All posts for the month October, 2011

Iceland Airwaves ’11 (October 12 – 16) Day 3: ‘Chasing Útidúr & finding Vicky’

Victorsson had taken this festival very seriously. For many months he had trawled YouTube, Myspace etc to find out which bands we should definitely make sure we see on our trip. I’m not entirely sure of all the details of his criteria for selection, but I know that he has a fine ear for good music, so had no issue with him creating our schedule. Weeks before we packed our bags, there was one band he couldn’t stop talking about: Útidúr, and it was this performance that had really caught his eye…

After consulting both App and paper schedule, it was agreed that today was the one that we saw Útidúr, as they had two gigs; at the beginning and end of the day. With this in mind, we took our seats in the Reykjavik Backpackers early. Quite a few people seemed to drift in and out again after discussions at the bar, we then saw someone make a change to the running order list – Útidúr had cancelled! Drinks already purchased we settled in for the alternative act (apologies I do not have a name) who I assume was influenced by Josh T. Pearson. It was a set dripping in heartbreak, even the Gaga cover.

Thankfully Airwaves venues are all within easy walking distance and fifteen minutes later we were back in the library at the Nordic House, watching Team Me, who were great fun. The venue was again packed and remained so for the enigmatic Jenny Hval. Three long tracks with a very experimental feel, again took our festival experience off on a very different trajectory. Although not one of my favourite sets of the week, it was certainly memorable, challenging and intense.

A quick stroll back into town and we were hunting in the dusk for the Macyard. Our policy when lost had been to look out for other wristbands and slightly dazed looks. This policy turned up trumps again and we found that due to the rain, Vicky had moved their gig indoors at Hemmi & Valdi. A friendly welcome, warmth, comfy sofas and cheap beer ensured we didn’t miss the standing outside experience.

Vicky were also on Victorsson’s main list and they didn’t disapoint. Once we had got over our excitement around the guitarist’s green hair, we were treated to a entertaining acoustic set with singer Eyglo’s (hope that’s the correct spelling) vocals packed with raw angst; the emotion intensified by some great violin work. Oh and the drummer played a large box on which he sat (I’m sure there is a technical name for said box). It was the kind of gig that left you feeling like you’d been at something particularly special, we were very pleased with ourselves, feeling like we had stumbled upon a real ‘event’ by catching this group in such an intimate venue. The perfect end to another fantastic day of ‘Off venue’ performances.

Vicky enchant @ Hemmi & Valdi

Our evening started at the Glaumbar with Contalgen Funeral, these guys (and girl) know how to entertain a crowd and write a song about cocaine; in fact they know how to write nearly a whole set of songs about cocaine. It was great to hear a bit of banjo, double-bass and spoons – the festival continued to confound (in a good way).

Contalgen Funeral @ Glaumbar

Next door in Gaukur A Stong, we caught the end of a very loud set by El Camino. No singing, but lots of guitars, drums and bass – think Muse crossed with The Shadows! Next up was Vicky in full gig mode and the change was a bit of a revelation. The girls had matching black and silver outfits, there was some cool sparkly eye make-up and they were very loud. My only real point of reference would be Paramore, but just because they are contemporary, rock and have a female singer. The tunes we heard earlier retained the catchy hooks, but the pop element was replaced by ’in your face’ rock.

Vicky preparing to rock Gaukur A Stong

Vicky 'rocking' Gaukur A Stong

Having detoured to see Vicky, we were late for an appointment with Niki and the Dove at NASA. Therefore around the corner, we found Elín Ey at Tjarnarbio. Just how many great venues there are in Reykjavik is unknown to me, but this was yet another one and it was a real shame it was so empty. Elín started on her own and added an extra musician each song. A confident performer, Elín seemed unfazed by the small audience and didn’t let it effect the delivery of some top folk influenced tunes. I can only speak for myself, but I really enjoyed this set. Oh, and as an aside the Lycra catsuits were an interesting touch.

Sóley came on next. I’d been looking at her CD earlier that day and had read that she is (or was) in Seabear. I have never heard of this band, but liked them immediately because of the cool name. Sóley was excellent, a host of good songs, charming between song banter and a lovely voice. I have listened to Sóley’s record a lot since I got home and highly recommend, ‘We Sink’ – it is very fine. I also now have a reason, beyond the great name, for buying a Seabear record.

