setlist
untitled 10 / vaka
the nothing song / njósnalagið
ný batterí
untitled 1 / lagið í gær
untitled 2 / álafoss
olsen olsen
untitled 3 / fyrsta
untitled 8 / samskipti
svefn-g-englar
death song
pop song
melissa fehr
last night's performance was absolutely breathtaking. at some points, the beauty was
almost too much to bear. when you get chills for the 5th time in two minutes and you
can't bear to see jonsi break his heart on yet another note, you know it's definitely
an emotional night.
before i get to the songs, let me say that the whole concert was filmed for hbo's "reverb" program, so i'll be trying desperately to find anyone i know with premium cable (or, i'm actually considering subscribing just for the month's it's on!). so the 1/2 city block of mobile video units, camera men, and wires hopefully did an admirable job of capturing the concert for those who couldn't make it last night.
i didn't get a setlist, but i copied it down from a nice girl who did.
. i gave each untitled song a descriptive name in my head as i went along, so i have a pretty clear memory of each one, after the first one):
1. vaka -- sadly, i was too awestruck and standing with my mouth open to take much of it in critically, so i don't remember too much of this one, other than orri was at the piano (rather than the drums), and jonsi was playing with some weird reverb equipment by kjartan's keyboards instead of singing or playing the guitar.
2. nójosnavelin (aka the nothing song) -- this is one of my favorite songs of theirs *ever*, and i was so glad they played it. jonsi's vocals were spot on (as they were for the entire hour and 45 minute performance!), and the lighting was lots of tiny moving pinpoints of light coming off 3 giant disco balls. really beautiful.
3. ný batterý -- the first one the crowd recognized. it was played close to the studio recording, but the hard/loud section halfway through was even more powerful in a live setting, which made it much more exciting after the quiet bits.
4. lagið í gær -- this one started off with a really harsh drum crash that made me jump and almost a violent sound to the whole song. whatever he was actually saying, the chorus sounded like "inside" over and over. the darker side of sigur ros, if you will.
5. álafoss -- this was as warm and fuzzy as lagið í gær was harsh. the screen behind the band showed silhouetted birds on a wire in slow motion, with several taking flight at certain moments. a really lovely track, maybe my favorite of the new ones (to me) from the night.
6. olsen olsen -- my absolute favorite from agaetis byjrjun! for the very beginning bit with the bass (go listen to it to see what i mean), they showed a little bird waddling on the screen, and it fit so perfectly with the sound that the whole audience was giggling... this was just breathtaking, and kjartan played the flute part perfectly (and i have a critical eye for the flute since i played it for 8 years). i was wondering how they were going to pull off this track without an orchestra, but really, the only bit that was missing was the flidding at the very end on the studio version where the flute/piccolo comes in by itself. so, it wasn't missing much!
7. fyrsta -- this one started off with a low rumbling noise and was in a minor key (i think), but it made me think of a cold wind. chilling, but still very nice. completely polar opposite emotions invoked than in álafoss, almost unsettling
8. samskipti -- the only song without jonsi the entire night (he huddled out of view). kjartan played a repetetive organ part, orri sat beside him on the piano, and georg played a precious little melody on the bells that reminded me alot of "frosti" from bjork's vespertine album.
9. svefn-g-englar -- the crowd went absolutely wild for this one. what i was amazed with, though, was the "bong" sound that's repeated throughout the song -- it wasn't done on a tape loop, but instead was a little touch screen instrument that kjartan controlled in between his keyboard playing! technically and emotionally, this was done to absolute perfection (i'm assuming because they've played it 1,000,000s of times).
10. dauða lagið -- for most of the song, i thought this was popplagid, since i have an version of that song from haskolabio, iceland 1999. i kept hearing the line "inside my head/heart", though (although i'm sure that wasn't what he was saying -- that's just what it sounded like to me). a bit longer than the other songs, and another warmer song.
