Live: Sigur Rós in Tempe, AZ - 9/30/2008

Went to see Sigur Rós on Tuesday. For a band that I'd sort of lost confidence in, they were pretty awesome. They played a good mix of songs from all of their albums, including their latest one that I wasn't as impressed with compared to their previous efforts (see my review here). But they fit well within the set list. In fact, one of the better performances of the night was their latest albums' opening track, "Gobbledigook". Members of the opening band, Parachutes, came out with small drums around their waists and provided the consistent drum beat, and the song ended extravagantly with a burst of confetti that showered the front half of the venue so heavily that the musicians on stage were hardly visible. The colorful lighting during the song really added to the atmosphere. It was great. Check out some pictures:

(He does this during "Svefn-g-englar" to provide that ghostly vocal effect in the middle)

(Sigur Rós, with members of Parachutes during "Gobbledigook")

(And two minutes later)

The band appeared for an encore minutes after that performance and ended the show with "Untitled #8" from the ( ) album, which is possibly the most intense song in their catalog, therefore great to end a show on.

I don't go to as many concerts as I used to, so it was nice that one of the few that I've made it to in the last couple of years was worth it, especially considering a couple of concerts I attended earlier this year (Dalek/RJD2 and The Black Keys) were a bust. The crowd around me (and overall) was pretty tolerable throughout, so that was a real bonus. For whatever reason, I've always had my worst concert experiences when there were a ton of hipsters in the audience, and this show certainly wasn't lacking in hipster numbers. But this time, besides having to be subjected to some of the worst haircuts I've ever seen in one building, there was nothing much to complain about.

Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (2008)

Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (2008)

Takk was an album that had a handful of some of the best songs Sigur Rós has ever recorded somewhat marginalized by a handful of some of the worst. Because of this, what was otherwise a smooth transition from epic sad music to upbeat pop songs was viewed as a step back for the band. With Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (I've yet to even bother trying to pronounce this, and in future conversations will just refer to it as "the newest one" or "the one with the naked dudes on the cover.") they don't seem to try to reinvent themselves as much as they try to do Takk again the right way. An effort that, for the most part, has mixed results.

"Goobledigook" sets the tone for the first half of the album and feels like a natural transition from the sound established on Takk. And just to make sure you're aware that their new sound is here to stay, at three minutes long, it's their shortest song with lyrics but is still loaded with the most beats per minute of anything they've previously done. Surprisingly, it doesn't feel too out of character. Though there are Animal Collective comparisons floating around, no one familiar with the band would mistake this for anyone but Sigur Rós. The following three songs are nice enough but fail to make much of an impression. In comparison to similar songs from Takk like "Hoppípolla" and "Gong", they don't really stand out or give you goosebumps; they merely transition and move the album along. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing as it works well for the album experience as a whole, but I can imagine skipping them on a randomized playlist.

What Með suð does better than Takk, though, are with the longer songs. While Takk's longer tracks -- outside of the excellent "Sé Lest" -- suffered from being too formulaic for their own good, Með suð's longer songs, including "Festival" and "Ára bátur," don't fall off track so easily. The difference isn't necessarily in the formula, as the crescendo's are quite predictable, but simply in the fact that they don't sound as forced and tacked on (pun avoided; +10 points to xoxobra).

The latter half of the album slows the flow down considerably, for the most part abandoning the upbeat sound of the first half. It may annoy people who wish the band would do something different and stick with it, but I'm fine with the Sigur Rós that goes for achingly beautiful sounds. By doing so, they compromise and give both types of fans what they want.

As mentioned above, this albums works best when listened to all together, which will lead to vastly different opinions on how good or bad the album is. To put it in concrete terms: I don't think they'll ever make another album as good as Ágætis Byrjun (probably one of my top three of all time), and they don't get much closer with this one. But still, I'm not going to fault them for at least trying to move forward.

Score: 6/10


"Gobbledigook"


"Fljótavík"

Notes: Count Bass D; Sigur Rós

Greetings friends. Just a couple of notes for the week ahead. First, I'd like to bring attention to Count Bass D's (who's album, Dwight Spitz, I reviewed earlier this month) new instrumental project, Robbed Without A Pistol, that he featured on his blog just last week. It can be downloaded at 320kbps from the link on the entry page. He's releasing a new album later this year called L7 (Mid-Life Crisis). Which I'll likely be checking out.

I'm going to a concert tomorrow night for the band Sigur Rós. Maybe I'll review it and maybe I'll take some pictures and post them in the future. It's probably because I'm getting older, and also probably because I'm actively trying to practice something resembling financial responsibility, but I'm not very big on concert going lately. If this were four years ago and I was seeing Sigur Rós live I'd be pissing myself with excitement right now. As a matter of fact, I did see them four years ago and I was pissing myself with excitement (not literally; mom wouldn't be proud). Of course, four years ago I had a lot more time on my hands and Sigur Rós were still recording classic material.

But they do put on a good live show, and I figure this could be the last opportunity I have to see them (considering next time they come through I might not even care). I'm just hoping they play a good mix of their earlier material.

To coincide with the concert, I'll post my review of their latest album, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, tomorrow.

G'day, folks.

Links:
Count Bass D
Sigur Rós