A beautiful post rock symphony
Icelandic post rock band Sigur Rós has been at the top of my bucket list since U2 relinquished the top slot following their 2009 show at FedEx Field. I should have made going to a show of theirs in 2008 when they last toured a priority, but they skipped DC and I did not venture up to New York. After releasing 2008’s Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust [With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly] , Sigur Rós took a four year hiatus, not releasing any material or playing any live shows. I did see lead singer Jónsi’s 2010 New York solo show, but he did not play any Sigur Rós songs. So despite that small taste, my excitement to see a full Sigur Rós concert had been percolating for four years.
I arrived at the venue plenty early, around 6:15pm for doors that would open at 7pm. All tickets were general admission, so it would be a bit of a rush to secure an optimal spot. There were lots of people there already, but the crowd was quite disorganized with little order. I spent the next 45 minutes in nervous excitement for the doors to open and to get as close as I could. When the doors finally opened, I found myself within the first 15 people to enter the gate in front of me, easily within the first hundred or so people to enter the venue. I made my way to the front of the stage and found a spot in the second row, slightly to the right of center but with a spectacular view. My feet were on the front riser so I was even slightly elevated off the grass. I killed the next hour chatting with the folks around me, sharing stories of previous shows and expectations for the one forthcoming. I was surprised how small the venue was. It was out on the back lawn area of the Mann Center, which was not particularly expansive. The stage itself was fairly small and several trees and some fencing cut down on the size of the viewing area.
Their set list was amazing. It started out with two tracks from their new album, Valtari (2012), including the ethereal opening track and then “Varúð,” which I consider to be the best on the album. The background vocals on the latter sounds more like children on the album, but the female string players provided a good substitute. Following that they went immediately into older songs for the rest of the main set, including one from Von [Hope] (1997), four from Ágætis byrjun [A good beginning] (1999), one from ( ) (2002), three from Takk… [Thanks…] (2005), one from live/compilation album Hvarf/Heim [Haven/Home] (2007), and one from Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust [With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly] (2008).
Icelandic post rock band Sigur Rós has been at the top of my bucket list since U2 relinquished the top slot following their 2009 show at FedEx Field. I should have made going to a show of theirs in 2008 when they last toured a priority, but they skipped DC and I did not venture up to New York. After releasing 2008’s Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust [With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly] , Sigur Rós took a four year hiatus, not releasing any material or playing any live shows. I did see lead singer Jónsi’s 2010 New York solo show, but he did not play any Sigur Rós songs. So despite that small taste, my excitement to see a full Sigur Rós concert had been percolating for four years.
I arrived at the venue plenty early, around 6:15pm for doors that would open at 7pm. All tickets were general admission, so it would be a bit of a rush to secure an optimal spot. There were lots of people there already, but the crowd was quite disorganized with little order. I spent the next 45 minutes in nervous excitement for the doors to open and to get as close as I could. When the doors finally opened, I found myself within the first 15 people to enter the gate in front of me, easily within the first hundred or so people to enter the venue. I made my way to the front of the stage and found a spot in the second row, slightly to the right of center but with a spectacular view. My feet were on the front riser so I was even slightly elevated off the grass. I killed the next hour chatting with the folks around me, sharing stories of previous shows and expectations for the one forthcoming. I was surprised how small the venue was. It was out on the back lawn area of the Mann Center, which was not particularly expansive. The stage itself was fairly small and several trees and some fencing cut down on the size of the viewing area.
Chamber pop singer-songwriter Perfume Genius was the opening act. Other than being obviously nervous to be performing in front of such a large crowd, he did well. He was pretty fitting for Sigur Rós, though a little quiet. Plus, I was just ready for him to get off the stage so Sigur Rós could come out so I might not have given him a fair shot.
Sigur Rós came onstage about 9:15. The stage itself was beautifully lit, with dim household lightbulds all around the stage. The visuals would only get better throughout the show, with intense lights and interesting closes ups of the band and their instruments. The five band members, several of who would often switch instruments throughout the show, for example when the lead guitarist would jump to the organ or Jónsi would hop on the keys. Several members of the band would also play bells throughout the show. Sigur Rós was also accompanied by three horns (trumpet, French horn, and trombone) and three strings (violins, violas, or a combination of the two), making for a total of eleven on stage. I was so close that I couldn’t even get a picture of all of them at once.
