Sigur Ros

Jenetta and I went with our friends David and Courtney to see Sigur Ros in concert last night at the Copley Symphony Hall downtown. Despite warnings that no photography of any kind would be allowed, there were a number of people there with SLRs and even a guy with long lenses! I will never, ever, ever, not bring a good camera to a concert again! If they tell me I can't bring it in, I will just return it to the car. All night I was wishing I had some decent equipment because these cell phone photos just do not do it justice.

It was an amazing concert. They toured without the string section, and the songs that use a lot of orchestration were either skipped or simplified. I kind of missed the horns on some of their songs, but it was amazing how full a sound they generate with just four members. They had a really great balance between old and new songs.

Sigur Ros is the unquestioned master of dynamics! No one can play soft, use pauses, or gradually build the way they do. The build and build and build and build and build to complete sonic overload on Track 8 from the ( ) album is the perfect exclamation point - an awesome way to end the show. They leave EVERYTHING on the field (to borrow a sports cliche).

After the show, David said that he wanted to go to LA to see them again tonight. I know exactly how he feels!




I've also included a video clip of Hoppipolla. It is of poor quality and I debated whether or not to put it up at all. It sounds a little better when you turn the sound down lower. Sadly, cell phone video recorders are just not designed to handle the audio level of a concert.