The third of my gift concerts. This one had me headed to New York City to see Sigur Ros at the United Palace Theater, September 18 2008.
Sigur Ros is a hard band to explain to those who haven't heard them. They are an Icelandic group that has created loyal and passionate following without the advantage of much U.S. radio play outside their homeland or small college radio. I believe that most people hear about them through word of mouth or read about them in various online music forums.
Some people try to compare them to Radiohead or Coldplay but in reality, the bands are very different. The Icelandic people are very quiet and reserved and music the band produces very much reflects that. Iceland itself is a land of striking beauty but is also very harsh and unforgiving. The color palette of the land is rich with browns, blacks, grays and whites. There is a lingering darkness in winter and endless light in the summer. Frequently called "the land of fire and ice", it is a country of contrasts. Sigur Ros's music reflects the landscape as much as the people. It is a music with and ebb and flow that cannot be experienced with just a quick sample. Is is music that must be felt as well as heard.
Did I forget to mention that some of the vocals are done in a nonsense language the lead singer calls "Hopelandic". This is an "invented language in which Jónsi sings before lyrics are written to the vocals. It's, of course, not an actual language by definition (no vocabulary, grammar, etc.), it's rather a form of gibberish vocals that fits to the music and acts as another instrument." Nobody can really sing these songs unless they memorize these chants. Frankly, I'm not even certain they are the same from show to show. A big put-off to some, it really doesn't affect my enjoyment. In fact, I actually am more interested in the voice as an instrument so it works on that level. The rest of the songs are sung in Icelandic as are the song titles.
All this preface is written because it may help explain why I enjoy the band yet have a hard time naming the songs that were performed on this particular night, It certainly doesn't help that Icelandic is an incredibly hard language to spell, speak and pronounce.
What I generally like about the band is how each song conveys one or more sonic textures. Each texture elicits an emotional response that is undoubtedly unique to listener. It is the combination of the textures within a song or set of songs that I find so captivating.
The United Palace Theater was built in 1930. Long used for movies and Vaudeville, the theater was rebuild in 1969 and has been used since as a church and music hall. Although the place is obviously a nice piece of craftsmanship, I found the interior a little gaudy for my taste. In form and function it reminded me a lot of Atlanta's Fox Theater but I'd give the nod to the Fox hands done when it comes to overall look.
The theater was filled on this particular night. Sigur Ros hasn't played much in the states but they have played in NYC a few times before. Each show has sold out quick and this was no exception.
We got to the theater early enough to see the opening act, Parachute. This act was extremely odd because the music they played was so much like Sigur Ros, only much weaker. Perhaps that is explained because the lead singer of Parachute is the boyfriend of Sigur Ros's lead singer. On top of this oddity, many of the members of the band chose to perform sitting down on the stage. Not sitting in chairs, but actually on the stage. Just strange.
After that was over the main act took the stage and didn't disappoint. There was some fear going in that they might play a lot of material from their latest album which I find much more poppy and less textural in nature. Fortunately, that was not the case. About 2/3 of the act was devoted to older music. Each song was performed with a good deal of energy and went off with barely a hitch. Although they generally stuck to performing the songs without ad-lib there were a couple of nice additions thrown in. The crowd was very receptive and sound quality was excellent. They played close to a two-hour set including their encores and finished it off as strongly as they started.
All in all a great night and a great experience overall.
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