestled in. the engine drone swirled in and out with the swells of the music below.
the only words spoken at the show were that of jonsi introducing a friend from iceland
to join them on stage for a song. i did not catch his name over the crowd applause
and cheer that had not settled from the previous song, however i doubt i could have
managed to spell it here anyway. sigur ros played for a solid two hours and only performed
about four songs off of agaetis byrjun. sigur ros played ny batteri early in the set,
making me very much delighted. the first recording i came across of this tremendous
band was the ny batteri single with the most beautiful extended horn intro. the silence
in small moments of songs is something to be noted. at one point during a solo/bowed-guitar
intro, the guitar had just about finished resonating when the soft hum of an amplifier
found itself echoing among a crowd trying desparately to not breathe or blink to loudly.
i only have witnessed such moving silence at a low concert of last month. and of course
seeing this most beatiful icelandic man singing into his guitar pick-up was something
without words to relate here. after the encore, sigur ros aggressively abandoned their
instruments and broken drum sticks with a feed-back drone lingering about while the
string section departed the stage with their violins and cello with much care and
concern. all who visited the stage during the evening came out, in the end, for a
bow to the audience.
i could not imagine what it was like to see sigur ros open for godspeed you black emperor on whatever tour that was, far away from here. total sensory overload, i am guessing.
i must admit, the only slightly disappointing point of the evening was the complete
lack of cds or vinyl for sale. in moments of the show, i found my self thinking: here
is a sold out venue with a bunch of music lovers & fans of sigur ros, all without
access to von (or other early recordings) without some hassle of some kind. and why
only the few shows in the states? i am glad that i live close enough to one of the
selected few, but what of the poor bastards in nebraska or kansas watching all that
grass with their headphones on and sigur ros in their cd players. we didn't even have
the fortune of knowing about the band through the opening slot of such a band as radiohead.
i have, like many other fellows over here, heard of sigur ros by the murmering and
buzz growing rapidly just under the surface. imports do sell out here. i am not intending
to sound upset here. -just thinking outloud. there just isn't much music around these
parts that is something to lend an ear to. really. sigur ros bring me much joy in
seeing them in person and in their appearances in my stereo speakers & headphones.
if i were a bit more over-dramatic, i'd say that the sudden interest by a major label
in the states could help open the door for a beautiful movement in what one finds
on the radio.
(daniel piccolino)
revora@arqla.com
the jaf is a great little outdoor theatre, about 700 seats or so, lots of trees, a
nice big stage. the show had sold out in minutes; me and my 3 friends had 4th row,
directly in front of kjartan.
i'm really sorry, i don't know the names of the songs yet, hopefully someone else can provide the setlist. the band had the 4 string players along. the sound was well mixed--ok, the strings were a little hard to hear sometimes--and clear, the lights atmospheric. the one big letdown was a police helicopter was hovering nearby for nearly the whole show (the jaf is next to a freeway and is in a sort of rundown area so it's always getting the helicopters), flashing a big spotlight all around the hills. jonsi looked up at it once but the band didn't let if faze them. it really bugged me though!
the music? amazing, of course. i got the feeling of a long sibelius symphony, building and building until the inevitable shattering climax (pardon the pun). it's music that takes a lot of real listening to get in to, a lot of patience, but man is that patience rewarded. a couple of times i felt simply transported, just completely serene. the crowd lept to its feet for a standing ovation at the end of the regular set and for the bows at the end.
an amazing night. i suspect that this is the perfect time to see them, when the
crowds are small and knowledgeable, tuned in to what the band is doing. one small
cavaet though: i know the band doles out the parts that rock in small doses; a few
more of them would really help the pacing as the middle of the set sagged slightly
from maybe one too many "atmospheric" pieces. a small snipe though and not meant to
detract from an amazing night.
(revora@arqla.com)
erik koral
great 2 hour show tonight in la. i was really angry that a lapd chopper decided to
circle the john anson ford for about 1/2 of the show with their light shining all
over the hills surrounding the ampitheatre and making a loud distraction for the fans
and the band. i have no idea who or what they were looking for, but in any case...it
was pretty annoying to say the least. it almost ruined it for me, but the music was
amazing and people were generally quiet and respectful(except for a few jerks on cell
phones). they played most of the songs off the new album except for "staraflur" and
a bunch of new material that i have never heard before. a few jams were very climactic
and intense, while others were just gorgeous spacey melodies. loved the violin section
once again. "olsen olsen" was my personal highlight. such an epic song. all in all....a
great time.
gavin rossdale and gwen stefani were spotted in the crowd and the guitarist from
hole...in case anyone cares.
erikkoral@hotmail.com
bob_101@hotmail.com
just got back from watching sigur ros for the second time in a 4 day period, amazing
is all i can say. for those interested the show started at 8:30, and they didnt stop
till a little past 10:30. i had seen them 3 days before at coachella, but that was
nothing compared to tonight. they where just kicking ass up there. if the place would
ha'd a roof, they would have brought it down(i know its a lame line, dont email regarding
it). this ties it self to the only problem of the night. this being la, and in true
la fashion, the damn helicopters where messing everyting up. for the first half of
the show they went round and round the theatre looking for someone, i guess, and just
annoyed the hell out of everyone there. good thing was that you could only hear them,
yes there was two, on the quiet parts. besides that minor stuff, the show was awesome.
the crowd was real quiet and nice, much to my surprise. even the band i thougt, looked
more at ease than they had looked 3 days before. i dont remember the whole set list,
hopefully someone does. the hightlight of the show(actually the whole show was a hightlight),
for me was the song with steindor anderson. they had done a shorter version of this
at coachella with out an intro, but tonights version was just out there. by the way
anyone know what its called? and again in true la fashion the night was full of stars,
beck and almost all the chilli peppers where there along with your usual movie stars
and what not. this was such an amazing, hell it even made me write this. so if your
going to see the icelandic gang in the next couple of days, prepared to be changed
for ever.