It’s late, we have seen nine sets from eight different bands, but still we have one more gig to go – Útidúr are on a Idno at 01:20. It is packed to the rafters and although we do manage to get in the front door, entering the hall is virtually impossible. A quick review of our timetable advises us that we have one more opportunity to catch the elusive Útidúr tomorrow, off-venue. We escape the crowds and head off into the evening, today has been another very special day at Iceland Airwaves ’11.

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by jcverrall on October 29, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by jcverrall on October 29, 2011

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Iceland Airwaves ’11 (October 12 – 16) Day 2

Day 2 – Thursday 13th October

Thursday started with a bit of cultural exploration, this was achieved by walking across the road to take a closer look at the stunning Hallgrímskirkja which dominates the skylineof Reykjavik. If a building can be described as both classical and futuristic, then that’s how I would describe this church. A trip up the tower provides stunning views over the city and is definitely worth the small fee. Victorsson, who had been chomping at the bit to get going in the morning, had photographed the church from virtually every angle by the time I had emerged from my room; this was not the only time he would be waiting around for me and I am thankful for his patience and resourcefulness – luckily he always found something interesting to look at.

Although the day was cold and overcast we found plenty to occupy our time whilst waiting for the first gig. The city centre has a friendly, welcoming feel, numerous independent shops and is also refreshingly devoid of the big chains such as McDonalds and Starbucks.

A trip to the National Museum of Iceland (well worth a visit) had left us near Nordic House where the App told us we wanted to be if we were to catch our first artist of the day, Guðríð. For me one of the best features of Airwaves was the comprehensive ‘Off-Venue’ chedule. Numerous places, such as Nordic House, put on shows throughout the day giving Artists the opportunity to play more than one set over the five days of the festival. In fact many bands played 3+ sets across the week. It may seem daft but this had the effect of adding further integrity to the event, it really was a ‘music’ festival for the bands and the fans. I’m sure there was an ‘industry’ side to proceedings but this was nowhere near as prevalent as I have seen in other events of this type. The off-venue schedule meant that you could catch a band playing an intimate acoustic set in the afternoon and then a full set at another time. It also meant that there was little distinction given to the ‘big’ bands, everyone seemed happy to play everywhere, even if it meant squeezing six to eight band members in a space equivalent to someone’s lounge. It was these smaller events that went a long way towards making Airwaves so very special.

Guðríð hails from the Faroe Islands (where it is often foggy apparently), although she is currently residing in Reykjavik – I’m not a stalker, Victorsson had a little chat when he had his CD signed:

After an excellent set @ Nordic House, Guðríð signs CD's for excited fans

Her set was stripped back to just an electric guitar and drums and, when combined with her voice, gave proceedings an evocative feel. Victorsson caught the full band set later in the week and raved about it. Either way Guðríð is a great songwriter with a splendid voice. Standing room only proved that we weren’t the only ones who thought so. That said, the next band into the Nordic House, Agent Fresco, almost doubled the crowd, causing the sliding doors at the back to be opened with people spilling into the library behind. We didn’t stay long enough for me to pass much of an opinion – although ‘not my cup of tea’ might be opinion enough. From the swelling crowds, the amount of posters around town and the fact that these guys seemed to be one of the hardest working bands at the festival, playing gigs  most days, it would seem that they are definitely on the up and good luck to them.

Things were definitely gaining momentum in festival land by the time we got to our next venue, the Reykjavik Downtown Hostel. The place was packed with people wanting to see Of Monsters and Men. With no standing room indoors, we watched the set from a side door, giving us a unique view of the back of the band. We could hear the music no problem and the band played an electric set, feeding off a crowd that were obviously lapping it up. Between bands we managed to swim against the tide of bodies to take our place right at the front for the next act- Lay Low, also known as Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir.

Lay Low @ Reykjavik Backpackers - Iceland Airwaves

Armed with just her guitar and a variety of effects pedals, Lay Low veered from the blues to country and back again. An accomplished performer, she had a gentle but powerful voice, interesting lyrics and many excellent songs. Again, this off venue gig had given us an
opportunity to see a musician at their most stripped back, we were not left disappointed as Lay Low kept the crowd mesmerized throughout.

