When people ask me what my favorite concert was, I never hesitate with my answer: Sigur Ros at Toronto's Massey Hall on September 22nd, 2008. The Icelandic post rock band, who were then on tour to support their forth studio album Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust, broke on to the scene in 2001 with their debut Agaetis Byrjun, still one of the best album covers I have ever seen. The album was filled with some of the highest falsettos you have ever heard, massive orchestral melodies and crescendos that can go from dark to whimsical at any moment, and even their own made up language called Hopelandic. Pitchfork gave the album a 9.4 and named it their #8 album of the decade. Since then, they have become the biggest band out of Iceland not named Bjork (although I would assume there is not much competition), and more importantly, established themselves as one of the premiere live indie rock acts. People have described their shows as a religious experience, fitting as the band has played a handful of shows in churches and cathedrals. While I am usually not one for such proclamations, their performance left me awestruck and speechless at some points, and smiling so much that it hurt at other points.
Luckily, for those who have not had the honor of seeing Sigur Ros live, the band released their home coming concert film/documentary Heima in the fall of 2007. Any time a Sigur Ros song is set to film, or Explosions in the Sky for that matter (just try to watch Billy Bob Thorton pack his office up after the final loss in Friday Night Lights while "Your Hand in Mine" is playing in the background without become even a little misty eyed), the emotional level is turned up to 11. Could anybody watch the second half of the Slumdog Millionaire trailer, hear the first couple notes of "Hoppipolla" and not immediately want to see the movie? Movies like Mysterious Skin, Vanilla Sky, and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou have all similarly used songs from the band, turning an already deep scene into a tearjerker. I expected nothing less when I finally got around to watching the intimate Heima after it had been in my Net Flix for months, never seeming to get anywhere near the top of the queue.
Sigur Ros / Vaka by izpogreba
Capturing the band during a summer leg of their extensive 2006 world tour to support their third release Takk, the first words we hear in the film is "heima means at home". Sigur Rod decided to do a series of shows, both free and unannounced, in various Iceland towns, playing to crowds of all sizes, even to one small child, in some rather different places: a small community hall, an empty gymnasium, and an abandoned fish factory. The previously mentioned 'Hoppipolla" is played in a small field in a large open valley in the town of Abyrgi, becoming even more impressive looking as the camera pans out. The performances, all of which were by spread by word of mouth and featured local musicians for their string section, attracted audiences both young and old, fans of the band and those simply looking for something to do( I have been to Iceland, sometimes anything to do is would qualify as exciting). Cut between the performances are gorgeous shots of the desolate Iceland landscapes. Cloud covered mountains, cascading waterfalls, and sheep filled hills are provide a back group to the group's heartbreaking noise.
The viewer gets the impression that while the band is immensely popular and revered in their home country, one of the local musicians would even later say in the film that the band "joined the soul of the Icelandic public", neither the shy band nor the Iceland natives seem to be caught up in their celebrity. The locals are never seen chasing autographs or photo opps, but rather treating them as equals, equals who just happen to play incredible music. The band though did express a humbling feeling of pressure playing to their country men and women, claiming that "Iceland people are so judgmental." Although the film does not touch deep on the rich musical history of the country, we are treated to a nice scene of a local artist/musician making a massive xylophone out of broken rock flakes. Each has their own unique tone, and the entire band is seen and heard playing a beautiful melody on the home made instrument.
Samskeyti by sigur rós
While the audiences in the film and watching the film are treated to rare stripped down performances, including a string section backed acoustic rendition of Agaetis Byrjun stand out "Staralfar", the final performance of the film, which sees the band playing in Iceland's capital city of Reykjavik, the largest concert ever for the city, perfectly captures my experience from the Toronto show. As the band plays the final track from the () album, "Untitled 8 (Popplagi)", bombastic guitar swells and deafening riffs show that bands like Radiohead and Mogwai have been highly influential on Sigur Ros over the years, while their lighting and stage back drop shows the band has a small flair for the dramatics. Once the film reaches it's end, the one last song, the wordless "Untitled 3 (Samskeyti), plays as the credits roll. Driven by a repeating piano melody and pump organ, the song slowly builds as a simple plucked guitar line and a delicate strings layer. The two songs were a fitting closing to Hemia as the audience was able to witness both sides of the band: the extreme, chaotic heights that they can reach, and the hushed, lullaby like melodies that are the core of their songs.
~mm
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