(bob_101@hotmail.com)
thisargonaut@yahoo.com
the la show had some sound issues. nothing so bad that it ruined the show by any means,
but the drums were too "rock" sounding--and this was due to the way they were eqed,
not the drummers kit or playing style. also, the strings were very low in the mix,
and could only be heard at times when everything else was very quiet. mostly when
they were drowned out they were, i think, playing similar parts to the guitars or
keyboards; however if they were up a little higher it would have added to the effect
a great deal. i also agree that the songs themselves did vary themselves up as the
show went on. the first three songe in la (one from the sven-g-englar singe, then
ny batteri, then sven-g-englar) did have that "one trick pony" sort of feel to them.
good to see that newer, less familiar songs had more variation to them. bodes well
for the next album.
(thisargonaut@yahoo.com)
belleshaw@yahoo.com
this was by far the best concert i've ever been to. i'm horrible with track names,so
i won't even try a set list, but the band played flawlessly and with incredible passion.
the crowd gave a standing ovation after an amazing, thunderous last song and when
the band came back out for an encore jónsi sheepishly motioned for the crowd
to sit. i have read that sigur ros sound even better live than on disc and i'd say
i would whole-heartedly agree. i've never heard such beautiful music. it was like
hearing them for the first time all over again.
(belleshaw@yahoo.com)
mviljak@hmausa.com
i would like to say that they are as good live as they have been put up to be. we've
been hearing so much about their live show and finally they came to l.a. and it was
quite exciting. altough, i was kind of embarrassed by those stupid hellicopters buzzing
around and at times drowning out their sound- welcome to l.a.!
(mviljak@hmausa.com)
drgnflyqne@aol.com
i almost didnt go because the lady at the box office said they had been turning people
away all day since the show was sold out but we drove 2 1/2 hours anyway & i thank
god we did. they ended up selling some tix right before the show. & we were just
6 rows back! anyway... im still feeling the music today. they fed me enough to last
a while. i felt like i had stepped into their world for a few precious hours. it was
a world i never wanted to leave. all i can say is thank you for your passion in music.
wonderous things happened last night. wonderous things.
(drgnflyqne@aol.com)
tgengenbache@phobo.com
i was so impressed by the show that was put on in l.a. i felt like i could just close
my eyes and drift off into the music. unfortunately, the yelping and interruptions
in the middle of a couple songs made it a little difficult to. it's nice to show your
appreciation for a band that your enjoying, but people could at least show respect
also and wait till the end of the song to start cheering and yelping.
(tgengenbache@phobo.com)
chris
while sigur ros sounded awesome last night, my only complaint is that the audience,
at least where i was sitting, acted fucking rotten. at one point someone yelled "freebird."
[this someone was flea from the red hot chili peppers.] these two guys next to me
wouldn't shut up pretty much the whole time, and people would scream loudly during
quiet sections. what the hell is that? at least show a little respect. yes the helicopter
was annoying, but that doesn't mean act like a moron. goddamn la people. anyway. i
just needed to vent that. sigur ros was great though. they opened with nyja lagid
which is my favorite, and they played mostly new stuff including two songs with steindor
andersen. i can't wait for their next record.
(chris)
plumpy63@hotmail.com
the show was in an outdoor amphitheater that doesn't normally host this type of event.
it was a place i had never been and i was quite surprised at how nice it was. a more
perfect setting couldnt be found for a show like this in a place like l.a.
tickets stated that the show would start at 8:00, but the band didn't go on until around 8:30. there was no supporting act, which was great because no matter who they were, i was so anxious to see sigur ros play that it would have been impossible for me to enjoy them.
they played for nearly two hours, i'm pretty sure. the one and only thing that went wrong and i recall somebody mentioning this when it was announced that the band would be playing at this theater, was that there was a helicopter hovering maybe a couple of hundred feet overhead through probably 80% of the show. it was so damn annoying. they had their spotlight on, searching the surrounding hills for who knows what. a few times the spotlight even shined right on the audience. i'll admit though, when the music got loud enough to drown out the sound of the helicopter, it was kind of surreal with that spotlight swirling around in the fog. strange, but very distracting.
and i don't know if its just my dumb luck or if its just the moronic people that live in this town, but why do i always get stuck next to the people who talk throughout the show??? does this happen any place else? i mean my god...these people behind me would not shut up. they were talking and giggling throughout most of the show. not to mention screaming, this blood curdling scream, at the most inappropriate times. in the middle of songs when it'd get quiet, but it was obvious that the song wasn't over. anyway...sorry for the complaining.
the show was just...undescribable. there are no words that could do it justice. its magical. its otherworldly. it was by far the most beautiful thing i had ever heard. i've been listening to the mp3's of that lisbon show all day long and its just not the same, obviously. there is just something magical happening there at the live show thats like no other show i've been to. this is starting to get too long...
oh...and i was surprised to see gwen stefani from no doubt and her boyfriend, that
guy from bush. dont know his name. saw them there. was kinda surprised. also saw flea
and anthony from the red hot chili peppers. even more surprised to see them. i wouldnt
think they'd appreciate something so nice. and if there are any chasing amy fans out
there, i also saw jason lee.
(plumpy63@hotmail.com)
