Kind-of Meh
Agent Fresco and Bang Gang were both groups I only saw because I wanted to make sure I would be able to see the act coming on after them, so they almost shouldn’t be on here. Agent Fresco are supposed to be very talented, but they tended towards screamo (not my style), while Bang Gang was just emo (and took themselves waaaay too seriously).
The 59ers weren't great, but this was one of my favorite pictures I took. They want to be a rockabilly band, but they were too much like a group of guys playing at being rockabilly, rather than the genuine article. Also, the double-bass was a mega spotlight-hog, and I felt really awkward on behalf of the singer, who was very young and actually pretty good.
Samúel Jón Samúelsson Big Band were billed as funk, which I’m not sure they quite attained, but as general jazz, they were—well, they were okay. They started out merely adequate, but they started to really bring it in the third song, and their energy and improv-ing skills were much higher in the second half of their set.
Good Show, But Wouldn’t Buy the Album
(Most of these are the DJs or electronica groups, which obviously are just by nature a much different experience when you see them live. Some were actually incredible; I just don’t feel that their studio recordings do them justice.)
Mammút is an almost-all-girl rock band that put on a fun show. (One of my friends described them as “like an Icelandic Paramore, but good.”)
The Vandelles (US) were the lead-in for Mugison, and I didn’t think I would like them, but there was NO WAY I was missing Mugison, so I was there for their set, and it was not bad. They’re kind of going for a really hardcore surf-rock thing.
Klassart could actually go either way for me. Their show was mesmerizing, really soulful blues, but their studio recordings have a snoozier alt-country sound, which is unfortunate. Listen to “Bottle of Blues” or “Orlaga blus” (“Destiny Blues”) for something a little closer to their live sound.
Bloodgroup was amazing, but the tracks I’ve listened to on their MySpace just don’t have the magnificent power of their live show.
Hercules and Love Affair (US) were solidly in the top five performances. They were dynamic.
DJ Margeir and his Symphonic Orchestra was an interesting concept (DJ plus live string quintet), though sometimes the strings felt redundant and/or too repetitive.
Dan Deacon (US) was SO much fun. He’s hilarious, and his music is crazy. I just wouldn’t be much interested in listening to it outside of the dancing-at-a-concert context.
FM Belfast seemed like they might have been cool, but they were the last set of the festival and were right after Dan Deacon, so I was pretty much moshed-out before they even started. As we all know, I’m KIND OF SHORT, so these sort of sardine-like conditions are kind of miserable for me. When it gets to the point where you can’t actually dance because you’re just trying to keep stray elbows from smacking you in the face, it stops being fun and starts being really stressful. I was digging them for a little while though, and I can’t blame them for people like Dude With The Camera Who Thought My Shoulder Was A Good Armrest and Girl In Heels Who Kind Of Destroyed My Boots By Repeatedly Stepping On My Feet.
The Glorious
Honorable Mention: I loved what I heard of Sing For Me Sandra online, but I never managed to catch one of their shows. Check ’em out anyway! Favorite Song: “Fangorn”
Lára wins the Craziest Outfit award (Björk would totally approve). She gave an energetic, fun performance, and her lyrics are goofy and sometimes sweet. She’s kind of like a really peppy, Icelandic Regina Spektor. Favorite Song: “I Wanna Be”
I only caught half of singer-songwriter Snorri Helgason’s set, but what I saw was really lovely. Favorite Song: “Freeze-out”
Múgsefjun was absolutely in my top-five favorite shows. They’re basically indie rock, but otherwise kind of hard to categorize. Much like Lára, a good part of the pleasure in their performance came from seeing how much fun they were clearly having. Favorite Song(s): “Lauslát” and "Hagsmunatíkin"
LCMDF (Finland) were giant buckets of fun—it’s a shame they were in tiny bar Sódóma, because they would have been better suited to NASA, the larger club where most of the other electropop types were performing. Their MySpace is apparently dedicated solely to promoting their new single right now, but my favorite songs were “Cool and Bored” and “Take Me To the Mountains.”
