setlist

takk
glósóli
ný batterí
sæglópur
njósnavélin
e-bow
gong
andvari
hoppípolla
með blóðnasir
olsen olsen
hafssól
svo hjótt
heysátan
popplagið


kansas city star
the evening’s opening act provided something much more substantive than filler or garnish. rather, it kindled a mood that, for some of us, would last into the wee hours of the next day.

most of the sell-out crowd at the uptown (about 1,800) was in place as amina took the stage. after someone displayed a spectacular lack of imagination (“freebird!”), breaking the expectant silence, the four ladies began to cast their brief but bewitching spell. amina is a string quartet that brings more than violas and cellos to the stage. it also comes with a sample-loaded apple laptop (that went kaput for a spell), counter-tap bells, water glasses and a musical saw from which one of the ladies (with a cello bow) coaxed a siren-song — a melody, in other words, not just random notes.

when you open for sigur rós, you play for a crowd that welcomes surprise and invention as much as it appreciates beauty, and amina delivered all three. and when you open for sigur rós, you don’t have to worry about giving the headliner a tough act to follow, even when you’re as enrapturing as amina. for nearly two spellbinding hours, the best band in iceland proved that no one can eclipse its cinematic live performances.

the concert was a feast of sights and sounds: of shadows and light, of dissonance and calm, conflict and resolution. anyone who dismisses sigur rós as a new age band with guitars surely has not seen the band live, when its music displays extra textures and visits other dimensions. it seems safe to assume that the sound guys for enya don’t tap their feet, shake their hips and bob their heads, like the sigur rós crew did a few times at the uptown.

the show began with some mellow drama. the band members stood in place, lit from behind by a giant flood light that cast their silhouettes on a ruffled white scrim (a large translucent curtain, really) dropped between the band and the audience. then came the first two cuts off the album “takk …” it was a typical moment in an extraordinary show where nearly every minute was ripe with something to watch, something to hear or some mood to fall or glide into.

some of that sound was intentionally dissonant, unhinged and threatening, whether singer jón bor (“jónsi”) birgisson was sawing his guitar with a cello bow, making it hemorrhage distortion, or georg holm was tapping his bass strings with a drum stick. some of it was hypnotic and ethereal and glacially serene and all those other staples of new age music — but destined to crash into something loud and fierce and climactic. the pacing and rhythm of this show was superb.

at one point, the music stopped completely and the crowd obliged the moment, and for several long seconds, the packed uptown sounded as quiet and still as an empty cathedral.

nothing in sigur rós’ music — not the keyboards or the distortion or its loveliest melodies — is as transporting and beautiful as the voice that comes from jónsi. unlike the cracked, wobbly faux-falsettos of wayne coyne or thom yorke, jónsi’s voice is angelic, innocent and pure. it seems to come from some supernal source, from somewhere beyond the sky.

the entire show was one long highlight, but a few moments were extraordinary: the gorgeous “hoppipola/meo blodnasir” and the song that closed the first set, “hafsol,” a song this well-versed crowd recognized though it’s available only on an ep. they ended with what apparently has become a standard but demonstrative encore: two from “takk …” (“svo hljótt” and “heysátan”) and then one from the cryptic “( )” album, “popplagið,” otherwise known as “untitled 8.”

after the show, many in the crowd lingered in the lobby or in front of the theater, trying to keep the evening’s buzz going a little longer. one friend sighed that during the more hypnotic moments, she’d had some trouble staying awake. different strokes, i guess. three hours later, it was nearly 2 a.m., and i still couldn’t sleep.
(timothy finn)

patchchord
(reviewing this concert and the previous evenings concert in st. louis)

they have downtown baseball and a roof over their football stadium. they host ncaa tourneys. they have a hockey team that plays in a cool downtown arena. and of course, they have the arch.

what do we have? well, we’ve got barbecue and i’ll take that over an arch any day. we’ve got the 1985 world series to hold over their heads; i was eight years old then, but i still bring it up when a cardinals fan goes all “baseball” on me. and this time, we got the better sigur rós concert. to most barbecue fans and arch-goers, that probably doesn’t mean much, but i’m pretty happy about it. sigur rós is currently on a world tour and while they are in the us, they had two dates scheduled in the “show-me” state. they are currently touring in support of their 2005 album, takk (icelandic for “thanks”). the album was highly acclaimed and one of the best-reviewed albums of the year (it was also my favorite alum of the year).

when a band like this tours, people come out of the woodwork. they fill up their gas tanks and head to airports. with a devout and loyal fanbase – and when you don’t tour that much – people get excited. rightfully so. tales of their last show in the kansas city area still blow through bars and venues and make those that missed them wince at their mentioning.

the setlists for both shows were exactly the same. i was surprised by that, but hardly disappointed. the sound was equally brilliant both nights. the performance and stage presentation was also well done. what set one show apart from the other were all of the distractions. so many, in fact, it was like going to a movie and the guy behind you continuing to kick your seat until the credits rolled. the pageant in st. louis is an overgrown bar. it’s not a theater, it’s a hall…a square box. along the back walls, upstairs and down, is a huge bar. bottles clanging, credit card receipts printing and loud drunks could be heard all night. also, there’s open smoking in the venue. between sets i made my way to the bar to purchase a soda and the line was six people deep. twenty minutes later, i had my drink. what it boils down to here is this: this isn’t some metal band, this is a performing arts show. calm your marlboros down and try the water, you alcoholic.

kansas city was a different story all together. the uptown is a beautiful and historic theater. no smoking. no line at all at the bar. through most of the show, you would have been hard pressed to find a quieter library. way to go kc. i spent part of both nights asking people how they talk about sigur rós to their friends. i found that everyone has a hard time with it. the one thing i kept hearing was “other-worldly” or “out of this world.” or, as i referred to it on my top ten of 2005, “alien music.” i really like that as its own genre.

what i’ll take away from these two nights is what i already knew, seeing sigur rós is a treat. they’re a band like no other. people toss around names like radiohead and mogwai – both of which are amazing bands – but to a trained ear are very different and share few similarities. hearing jonsi birgisson’s (lead vocals) voice go to places where no others can, feeling the driving melody fill up the room, and for it all unfold in front of you on stage and letting it burrow deep inside you… well, that’s why i listen to music. and for two nights, i sure was spoiled.
(concert chris)