Sigur Rós unorthodox sound often stems from the unconventional ways they play their instruments. Jónsi played his guitar with a bow string throughout the show. The bassist also played one song, Hafsól [Sea Sun], which I consider to include one of the band’s most iconic basslines, using a drum stick on his bass string. It was cool to watch adjacent to Jónsi’s guitar bow.
Their set list was amazing. It started out with two tracks from their new album, Valtari (2012), including the ethereal opening track and then “Varúð,” which I consider to be the best on the album. The background vocals on the latter sounds more like children on the album, but the female string players provided a good substitute. Following that they went immediately into older songs for the rest of the main set, including one from Von [Hope] (1997), four from Ágætis byrjun [A good beginning] (1999), one from ( ) (2002), three from Takk… [Thanks…] (2005), one from live/compilation album Hvarf/Heim [Haven/Home] (2007), and one from Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust [With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly] (2008).
Even though it was their first show in four years (it was also the inaugural show of the Mann Center’s back lawn), the band brought great energy and didn’t strike me as being rusty at all. Jónsi doesn’t say much, but he and the rest of the band are visually and sonically engaging. There were few solos if any true throughout the night. Their music is more layered and nuanced, so most of the band and their accompanying orchestra are always playing something, even if ever so slightly to accentuate something else.
The only slightly disappointing part of the show was “Sæglópur,” which is the first of their songs that I ever heard and has always remained one of my favorites. They sped through the beginning part in my opinion, during which the piano was overpoweringly loud as compared to the bells. All that was forgivable, but the crucial part of the song is when piano dips down a few octaves and a wave of bass hits your ears, almost like a post rock bass drop. It’s easily my favorite single transition and moment in any of their songs. But even without my earplugs, the bass just didn’t really pop the way I thought it would. It was almost anticlimactic; I nearly signed with disappointment. A second disappointing bass drop within a little more than a week. Perhaps I need to recalibrate what kind of bass is possible at a live venue. A single disappointing moment though is nowhere near enough to ruin an otherwise spectacular show. Renditions of additional songs that I’ve always enjoyed were very strong, including “Hoppípolla” and “Festival,” which were both unexpected highlights of the night.
The encore started with one more low key, more experimental song from Valtari before breaking into “Popplagið,” their go-to final song and the pièce de résistance of their set. It’s another that starts slow, build for quite a while, then releases an explosion of sound. It was incredible; seeing that one song made my drive and the cost of my ticket worthwhile. It just has so much going on at once, perfectly crafted together. The guitars, drums, and strings create a series of sounds that if you don’t know what to listen for, it sounds like cacophony, but once you do, it is pure symphony. Plus, in this atmosphere, the accompanying lights only added to the experience. During that final song, I achieved the level of ecstasy that I always chase at concerts but few shows are able to provide for me. Just pure happiness and getting lost in the sound. For that Sigur Rós goes to the top tier of all the shows. However, it was again just shy of that coveted top five, perhaps because they weren’t able to sustain that feeling the whole way through. Damn close though.
The bucket list grows ever shorter. French electronic duo Daft Punk now holds the top slot, another act that has not released anything new (the Tron: Legacy Soundtrack doesn’t count) or toured for quite a few years.
Setlist:
Ekki Múkk [Not a Sound]
Varúð [Caution]
Ný batterí [New batteries]
Í Gær [Yesterday]
E-bow
Sæglópur [Lost at Sea]
Svefn-g-englar [Sleepwalkers]
Viðrar vel til loftárása [Good Weather for an Airstrike]
Hoppípolla [Hopping Into Puddles]
Með Blóðnasir [I Have a Nosebleed]
Olsen Olsen
Festival
Hafsól [Sea Sun]
Encore:
Dauðalogn [Dead Calm]
Popplagið [The Pop Song]
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