They (i.e. Barbara Streisand) say people who need people are the luckiest people. But you know who really are the luckiest people? People who have a ticket to see Sigur Rós this summer. It’s not that I haven’t seen ‘em before, but it’s been 24 hours and I’m still paralyzed from the 1AM bliss fest of their set Saturday night in That Tent. Here’s why you should sell all your possessions to secure a ticket to see them right now:
- The current setlist is a catalog-spanning beast, showcasing hallmark moments from each of the band’s style shifts, from the dark and dank Ágætis byrjun, to the slowest-of-core unpronounceabilites of the ( ) stuff, to the triumphant Takkisms. (Saturday brought “Svefn-g-englar” [the "it's you-oooo" song], “Njósnavélin” [the "yu-silo" song], “Olsen Olsen,” “Hoppípolla,” “Glósóli,” and non-album crowd fave “Hafsól” [the drumstick-on-the-bass song]).
- The Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust stuff crushes it live, comes with lots of horns, ups the band’s overall joy quotient, and really seems to have loosened them up, as people, even more. Last night these included “Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur,” “Godan Daginn,” “Vid Spilum Endalaust,” “Festival,” “All Alright” (the one in English!) and of course “Gobbledigook.”
- Umm, “Gobbledigook.” Which winds up having 12 people on stage (fully clothed, sorry), a drumline powered by amiina, confetti guns, and, most notably, a wildly grinning Jonsi.
- The mariachi band that parades the stage during “Sé Lest” has a pretty great outfit.
- They are the best band in the world.
They played one encore and took two bows. The “one more song” chants weren’t satisfied, so the crowd did the logical thing and hung around to applaud the sound men. (Try it at home, it’s the new “encore!”) At one point I started texting “Sigur Rós is…” and a guy next to me asked, “may I be so rude as to suggest the rest of your sentence?” I found this a fair request. He offered: “Sigur Rós is … an atmospheric pumpkin. And this year Halloween is Christmas.” I mean, I’ve never read a Sigur Rós review that sounds any less goofy than that, so let’s go with it. But don’t take atmospheric pumpkin guy’s words: AT&T Blue Room streamed the set, and YouTube’s done the rest. So up first, so many videos:
“Sé Lest”
[Mariachi band at ~4:20]
“Fljotavik / Suð í eyrum”
“Hoppípolla”
“Góðan daginn”
“All Alright”
“Festival”
“Hafsól”
“Gobbledigook”
“Heysátan”
And now so many photos:
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What an amazing show. I’m just upset that I missed the end of it to go wait for friggin’ Kanye.
I saw them back in the Ágætis byrjun tour, in Lisbon, Portugal. The whole audience was awe-stroken – i wouldn’t be surprised if 9 months later birth rates peaked.
Next day, reviews of the concerts on national media were all the same – “i cannot be impartial, it was the concert of a lifetime”, “my duty as a journalist is betrayed by my feelings”, “the best concert ever in our country”, etc, etc. It was THAT good.
!
awe-stroken?
I love this band, but I have never had the chance to see them live. I think I’m sold now that I need to do whatever it takes to do that.
(Side note: I know All Alright is supposed to be in English, but I still can’t understand a damn word of it)
I love this band, but I have never had the chance to see them live. I think I’m sold now that I need to do whatever it takes to do that.
(Side note: I know All Alright is supposed to be in English, but I still can’t understand a damn word of it)
did they play popplagid?
I love that you unapologetically declare that they’re the best band in the world. Because it’s true. Did they play “Ára bátur” from the new album?
Oh damn, I meant to include a note on “åra batur” because I was hoping each song would be it. They did not. I excuse them on the grounds that it is not easy to transport a symphony orchestra to a tent in Manchester, TN. It’s just as well, I probably would have lost my mind
too bad those moma tickets sold out before they were technically even meant to go on sale.
i’m sitting at my desk with tears streaming down my face. i’m going to be a mess tonight. in a good way, but a mess nonetheless/
hahahahaha that’s NOT a mariachi my friend… Mariachis have guitars…, it’s all about acoustic guitars, that’s dumb….