11. poooooooooooooppppppppppppp (aka popplagid) -- the new version of this blew me away. it sounds nothing like the version i have (that i mentioned above). i think the guys were itching for some heavy songs, because they let it all loose here. thrashing bass and drums, controlled screaming from jonsi, it was (dare i say it?), very mogwai-esque. it ended the concert on such a high energy level.
after pop, the crowd went insane. unlike most concert where you clap genuinely for a while and then just keep clapping to keep the sound level up so they'll come back out, people were sincerely in a frenzy!! it was fantastic, there was so much energy in the room that the band were kinda embarrassed that we loved them so much and crept out for two awkward "stand together and link arms" bows before the house lights came on (and people were still clapping after that!).
i'm sure i've forgotten lots, but i'm hoping someone will have bootlegged it so
i can hear those songs again...
(melissa fehr)
tom williams
maybe my expectations were too high. after the irving plaza (nyc) show earlier this
year, my jaw was left swinging, half-connected to a hinge. i didn't think live music
could take me further into myself, or the surroundings of a small windswept country
i may never visit. but the "knowledgeable ones" said it was a low-point of the band's
first american tour. sound problems, nervousness and the intensity of a first appearance
in the city, i suppose.
this time, i expected jonsi and the wunderkinder to be more relaxed and road-sharp. how many countless miles had they traveled of late spreading icelandic joy? hbo had brought a crew to tape a segment for reverb (a weekly music show to air oct. 17). the sound should have been flawless, and the venue is one of the more fan-friendly on the northeastern coastline. unfortunately, despite it being the autumnal equinox, the planets were not aligned and i am certain the best our friends have to offer is something i have not seen.
a highlight of the nyc show was the seamless interplay of the string quartet and the band's introduction of steindor to the hipsters gaping from the vip balcony at his strange folk-tongue and garb. when i heard the stringers and steindor were awol, i was disappointed, but intrigued by the prospect of hearing different arrangements. after the nyc show a neophyte said, "they were good when they rocked, but they should have rocked more." would this line-up lead to the roughing of some edges?
no. and the sound was bad (intermittent popping and heavy, heavy feedback); and there was no encore. during olsen olsen i said to a friend, "this is where the strings would be."
but what do i know. it was a good time. (it was certainly worth the money.) there
were probably people just as floored as i was after my first sigur ros show; satisfied
and blissfully ignorant of the missing. there were high points. oh did they rock riotously
during pop song. their smiles after being called out for a second curtain call could
have melted snow. it was not the last time i will see them, but i am holding my breath.
(tom williams)
melissa
at nine p.m. sigur rós took the stage. they came on stage without much a care
with the fact that there were 4 cameras hovering around them. the crowd clapped and
jónsi shyly smiled and said thank you. first song was vaka the tears formed
in my eyes before jónsi even began to sing, and when he did...i cried...and
cried. it is just such a beautiful song, the only way to react to it is to cry. the
next song nójosnavelin aka nothing song which left me stunned the lights during
this were so beautiful..they had 3 discoballs reflecting speckles of light throughout
the whole venue, it was so gorgeous. ný batterý was played next which
seemed even more wonderful, it was at this point i figured out that the more times
you see sigur rós the more you are able to absorb and the more you are able
to enjoy it. the first time i saw them i had no reaction other than starring and crying
in amazement. anyway, the following song left me with my jaw dropped just as hafssól
did at irving. lagið í gær wow ladies and gentlemen wow. i have never
in my life witnessed such powerful drumming. the first crash of the drum set in the
intro of the song actually made me jump a little. jónsi's voice soared through
the green lights that made it seem so creepy. i truly think that this just might outweigh
haffsól as my favorite song live, ever. it was at this point that i found what
a spectacular drummer orri is. i think it was because i had such a clear view of him
that i just watched him bang away at his drums. breaking one drumstick, being handed
another and being able to drop the broken drumstick and play with the new one without
skipping a beat. the first drumstick he broke part of it flew through the air and
it fell right at the front of the stage in front of me. my eyes were fixed upon orri
the entire song, i think i can now say that he is my favorite drummer. the next song,
álafoss was much quieter in a nice sense, it brought down all the emotions
that lagið í gær brought about.
