Anneke van Giersbergen & Árstíðir – Stadsschouwburg De Harmonie, Leeuwarden; March 20th, 2016
Mixed emotions sums up my feelings pretty well before this concert, but it was all good in the end and probably the funniest one yet. While I was looking forwards to seeing the show and to be on tour with them from now until the last concert in Amsterdam, I also remembered the venue from last time around and how the short set Árstíðir played there just didn’t fit – not with the audience and even less with the mood on that day and the heartbreaking festival gig they had played just a few hours before. Yet this one was taking place at a concert hall in front of people who had paid to see it so it could only be better. And it was better by far, it just took me about half the set to realize it.
Getting to Leeuwarden is quite a long trip from Dortmund, but it was uneventful this time around: even the connection from Zwolle worked flawlessly (unlike the last time when I was in a hurry to get here). Like the last time around, the city greeted me with bad weather and even though it is rather pretty I didn’t feel much like walking around. The hotel was nice though and I got the chance for a much needed nap. Felt much better after, took a walk, then set out to the venue, got lost on the way, but still arrived in good time. 🙂
Had a perfect seat in front row, slightly to the left of center and was happily waiting for the show to start. Strangely, Anneke and the guys were already walking on stage when they turned down the lights in the hall so it came a bit unexpected. My thoughts were all over the place for many reasons that did not have much to do with the concert. Thus, I wasn’t feeling it at first. I enjoyed listening to the songs and the chatter (of which I understand quite a lot by now), watched everyone play and thought they looked slightly tired. Might have just been me projecting my own tiredness though. Laughed a few times, but still wasn’t really there and wondered briefly if this was the point of having seen enough shows.
Luckily, not yet. The daily Icelandic lesson changed everything. The story that leads up to it is getting better and better – little differences keep it fresh and funny. Then, when everyone walked to the front, Guillaume brought papers with him to the front and I thought “Is he gong to read to us now?”. It wasn’t his turn yet so I waited and tried other words. “Eyjafjallajökull” is almost OK now and I think I did a pretty good job on “umferðaröngþveiti” this time, but pretty much failed on “Þriðjudagur”. 😀 Then Guillaume called everyone for help and unrolled a large piece of paper with “i Flugvallarbygginguna” written on it. He broke it down for us, but it still was surprisingly hard to pronounce. Then, when Gunnar put all the words in one sentence he spoke faster than ever and I could not stop laughing for a while. 🙂 That was exactly what I had needed and I enjoyed everything from here on in.
After five concerts, ‘When I am laid in earth’ sticks out as my favorite classical piece. The strings are just incredible and so is the singing. It is still goose bump inducing. 🙂 ‘Shades’ had me close my eyes for a while, trying out if the music still carried me. It does, even after all these times of hearing that song. ‘Danny Boy’ really stuck with me that night and I loved ‘Lost in you’ as well as ‘Leaves’. Regarding ‘Bist Du by mir’ I have to compliment both Anneke and Gunnar on their singing in German. Nicely done!
The songs make the concerts beautiful, but the stories, the chatter, the interactions among the band and with the audience make them special, because these elements together create memorable moments and a wide range of emotions. This time around, when Anneke spoke of the songs from her youth and the guys played bits and pieces, Guillaume and Karl played ‘Carmina Burana’ for so long she asked if they had practiced. They must have. When she was asking for requests it went from Metallica to ‘Stairway to Heaven’. After the show, nobody could really say how it happened, but Karl started playing, everyone else fell in and Ragnar even sang a verse. He claimed later he felt he didn’t do it justice, but it certainly was fun and judging by the cheering, the rest of the audience agreed. Anneke suggested their next tour should be just one hour of playing small bits of requests. Fine with me. 😀
I did not want the night to end, but they walked off stage and came back too soon (even though they made us beg for a bit) 😉 . They really chose the perfect songs for last and left me with a big smile on my face when the last notes of ‘Pavane’ rang out. One last bow, a last smile and they were gone. It was lovely, see you tomorrow! 🙂
Setlist
Solveig’s Song
Everwake
Russian Lullaby
Het Dorp
A Simple Song
Þér ég unni
When I am laid in earth
Shades
Circles
Four years
Londonderry Air (Danny Boy)
Lost in you
Leaves
Bist Du bei mir
Heyr, Himna Smiður
Pavane
Verloren, Verleden tour: 6 concerts down, 6 to go. Next stop: Rotterdam