Sigur Ros - Live @ the Enmore Theatre, Sydney.
Thought I might kick this off with a lil' review of the most recent show I attended -
Sigur Ros - Live @ the Enmore Theatre, Sydney, 12.04.06
Stunning. Transcendent. Sublime. Word such as these might seem like needless hyperbole when used to describe a bunch of guys playing music for an assemblage of like-minded people in an old theatre, but from this writer's perspective, they barely do justice to one of the finest shows I've ever been privileged to witness. The Enmore Theatre in Sydney's inner west is one of my favourite live venues - acoustically superb, and small enough to ensure that every seat in the house has a perfectly good view - I had very high expectations for this show, and I was not disappointed.
I'm a relatively recent convert to the beauty that is Sigur Ros - I first heard them maybe three years ago, having heard them spoken of in the same breath as Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but my first impressions were far from favourable. I loved Vaka from word go, I even used it in a sequence I cut of a cruise my wife and I took through a Norwegian fjord in late 2003, but the rest of the ( ) album never really grabbed me. It wasn't til I heard Glosoli in the second half of 2005 that my interest was piqued once again, and I bought Takk on the day it came out on the strength of that song alone, but again, the rest of the album didn't impress. It wasn't until early this year when I gave ( ) another listen that I really started to appreciate what beauty these fella's were capable of. So anyway, to cut a long story short, I actually missed out on getting tickets for this gig - they sold out before I had made up my mind whether to go, and I was forced to pay over the odds on ebay once I realised I couldn't afford to miss out. In hindsight, it was worth every cent.
After a nice quick feed at the Thai place across the road (one of four within spitting distance from the Enmore, an overabundance that makes me wonder how they all manage to stay in business... but I digress) we got in just in time to catch Amina, who were impressive in their own understated manner. Our seats were 3 rows from the back, but in a mid size venue such as this, they afforded a nice high view of the stage, and a great vantage point to appreciate the wonderfully visual show these guys put on. The three guys sitting next to us provided some between-set amusement, obviously under the influence of something fun - the first of them to arrive sat by himself for about half an hour, periodically giggling to himself.
The band came out and, after Takk was used as an intro, launched straight into Glosoli, with the front of stage scrim displaying a their awesome light show. I had read about how effective this was, with Jonsi backlit from below to cast a very tall, slender shadow on the scrim, and random visuals projected from the front, but never fully imagined just how effective it could be. Jonsi's voice was breathtaking, and any concerns I had had that such a delicate sound might get lost in the mix, especially during the more cacophonous crescendo's, were immediately allayed. But for Vaya and Staralfur, I could not have hoped for a set more indicative of my favourite tunes - Hoppipolla, Saeglopur, Ny Batteri, Olsen Olsen, E-Bow as well as the outstanding Hafsol were represented beautifully, but of course, the high point of the night was the encore - the magnificent Popplagiv. By some margin my favourite Sigur Ros tune, every expectation of how this might song might sound live was met and exceeded - it literally sent shivers down the spine. This is the band's second visit in as many years - I for one hope they will continue to visit with such frequency, and I'll be first in line for tickets.
Setlist:
Takk
Glosoli
Ny Batteri
Saelopur
E-bow
Hoppipolla
Meo Bloonasir
Olsen Olsen
Njosnavelin
Svo hjott
Heysatan
Hafsol
Smaskifa
--------
Popplagio
For those interested you can get mp3's of the entire show here - http://www.auroboros.net/sigurros.htm
Lossless .flac's are also available via BT, from here - http://www.drrnwbb.com/bt/details.php?id=85
Sigur Ros - Live @ the Enmore Theatre, Sydney, 12.04.06
Stunning. Transcendent. Sublime. Word such as these might seem like needless hyperbole when used to describe a bunch of guys playing music for an assemblage of like-minded people in an old theatre, but from this writer's perspective, they barely do justice to one of the finest shows I've ever been privileged to witness. The Enmore Theatre in Sydney's inner west is one of my favourite live venues - acoustically superb, and small enough to ensure that every seat in the house has a perfectly good view - I had very high expectations for this show, and I was not disappointed.
I'm a relatively recent convert to the beauty that is Sigur Ros - I first heard them maybe three years ago, having heard them spoken of in the same breath as Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but my first impressions were far from favourable. I loved Vaka from word go, I even used it in a sequence I cut of a cruise my wife and I took through a Norwegian fjord in late 2003, but the rest of the ( ) album never really grabbed me. It wasn't til I heard Glosoli in the second half of 2005 that my interest was piqued once again, and I bought Takk on the day it came out on the strength of that song alone, but again, the rest of the album didn't impress. It wasn't until early this year when I gave ( ) another listen that I really started to appreciate what beauty these fella's were capable of. So anyway, to cut a long story short, I actually missed out on getting tickets for this gig - they sold out before I had made up my mind whether to go, and I was forced to pay over the odds on ebay once I realised I couldn't afford to miss out. In hindsight, it was worth every cent.
After a nice quick feed at the Thai place across the road (one of four within spitting distance from the Enmore, an overabundance that makes me wonder how they all manage to stay in business... but I digress) we got in just in time to catch Amina, who were impressive in their own understated manner. Our seats were 3 rows from the back, but in a mid size venue such as this, they afforded a nice high view of the stage, and a great vantage point to appreciate the wonderfully visual show these guys put on. The three guys sitting next to us provided some between-set amusement, obviously under the influence of something fun - the first of them to arrive sat by himself for about half an hour, periodically giggling to himself.
The band came out and, after Takk was used as an intro, launched straight into Glosoli, with the front of stage scrim displaying a their awesome light show. I had read about how effective this was, with Jonsi backlit from below to cast a very tall, slender shadow on the scrim, and random visuals projected from the front, but never fully imagined just how effective it could be. Jonsi's voice was breathtaking, and any concerns I had had that such a delicate sound might get lost in the mix, especially during the more cacophonous crescendo's, were immediately allayed. But for Vaya and Staralfur, I could not have hoped for a set more indicative of my favourite tunes - Hoppipolla, Saeglopur, Ny Batteri, Olsen Olsen, E-Bow as well as the outstanding Hafsol were represented beautifully, but of course, the high point of the night was the encore - the magnificent Popplagiv. By some margin my favourite Sigur Ros tune, every expectation of how this might song might sound live was met and exceeded - it literally sent shivers down the spine. This is the band's second visit in as many years - I for one hope they will continue to visit with such frequency, and I'll be first in line for tickets.
Setlist:
Takk
Glosoli
Ny Batteri
Saelopur
E-bow
Hoppipolla
Meo Bloonasir
Olsen Olsen
Njosnavelin
Svo hjott
Heysatan
Hafsol
Smaskifa
--------
Popplagio
For those interested you can get mp3's of the entire show here - http://www.auroboros.net/sigurros.htm
Lossless .flac's are also available via BT, from here - http://www.drrnwbb.com/bt/details.php?id=85
posted by
benno at
1:24 AM
