photos by carina johansson
setlist
vaka
fyrsta
samskeyti
ný batterí
njósnavélin
svefn-g-englar
salka
hafssól
(encore)
von
popplagið
darren webb
the setting for this concert was a small intimate theatre a few minutes walk from
the main harbour in stockholm. the venue sits atop a hill and overlooks a lot of stockholm.
its more normally associated with more "conventional" theatre and the crowd seemed
a little out of place because of it.
before the band came on stage the p.a. system played some songs to get us in the mood, one being the takagi masakatsu song that was on a previous bbc6 interview. the band came on stage at just after 8:20pm... with the string quartet taking there positions also to the rear of the stage in front of the screen for the visuals. orri was located at the front right of the stage, kjartan to the front left with goggi and j nsi taking up the centre front of the stage.
the musical introduction of a semi remix of the heartbeats from the end of the album version of "svefn g englar" mixed in with distortion gives way to the opening notes of vaka. the newest of the songs on the bands latest album "( )". as the song progressed it seems that the band have stuck to their reputation for altering songs, the slightly altered version of the song see's j nsi singing with a lot more intensity, it was the absolute highlight of the concert for me, the song used to be one i skipped by, but now with this slight change its improved immensely. as the notes faded away there was a slight silence before the clapping started. the audience seemed to be a little bit too respectful.
following the line up of ( ), the next song was fyrsta. slightly flatter version than usual. not altered in anyway, just lacking a bit of intensity. it just seemed to float by, not making much of an impact. it flowed into samskeyti without applause. orri moving over to beside kjartan signalled the transition. j nsi stayed at his sampler area singing into the microphone for the first few minutes. what he was doing there i wasn't to sure of because he wasn't being heard over the sound system. you still could hear him singing into the microphone, but nothing was heard over the p.a.. eventually he sat on the ground and started to play the guitar. after a minute or so the volume of the guitar seemed to be increased and it was drowning out slightly the piano and the strings. it just made such a beautiful song seemed strained and awkward.
the song died down and j nsi started to play the bow the way that he does at the start of ný batterÁ. taking the note higher and higher until only a piercing note can be heard. it eventually subsides and goggi's distinctive bass starts. again the same problem as the previous songs, it just seemed to lack intensity. ný batterÁ is one of my favourite sigur r s songs and it was still amazing, just lacked that something extra. it faded and lead into nj snavĂlin. one of the string quartet joined kjartan on the keyboards and another one played the xylophone. the song went from powerful to delicate in a moment and then back again. fantastic.
as it finished, svefn g englar started. the usual pings and rumbling bass and singing into guitars. the song is still so special to all those who hear it for the first time. still produced the same claps at the start and the disbelieving glances when j nsi sings into the strings and the tingle that goes up your spine. after three years of the same version of the song it does feel that it needs to be retired and replaced with some newer songs.
and the next song is indeed a new one!. "salka" has been played at this tour only. given its first performance at the london show on october 1st. the song starts off with a glorious guitar intro then the drums come in. considering the song is just a few weeks old it show great promise. like most of their current songs expect many many changes before its ever recorded, especially with the vocals which do seem a little bit unimaginative. time will tell.
the drum stick on the bass guitar announced the arrival of haffs l. the song is always fantastic. it always pushes up the tempo of the concert and gets the adrenaline going for everyone as the concert draws to a close. the sight of j nsi and goggi belting away on the guitar and bass is fantastic. the drums speed up and up and up until it sounds as if everything comes crashing down around the band. amazing. finishes with a simple delicate melody by kjartan on the flute. they band leave the stage, leaving the string quartet to play a series of random notes that over a few minutes find order and become "von". the band come back on stage and play my favourite song ever. this rendition of the song was a bit hit or miss. it seemed to be slowed down a tiny amount. goggi's bass guitar seemed to be drowning out the drums a little bit. the song faded and gave way to popplagi‡. the final song. it starts with a simple guitar riff and builds very very slowly. this time the middle part was slightly longer. with emphasis on the drumming. there was a really really bright light just behind orri, shining out into the venue. a beautiful effect (like the lighting all night, flawless) that gave orri due credit for fantastic drumming. the song explodes. an utter cacophony of noise and raw emotion. the audience is, as always, left reeling by the shear madness and ferocity of it all. simply amazing. the band leave and come back for two ovations. the audience that remained restrained for most of the night now roared for more. the second of the two collective bows to the crowd from the eight members was the final one, as the crowd slowly but surely left the venue.
a pretty good concert. putting a final verdict on any sigur r s concert can be
difficult and misleading. the band hated it, the majority of the audience were enthralled.
next time they play sweden hopefully the audience will be a bit less restrained.
(darren webb)
