Árstíðir – E-Werk, Erlangen; September 23rd, 2014
Halfway through a week of touring with Árstíðir severe tiredness has set in, but everything else is just as amazing as on day one (if not more so), the goofy smile won’t leave my face and adrenaline keeps me going. Their concert in Erlangen was overall lighter and less somber than the previous one with a lot more banter going on between the guys. It did not cut me as deeply as the one in Dresden, but considering it meant my sadness had lessened, I believe this is a good thing. Of course it was lovely and my night was made just watching A. and K. enjoying it.
After I didn’t go to bed until 3 am, I woke up much too early and felt surprisingly fit for a long time. All was well on the train ride to Erlangen until about 1 pm, when I got really tired and had trouble keeping awake. Once I arrived, I went for a nap and felt considerably better after. Catching up on mails and having some food kept me from sightseeing (in fact, I have not done any of that this tour), but all was well and upon arrival at the venue I met K. and A. 🙂 We took a walk, chatting about touring until it was time for the doors to open. Once inside, we continued our chats. Silly fan sentence of the day: “I asked if you were OK, I didn’t asked if you were sane.” 😛
The setlist was essentially the same as in Dresden, but they had shaken up the order of songs yet again. Didn’t really feel like taking pictures, but still made use of the fact there was a gallery to take pictures from. They had dramatic lighting too, but overall it was a bit dark and difficult. Thus, I spent quite a lot of time in my seat enjoying the music. More often than not I found myself, “playing along” to the music, especially to the piano parts – who said there was only air guitar? 😉 Sometimes I hear the melodies as a whole, with all the parts coming together and making it something bigger. At other times I listen to all the instruments individually, following the piano intros, the cello and violin solo or the guitar strumming. I did that a lot this night and treasured every little piece of it.
We learned a few things about the songs too, heard that ‘Silfurskin’ was finished in Czech Republic at four in the morning “without any alcohol involved ;)” and that ‘You again’ is the one where they are working with Kitty Van-Sometime. Daniel told us how they filmed the video on a glacier and he forgot sunblock so he came home “looking like an apple”. 😀 They guys were generally quite talkative that night, Karl even making introductions of everyone by the end of the show which was quite nice.
For ‘Ró’ they tried the four-handed version again with Karl sitting next to Ragnar at the piano. It was lovely watching them sitting there together. 🙂 They also treated us to three a cappella pieced once again. The newly added ‘Because’ being the final encore. In-between there were many beautiful, funny, adorable moments making me smile. The old, familiar songs make the cornerstones of the show for me, guiding me through, giving me a chance to sing along. Yet the newer ones are the spice in the mix, keeping it all fresh and interesting. I just love hearing how they evolve, layer after layer and become more beautiful every time. Even in some of the changes and additions seem strange at first, I usually come to terms with them after a while and I love the band for trying out new ideas.
My memories of the night are a bit hazy and random, but two things I recall that made me laugh were Gunnar describing ‘Lost in you ’ as “a song off our first album” and I automatically said “second”. He heard me and joked about being corrected by the audience. 🙂 Later, before ‘Shades’ Ragnar realized that the word reminded him of the German “Schade” (pity). Not really the connection I would make, but phonetically it makes sense. 😉 It was a fun night overall, I loved being there and just enjoyed the lightness of the mood.
Afterwards A., K., and I had a nice long chat with the guys and hung out until they had to pack up and leave. Since we did not want the night to end just yet, we went out for a drink having amazing conversations about touring, music, and other fan loves. This night was definitely a highlight and I sure hope we’ll have many more of those. 😀
Setlist:
Heiðin
Orð að eigin vali
Silfurskin
Moonlight
Næturylur
Lost in you
You just have to know of me
Land mins föður
Shades
Ró
Someone who cares
Cannon
Á meðan jörðin sjefur
Days & Nights
Heyr, himna smiður
You again
Shine
Nú gleymist ég
Ljoð í sand
Kill us
Because
Árstíðir Germany Tour 2014: 4 concerts down, 6 to go. Next stop: Wiesbaden