photos by rory mcgarrigle
photos by allen kiely
courtesy of frequency-media
photos by aisling o'neill
setlist for 05.10.2002
vaka
fyrsta
samskeyti
ný batterí
njósnavélin
svefn-g-englar
salka
hafssól
von
popplagið
setlist for 06.10.2002
vaka
fyrsta
samskeyti
ný batterí
njósnavélin
svefn-g-englar
salka
hafssól
von
popplagið
olsen olsen (encore)
the irish times
what do you do for an encore? the question barely seems to trouble the avant-rock
quartet sigur ros, as iceland's unlikely heroes follow their sublime crossover album
agetis byrjun (better known by its cover art as "angel foetus") with the desultorily
titled, ( ), more likely to be referred to as "the brackets" album.
unconcerned with such pedantic industry conventions as song titles, sigur ros have only recently assigned names to their new material, although such descriptions as njosnavelin (aka the nothing song) scarcely signal a compromise. that self-effacement, however, seems to be the band's strategy.
comprising the bulk of sigur ros's two-night residency in the ambassador, these new songs continue to plough the same furrow of the quartet's geographic concerns, where volcanic landscapes inform the music, while lyrics (in made-up hopelandish) form aesthetic impressions rather than literal communication.
writing his own rulebook, vocalist jonsi birgisson can lead his group, dexterously augmented by a four-person string section, into vaka, a song of such musical and emotional intensity that any other band would spend all night building up to it.
here, however, it's the first tune, and the stakes are never lowered.
one consequence is that the night feels like a set of encores; a concert of closing numbers where each conclusion lays a challenge - follow that.
similarly unconventional are the methods used to extract such dense, keening sounds from their common instruments. watching birgisson beginning to saw the bridge of his electric gibson with a cello bow is not a sight you see often. listening to the ensuing chaos you quickly understand why.
but the increasingly frayed bow also elicits the transcendent movements of svefn-g-englar,
where warm resounding organ chords and icily shrill vocals entwine against the merest
percussion to lull you into a world beyond words.
(peter crawley)
simon holt
Ok, so i have just been blown away by a stunning evening at the ambassador.
i'm not going to attempt to describe the set list because i couldn't grab one, and i don't recognise most of the tracks from the new album other than njosnavellin.
if i was forced to try, it would be something like:
a load of really dark type stuff which was very good, and obviously came from the new album since I didn't recognise it and I have von and áb. then there was a couple from áb, njosnavellin, and then two stunning tracks one of which seemed to involve yer man on the bass slapping it on the bridge with a drumstick that just turned my mind inside out. and someone had stuck a red up-light underneath jonsi, giving him a somewhat infernal aspect at times!
there. my place in the nme is assured ;-)
it's obvious from the way they play to the way they came on to thank the audience how much they all enjoying playing together.
sadly, the band didn't play any encores - i don't know if this was something to do with the venues policy, or running out of time (surely not at just 10:30???), but it was a bit of a let down after such a great set.
it might be my imagination, but the venue seemed a little over-zealous on security,
and some rather rude staff, so maybe they just decided they wouldn't let them play
any more!
(simon holt)
"rose to the occasion" 3/5 stars
it is astonishing that iceland has produced so many great musicians for a country populated by a mere 280,000 people. records by björk, the sugarcubes, múm are treasured staples in record collections the world over, while sigur rós (meaning victory rose) are four elfin musical geniuses that look and sound like something from lord of the rings.
their music is a marvellous mélange of prog rock and classical at its most freeform, composed of 12 minute epics full of magnificent melodies and sudden flashes of noisy abandon. handy reference points are the cocteau twins and the 4ad stable of artists, glaswegian outfit mogwai and dublin's my bloody valentine. sigur rós rose to prominence as an opening act for like minded souls like godspeed you black emperor! and radiohead. now they're able to sell out tours as the sole attraction.
while sigur rós concerts in the past were often reverential and sometimes dull affairs, tonight they're a revelation because of the quality of new material. their forthcoming untitled is referred to merely as ( ) and has no track names. all the lyrics are in a gibberish language of the bands own creation that they refer to as "hopelandic" after their first album that was entitled "hope"
svefn-g-englar from their breakthrough album "ágætis byrjun" (which roughly translated is "a new beginning") is greeted with delighted whoops. while the music is exceptional, the visuals are still on the bland side. as they are so dreamy and opulent sounding, they should spice up their stage image
petty gripes aside, this is a spellbinding performance from a band evolving from
underground heroes into something extraordinary. the end of the month could well be
the red-letter day for the release of the finest untitled album in the world... ever!
(eamon sweeney)
