12 June 2008

sigur rós

i've known of sigur rós for several years now, possibly five or six. but i've never owned an album or even listened (knowingly) to an entire one. there've just been a few songs that friends have shared with me that i've listened to over and over.

when i heard that they were playing in kc this summer something in me knew i couldn't miss this. even though it was nearly $30, i had to go.

ethereal. childlike. imaginative. playful. inspiring. delightful.

these are just a few words to describe the experience. i don't know what the land of iceland does to create its musicians, but bjork and emiliana, also embody these - have this amazing full-range of voice.

there were moments when the music would fill every corner of the theatre with its loudness. and there were moments when the single sound of the bells or one voice could fill everything with its quietness. sometimes all eyes were drawn to the stage where magical onion-like globes hung suspended in coloured lights, glowing yellow from within. and there were times when the lights fanned out green across the ceiling and into the crowd. once i even noticed how the bank of lights cast a shadow on the ceiling - a normally mundane tangle of wires and cylinders suddenly mysterious and part of the beauty filling up the room.

watching the band, it was the music that played them; they themselves were the instruments. the way they would sometimes all quiet themselves so that one could play or sing; the rest still. eyes down. waiting, listening for where the music wants to go next.

during the encore song, i watched as jónsi sang. for the first time during the evening, he held nothing in his hands. and they couldn't be still. couldn't stay down at his sides, where he tried to keep them. they found their way up, first one, then the other.

my only complaint: i'd love to hear them w/o a yelling crowd. i sense the band understands how to use silence and i'd love to experience that.

*inspired by sigur rós's Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust album.
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5 comments:

  1. i ask again: best concert you've ever been to? :)

    i'm going out on a limb for myself (a person, like you, that doesn't like definitive answers) and saying, YES!!

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  2. i'd give it equal ground with my first sufjan concert. together - they would be the best ever.

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  3. yes, that show was bumped to a VERY close 2nd for me. i think what tipped it was the comfortable nature of the atmosphere at sigur ros.

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  4. Hi Beth,
    So how have you been .... I love the photo on the top of your blog! Did you take it? Did I ask already...where are you selling your photos at??
    Hugs, Gi

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  5. BETH....are you alive on this blog? How are you doing....
    You are still doing film right? I have some extra b/w film that I wanted to send to you if that is okay...your address?
    Miss our photography days for sure!!
    Gi

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