Árstíðir – Musikclub, Lembach im Mühlkreist; May 7th, 2016
The Árstíðir concert in Lembach im Mühlkreis was the most complicated one to get to. Not only was the venue located in the middle of nowhere, but since it took place on a Saturday, there where not even any busses going to the town, much less out of town the next morning. Since I had a trip to Budapest ahead of me, I stayed in Neufelden, the nearest town with a train station. So far, so good. Getting there was easy enough and after enjoying a nice day in the sun I took a taxi to he venue. I immediately liked it and the people working there. It was a former stable by the looks of it, lots of wood, lovely interior. Rather cold too, but I was prepared for that. Met a couple who lived in Neufelden and offered to take me back. How lucky I was.
The venue was small, but I got myself a nice seat at the front. To my surprise, A. showed up just moments before they started, having driven all the way from Poland that day. I did not expect her to be back until Vienna. Anway, she was glad she made it and after I fed her some much needed water she settled down on the other side of front row (where still some places were left). Not so long after someone from the venue announced the band and they walked on stage. I was a bit cold and happy I had put on leggings with my skirt. Soon they made me forget everything else though. 🙂
After the first two songs Ragnar made an introduction, mostly in German. I had forgotten how good his German really is, because we speak English all the time. It made me smile to hear him talk. The venue had good sound, but the lights were rather shitty. Thus, there were few good pictures at the end of the night. It didn’t matter though – it was nice to just enjoy the music. Karl remarked how beautiful the venue was and I could only agree. I guess none of us had expected to find this in such a remote location.
Daníel mentioned how ‘Þér ég unni’ was never recorded until they worked with Anneke. I smiled at the careful pronunciation of her last name – he did it quite well. The song showed the great reverb of the venue. It sounded like they were in a room with a much higher ceiling and stone walls. Ragnar told us how the hills in Stainach reminded him of The Sound Of Music and half expecting Julie Andrews to walk by. It made everyone giggle. Gunnar announced ‘You just have to know of me’ and explained how the songs decide for themselves if they want to be Icelandic or English. Quite a few people cheered when he said he hoped we were OK with the Icelandic songs. 😀
Ragnar made a lot of jokes about how difficult it was to learn Icelandic and I almost expected them to repeat the Icelandic class from the ‘verloren Verleden’ tour, but that did not happen. The first set was pretty much what I’d been hearing all tour, but I didn’t love it any less. There is always a different mood, a beautiful new note I feel I’ve never heard before, a now story to hang on to. With each venue the songs change, some moving to the background while others take new life and my mood is never the same it was the night before or will be the one after. As long as I can find something that keeps me going I will and so far I have never been disappointed. 🙂 It’s all about being in the moment. Some nights I manage that better than others, but eventually they always get me and I am lost in the music. <3
After the break the announcer was back and asked us to be more quiet and not disturb the band. I had not noticed anyone being too loud so it felt like he was asking us not to have fun. Later I learned that some people had kept talking though and were rather distracting. Good thing I was too caught up in the music to notice. The second set started with ‘Ró’ and Guillaume joining Ragnar at the piano. It was unexpected and made me quite happy to have the song back in the set. They kept ‘Brestir’ and ‘Næturylur’ in the set too so I was a happy camper. It’s always nice to have some variety. 🙂 It’s also fun to see Ragnar play the baritone guitar after all this time. These days I am so used to seeing him at the piano I have almost forgotten that it wasn’t the instrument played when I first saw the band.
Most of the audience loved the concert and cheered loudly after every song and especially at the end of the second set. They even gave us two encores, first ‘Góða veislu gjöra skal’ and finally ‘And so it goes’ to send us home. For me it was the perfect song to end the night. Of course I would not have minded hearing more, but that’s how it always is. Eventually every concert has to be over.
The couple from Neufelden was nice enough to wait for me to say my goodbyes and so I got a few hugs before we left. When we walked out, we saw the most beautiful starry night. I cannot remember ever seeing so many stars in the sky before. There were few other light sources around so they were beautifully bright. Once at my hotel I walked out into the back garden to stare for a while, drifting off into dreams while still being wide awake. This is the memory that will always be connected with the concert in Lembach – more stars than I could have ever imagined. *happy sigh*
Setlist:
Himinhvel
Things you said
Someone who cares
Á meðan jörðin sjefur
Þér ég unni
You just have to know of me
Sunday Morning
Orð að eigin vali
Systir
Nú gleymist ég
Ró
Silfurskin
Ljoð í sand
Við dagsins hnig
Brestir
Næturylur
Heiðin
Shine
You again
Shades
Góða veislu gjöra skal
And so it goes
Árstíðir spring tour: 16 concerts down, 4 to go, next stop: Budapest