Having attended The Great Escape festival in Brighton on numerous occasions, and learnt that the best approach if you don’t like queuing is to take your pick of evening venue, get there early and take pot luck as to whether the other bands are any good. Equipped with this knowledge, we decided to get ourselves into NASA (cool venue name) nice and early. What led to this choice of locations? Nothing more than the fact that one of the acts, Lára Rúnars had started following me on Twitter. I’d never heard any of her music before but social network vanity got the better of me and it turns out that we were well served by this vanity. Iiris and band kicked off the evening in a high energy fashion. The sheer joy and enthusiasm was picked up on by the crowd and Lára had the good fortune of coming on with the crowd still revved up. Probably the poppiest and slickest of all the acts we saw at the festival, she and the band hit a high gear from the off and the pace never faltered. Indie  pop tunes and some funky new dance moves, what more can you ask for? We loved it, Lara loved it, ‘I love Airwaves. It’s mad!’

Lara Runars @ NASA

What a great way to draw our first full day of Airwaves to a close. We’d seen a bit of the great city of Reykjavik watched seven bands and bought a few CD’s – exactly what we came for!

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by jcverrall on October 27, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by jcverrall on October 27, 2011

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Iceland Airwaves ’11 (October 12 – 16)

Day 1 – Wednesday 12th October

Although I have been prevaricating over this blog for a good week, my enthusiasm for the festival that was Iceland Airwaves 2011 remains undiminished. Five days of amazing music, spread across numerous venues in and around the centre of Reykjavik, proved that an alternative to the mud and tent type festival is alive and kicking.

I’m blaming a combination of an early morning start and this being my first trip to Iceland for my belief that the coach driver had advised us that we would be travelling through ‘Llama’ fields for 40 minutes as we made our way into the city. An absence of four legged Camelids (that’s what it says on Wikipedia) and amazing rock infested scenery quickly led me to the conclusion that these were in fact ‘Lava’ fields – and a spectacular sight they were.

A relatively tight first day schedule meant that within an hour of arrival, we had picked up our wrist bands from the Airwaves team at the Media Centre and were soon sampling the local beer and food in the Laundromat Cafe (very fine it was too). In a way this seemed to be an unofficial centre of the festival with table full of both gig-goers and bands grabbing food between shows. The rush was due to the fact that my fellow traveller, the photographer who henceforth will be referred to as Victorsson, had successfully managed to secure us tickets for one of the two special shows that Bjork was putting on. The ‘Biophilia’ show was at Harpa, a visually stunning Concert Hall, and appropriately grand venue for this special event. In fact the Harpa boasted at least 4 stages for the festival and hosted some memorable shows.
First major surprise was the intimate venue. A central stage, numerous screens and a variety of weird and wonderful instruments were completely surrounded by the crowd. From our standing point we could have, if inclined, touched Bjork’s huge orange hair as she made her way to the stage. Thankfully Victorsson decided to clap instead and the bouncers could instead keep an eye out for anyone trying to take a sneaky picture.
The show itself was extraordinary. From the opening strains of David Attenborough, the electrical sparks that looked as if they had been stolen from Dr Frankenstein’s laboratory and the costumes of the choir, through to the amazing visuals for each and every song there was no doubt that this was an ‘event’. Of course the whole thing needed to be gelled together and Bjork did this amazingly well with charisma and an obvious passion for the show itself. However, for me, the extra ingredient that took this show to another dimension was Bjork’s voice. Although, after all the amazing records over the years, her voice is easily recognisable I sometimes forget quite how unique it is. I don’t know anything about the science of music so cannot describe it from the perspective of pitch or tone, however, I can tell that its clarity and distinctiveness acted as an additional instrument raising the songs in this set to a whole new level.
I think it’s fair to say that the crowd went off into the cold Reykjavik night in jubilant spirits. For us this set the bar for the rest of the festival at a very high level, one you worried that might be beyond reach. Certainly the other bands we saw that evening, were unable to reach those dizzy heights – therefore I think it unfair to name check them.
I was happy, Victorsson was happy. Iceland Airwaves ’11 had got off to a flyer!

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by jcverrall on October 26, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by jcverrall on October 26, 2011

http://someofitistrue.com/2011/10/26/iceland-airwaves-%e2%80%9911-october-12-%e2%80%93-16/

Who knows where this may lead….?

I’ve been talking about blogging for longer than I remember so finally I’m going to give it a go. I’m gonna write some factual pieces but also want to use this as a chance to share some fiction…..some might even be a bit of both.

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by jcverrall on October 9, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by jcverrall on October 9, 2011

http://someofitistrue.com/2011/10/09/blogging-prep/

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