orri drummed that all so familiar beat, and goggi joined in on that bass line and a huge grin just formed across my face. olsen olsen seemed the same, perhaps even better in a sense without the strings, if that is able to believe. it just sounded to clear and simple, and beautiful. especially kjarri's flute playing. fyrsta was next, another stunningly beautiful song. jónsi's singing was just overwhelming and lead me near tears again. after fyrsta goggi walked over to the keyboard like thing next to him and my heart jumped, i knew what was coming up. samskipti, during the first half i just kept thinking "hurry up, get to the xylophone goggi!", i know it's awful to rush through a live song, but that part is clearly the best part of the song. at last, goggi walked over to the xylophone and jónsi sat indian style with his back to the crowd bent over his guitar. the four of them within one corner, and seeing them [most of them] concentrating so hard on what they were playing was just too much and the tears began to fall again. that part [samskeyti] was what made me cry the most for too many reasons. i wiped them all away once everyone was back in their original positions. kjarri started off at the keyboard and then hit the little device on the top of his keyboard that made that nice ping sound of svefn-g-englar. the crowd cheered greatly [i really don't see why people always clap for this song the most, it is certainly not their best, but i just guess it being the most well known, or it being the first sigur rós song to most makes them clap so profusely for it.] this song also brought a great smile to my face, it was actually the best performance of it that i have seen so far. the haunting dauða lagið was played next during which my eyes did not stray off jónsi for very long, unless they wandered over to see orri drum. every time he sang a few inches away from the microphone loud enough for the people in the front to hear sent a chill up and down my spine. the drums again are outstanding during this song and jónsi's voice sounds like he's telling a story of such pain. i can just remember whispering to lesley "i think i have a new favorite song" after they played it at irving plaza
jónsi played the intro to the last song, the excitement in me just shot
up. the amazing popplagið began, i was so focused on this song, but somehow i
was set on watching goggi. during the beginning of the song, he looked up from starring
at the ground and his eyes passed over mine, he looked back at me to see if i was
still looking, saw that i was looked away, and then looked at me again! i cannot describe
this eye contact as anything but awkward. although it did make me feel all happy and
i saw goggi stare back at the floor and smile. bob 3 people to my left, and laini's
friend michael one person to my left and i were the most into the song in the front
row. probably because we were the ones who knew it best in the little circle of people.
the three of us rocked out during it just as darren did at irving plaza. which, at
that time i thought to myself "how do you get into a sigur rós song so much
that you move around to it, all i can do is stare and cry," i can now tell myself
it's just a matter of time, absorbency, and focusing. i love orri, yes yes...i had
to get that out. i will not be able to get over what a fantastic drummer he is. i
somehow missed that, well didn't miss that but just didn't focus in on how outstanding
a drummer he is. so yes, this version of poppppp seemed louder and stronger and longer
and just even more fantastic that it was before. the camera men even peered over their
cameras to watch in amazement, it was so fucking amazing. i feel that i was injected
with a drug that makes me see and hear them twenty-four hours a day. after popppp,
they left the stage and the audience clapped and cheered until they came out for their
bows, then the audience just clapped and cheered even more and they came out for another
bow with smiles and looks of amazement on their faces. it was just so wonderful.
(melissa)
kct22_1999 [from the sigur rós yahoo! club]
saw sigur ros at the tla last night and it was awesome. sept there were these two
anoying girls at the bar. they were drunk and retarded and annoying. but the concert
was breathtaking. i have no idea about the set list cuz i dont think i ever heard
many of the songs.
one unforgetable part was when they played some song and in the background on the screen, there was this power line lined with doves and one by one they flew away while they played this really slow beautiful song. it was awesome. an encore woulda been nice but whatever.
also, i thought it was wierd that they did not say one thing to the audience all
night. no hello, no thank you , no nothin. i mean, i would been happy with a foreign
greeting or thank you, or ... im rambling.
(kct22_1999)
