Sigur Rós
Date: September 18, 2005 Victory While I was familiar with the sound of Sigur Rós, I attended their Ottawa appearance with only a superficial knowledge of the group. With no individual songs in mind, I was prepared to simply absorb the concert as a whole. As it turns out, the concert was a thoroughly engaging affair, with even the unfamiliar music coming across as captivating. Fellow Icelandic outfit Amina got things started in a very humid Bronson Centre. The four-piece multi-instrumentalists had a sound rooted in strings but augmented by various percussion objects, programming, a saw, wine glasses, and other musical tools. In terms of demeanour, Amina's performance was almost an exercise in disengaging from the audience, with band members often playing sideways or backwards to the crowd and usually looking down or away. However, their music definitely made its mark; and when the band thanked the listeners and loosened up on their last song, the audience voiced its strong appreciation. For my tastes, I would have preferred less programming, which I felt detracted from the impressive playing; but their set was definitely solid. While Sigur Rós also displayed a no-nonsense approach to their playing, with few direct nods to the audience, they nonetheless possessed a captivating presence. A parade of bold, but rarely distracting, visuals helped the group in this regard, as typified by the opening number "Glósóli," which the band performed while lit from behind a curtain. As the four band members slowly built the music, they were silhouetted onto the screen. The shadow of Jón Birgisson's gaunt frame revealed his bowed guitar playing, while his high-pitched vocals drifted in ethereally. The delicate mood was shattered by the rousing conclusion, with drummer Orri Pall Dyrason's barrage joining the swell of bassist Georg Holm and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. After the curtain was lifted, the band was joined by Amina, who supplied backing support as a string quartet for the remainder of the evening. Not being enough of a fan to recognize particular songs, the sum of the concert came across as a cohesive entity; but I suspect that this is the band's intent, given the pace at which they string their songs together. Even though I could not name the songs that I was hearing, though, each made an impression. With an instrumental act, there is often a tendency for the listener to become passive, allowing the songs to drift through. With the vocals, Icelandic or Hopelandic, acting as simply another instrument, this could have been a possibility for Sigur Rós; however, their music was far too engaging for such detachment to hold. To be sure, the group does lock into a fragile sound and sustain it for lengthy stretches; but they were always able to snap the audience back to attention, be it through a staccato drum attack, a piercing vocal, or even, as was the case with "Vi Rar Vel Til Loftarasa," sudden, stark silence. The fact that the audience respected that silence spoke well for how enraptured it was. In fact, the spell that the band was casting was perhaps only challenged by the oppressive heat in the Bronson Centre, which led many to leave their seats in pursuit of bottled water. (The organizers deserve credit for having an ample supply on hand at a cheap price.) Despite the imperfect conditions, I'm sure that all were happy to have the band stretch their set to an hour and a half, particularly as it concluded with the greatest performance of the night, the noisy epic "Popplagi." Having the curtain close over the band during that song helped to bookend the visual aspect of the show, matching the musical high. Witnessing Sigur Rós live definitely heightened my appreciation for the group, as they delivered a set that surpassed my expectations. <--Prev (The White Stripes) | Next (Metric)-->Return to Concert ListReturn to Main Page |