I had a hell of a time getting in to the Seabear concert. I’m going to just give a shout out right now to the fellow who was working security at Iðno that night, because he’s pretty much a saint. I knew I would need to be at the venue early, so I got there around when the previous set started. I’d hoped to catch that one (folk singer Lay Low) as well, since it looked promising, but when I got there, the line had already started forming outside the door. For the next 45 minutes or so, the line inched along, and when Seabear went on stage there were only six people between me and the door. I could even hear them a little from outside, so I’m thinking, oh, I’ll get in soon, no problem. However, people with press passes and other VIP types with special wristbands kept coming and jumping to the front of the line, and then the security guards realized there were over 400 people inside, so they started only letting one of us in for every TEN people who came out.
Since I was in line for so long, I had the opportunity to take a picture of the venue. All the Airwaves venues were lit with these eerie green lights on the outside. It was kind of weird, but I guess it made them easier to find.
Oh, and then came Champagne Man. I was actually at the front of the plebeian line (though still getting cut off by people with cameras…argh), when Champagne Man approached St. Bouncer and informed him that he had a) just arrived from France; b) ONLY ten people in his party; and c) five bottles of champagne for St. Bouncer if he would let them in to Seabear. “Yeah, I can’t do that,” said St. Bouncer. “Ten bottles of champagne,” said Champagne Man. St. Bouncer proceeded to patiently explain that the venue a) holds only 300 people; b) could get shut down by the fire department any minute now; and c) does not look kindly on its bouncers accepting bribes. “I can give you ten bottles of champagne,” responded Champagne Man. The argument went on for AT LEAST ten minutes—Champagne Man offering the ten bottles of champagne, St. Bouncer calmly refusing to sacrifice his honor and the fire codes for fancy French alcohol. They were still going at it when I finally made it in myself.
It felt so good when I got to escape the mess outside and step into the lovely, soothing sound of Seabear. Worth it? Absolutely. They were positively transcendental. Favorite Song: “Wolf Boy”
Mugison is a badass like you wouldn’t believe. He’s got more soul and rocks harder than just about any other artist I’ve ever seen. He played this crazy electronic apparatus he calls the Mirstrument (“part space station, part instrument”)—I think he might have said something about it using sounds from the International Space Station, but he was mostly speaking Icelandic, so I’m not totally sure. Favorite Song: “Mugiboogie”
Hjaltalín might actually belong in the second category, sort of like Klassart could easily belong in this one, but they have this one song that I’ve become obsessed with, even though I’m less enthusiastic about the rest of their music. Gotta respect a pop band with a bassoon. Favorite Song: “Feels Like Sugar”
The phenomenal Jónas Sigurðsson & Ritvélar Framtiðarinnar I think take home the prize for Most Surprising Sound To Come Out Of Iceland. I’m not entirely sure how to translate the name of his band, but it’s something like Typewriters of the Future. “Hamingjan Er Hér” just makes me really happy. As it should, since the translation is, in fact, “Happiness is here.”
Tunng (UK) were magnificent, in spite of the questionable acoustics in the Art Museum, and I was really digging the guitarist’s hat. Favorite Song: “Bullets”
Basia Bulat (Canada) is old-school folky and very wonderful. She plays the autoharp, plus something more obscure called a hammer-harp, so you know she’s legit. Favorite Song: “In the Night”
I saw Zach and Foes play their third gig ever at an off-venue event for Airwaves. They haven’t been signed yet, though hopefully they won’t stay that way for long. They only played four songs, but all were winners, and the crowd was really into it. The lead singer looks like a hipster, but the mustache is a lie—he’s all about jumping on chairs and rocking alt-country without the slightest bit of irony. Both of the songs on their website are marvelous. I’ve had “Tears to Cry” stuck in my head all week.
Oh, and since I mentioned that Iceland is cold—woke up to spy snow on Mt. Esja this morning!
