Sigur Ros

Just home from the Sigur Ros gig at the Carling Academy. Not quite sure what to make of it to be honest but let’s get one thing out of the road first.

I left early.

I have never, ever, ever, left a gig early before.

So I’m trying to figure out if that means that it wasn’t a great gig, or whether it just wasn’t the right gig for me.

When I bought the ticket for the gig I spent sometime listening back through the Sigur Ros albums I have, enjoying the subtle tones and instrumentation, the changes of volume and pace, and realised that this could be a very special gig. The emotional range of the music is quite broad and due to the nature of the language used is entirely open to interpretation so whilst I couldn’t quite picture how they’d convey the rich textures and tones of their music, it’s fair to say I was quite excited.

However, somewhere in the maelstro of sound that was swirling round the Carling Academy tonight, something got lost and, as yet another barrage of noise hit me I decided to leave.

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a bad gig, far from it. When they got it right the music soared and swayed the hearts of the room, but if I’m honest those moments were too frequently lost amongst the next wave of distorted feedback. It’s a shame really, cos this should’ve been a wonderful gig.

I’m not discounting the fact that it might’ve been me, that perhaps I wasn’t in the right mood, or perhaps I’m not as big a fan of Sigur Ros as I thought. Certainly everyone else seemed to be having a good time.

Maybe next time.

Comments

  1. I was there too, and kind of know what you mean. I’ll hopefully get around to writing up my own thoughts this weekend, but I think it boils down to a few things.

    The music that Sigur Ros produce is, as you say, open to interpretation. I find in me it stirs emotions and thoughts, so it’s quite introspective and evocative. That doesn’t really lend itself to standing up for three hours.

    They also don’t have that many ‘stomping’ tracks. Only in their latest album do they have more than one. I almost suspect they may have deliberately set out to get a few more concert-friendly tracks. In the few concerts I’ve been to I’ve not been struck that Glasgow’s quite the place for such. I recall Jose Gonzalez having to point out that a sad song he was singing wasn’t really the sort of song to clap along to.

    All that said, not sure the Royal Concert Hall, or similar, would have been a better venue for their music. Sigur Ros seem to occupy a strange space between concert band and sit-down-and-think music.

    All said, I loved the concert, and was truly pleased to be in the same room as these guys, but it didn’t quite move me as much as I’d hoped.

    Those quiet moments when we’re alone with their music are where Sigur Ros really thrive.

  2. i have been to a sigur ros gig and i really really did not enjoy it. i got quite annoyed with the pace and the crowd. it’s not that i don’t like their music – they just don’t bring a good live show in my opinion.

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