“[the "yu-silo" song]”
…oh that narrows it down a bit.
I’m really into post-rock, and I tried to like these guys. I even found a used copy of () and bought it so I would pay attention to the music more. I think I just cannot listen to a band that is just so God-damn full of themselves and thrives on saying non-sensical ‘words’ into the mic. I think this is a super case of “I like this band because it makes me different and artsy” type deal.
Huh? How are they full of themselves? Because they sing made-up words? You realize that the majority of their songs are in Icelandic? I hear they speak that in Iceland. As you’ll see in the comments section of any post about Sigur Ros, people like the band not because it’s “different and artsy,” but because the orchestral, complex sound, often seen in the post-rock you say you like, is astoundingly emotional. The whole “crying at my computer screen” comment has been made more than once, because it’s quite true. It’s almost embarrassing how easily that music manipulates the heart.
Metallica used an orchestra, do you like them?
That’s a pretty easy thing to claim, but I don’t think them singing nonsensical words in their mics has anything to do with themselves thinking they’re the shit. It’s for aesthetic purposes; intelligible words would distract from the music, maybe? And the music is beautiful. They have reasons for what they do. And I think they’ve proven themselves to have some credibility.
And the Bonnaroo show….wow. They blew myself and the rest of the audience away. Figuratively, of course: Kanye would do that to his audience in a literal sense a couple hours later.
this reminds me…my brother saw them for the first time practicing for the mini-show they gave at their documentary premiere here in LA. i am ridiculously jealous cuz he just happened to be near the practice room and they let in about 20-30 staff memebrs of the festival only. GRRRR.
Hey, I was just curious about something you wrote in your artice. I was also at the show at That Tent and you said that they performed Njosnavelin, which is without question my favorite Sigur Ros song ever. I left this show early because I wanted to see the end of Ghostland Observatory, but I was dreading that I would miss this song. I looked up set-lists as well as all the videos on youtube, but nobody has any record of them performing that song. Please get back to me at my gmail account if you have a free minute, it would be very much appreciated.. Thanks again!!
dougpetri@gmail.com
seriously, with out a doubt the best show ever. i was moved from tears to jumping and dancing with joy. i was compelled to pray and to smile. it was such a good show, i had to call the night off and skip kanye and go right back to the tent. which turned out to be a pretty smart move. it is true sigur ros is a must right now
damn, they really need to play philly sometime soon. although i must say jonsi’s new wardrobe makes me kind of uneasy.
I left my group and stood in the tent and got to hear the music the God would make babies to. The show was a very spiritual moment for me. I got a little choked up. The audience was so appreciative and respectful when the music got quiet you could hear a pin drop in that tent. Kudos to bonnaroo for bringing this show to it’s fest. And thanks to Sigur Ross for giving the best show I have seen in my 4 years at the festival. Oh and thanks also for bringing your CD to let us get our paws on it early! I am still in a glow over this show.
What an amazing and moving show to behold. That will definitely be one that I cherish seeing for the rest of my life. There are not many bands that can bring out emotion in a 6’5 250 lb 20-something year old guy, but I have to admit that I had tears streaming down my face at points during this show. Bravo. Thanks for posting these pictures and vids so that I may experience those fleeting moments of brilliance once again. It was the show of a lifetime.
i think this band is the closest music has come to achieving the sublime
It may sound weird to suggest rolling while at a Sigur Ros concert, but I ate a little white smiley pill before I left Pearl Jam and the result was amazing. All the glowstick kids around me were kissing and loving each other. It was like the climax of a great movie where everyone in the audience is crying. The beauty in this music is unparalled. I’ve seen them twice before and this was the best. Maybe because of the Ecstasy. Probably because of the music. It was a beautiful show.
aliens.
Wow,. I’ve seen Sigur Ros four times and never an encore. Crazy!
I’ll be at the Portland, OR, gig in October… woot!
~Dan
http://jazzsick.wordpress.com/