Árstíðir – Sargfabrik, Vienna; May 10th, 2016
I had great memories of the Sargfabrik in Vienna from the last Austria tour with good sound, good lights and a good audience. what I had forgotten though was that Árstíðir had worked with a lighting designer the last time around. thus, the lights were rather boring. The sound was still good though and the place was absolutely packed – they may have to look for a new venue when they came back. Overall it was a nice, enjoyable show, but not the highlight of this tour.
Once again I was the first person to arrive at the venue. Luckily my friend S. kept me company until it was time to go in. We had been hanging out all day and while she could not come to the concert with me she still stayed for a chat. <3 Eventually more people arrive, among them S., K. and A. Once inside I said hello to Masha and Marjana, then got in line again at the door. Imagine my disappointment when they opened and the first 5 or 6 rows were “reserved for members” – wtf? I just wish I’d known before. What’s the use in coming early if you can’t even chose your seat? 🙁 It was probably the same last time, but I didn’t remember. Either way I picked the closest seat to the front that I could get and settled for not taking any pictures this time. More and more people arrived until there was no seat any more and they were lining both walls – methinks it’s time for a bigger venue.
Since Budapest was Guillaume’s last show it was time for a new cellist. Laura had worked with them at the concert in Thun already, but I saw her for the first time. She did not know all the songs yet so the band went back to a setlist closer to the one earlier on the tour. Fine with me. 🙂 As always in Austria it was back to “Take pictures only for the first two songs and don’t disturb the show in any way” – knowing for a fact that it is not the band who made these rules does not change them though, even though the first song is a quiet one that should not be interrupted by clicking cameras. Sometimes I just wish they said something about it, but I guess that is not going to happen. It didn’t matter this time – there was no good place to take pictures from anyway.
They started on time and people loved it. 🙂 Before ‘Á meðan jörðin sjefur’ Karl explained how their albums have no name on them so you have to buy them by the color. Missing one voice the guys did not play ‘Þér ég unni’ this time, but treated us to a few a cappella songs anyway, the first being ‘Land míns föður’ with Gunnar telling us the story of the song winning the competition for the Icelandic National anthem, but not becoming the anthem for political reasons. Apparently the song that become the anthem has such a huge range that hardly anyone manages to sing it correctly. 😀
It made me smile again when Ragnar referred to ‘Systir’ as “Brand new” since I’ve heard the songs so many times already. Then again, anything is new if it’s not recorded yet I guess. Afterwards Daníel told us there was only one more song until we could refill our glasses in order not to get thirsty during the second half. 😀 Time passed quickly during the break and soon everyone sat down again or took their places leaning against the wall.
Part two of the show started with ‘You just have to know of me’ and the beautiful string intro. Laura’s work on the cello was great if different from the other cellists. I’m not sure I’d be able to hear who is playing which way, but I do notice they all play differently. For ‘Silfurslin’ Gunnar told us how the sounds of night trains in Russia inspired the song and explained a little about traveling in such a huge country. ‘Days & Nights’ brought back a tale from the US tour about getting stuck in Iowa. “Have you heard of Iowa” “Yes” “Do you know anything about Iowa” “No” “Exactly!” – it caused a lot of laughter. 🙂
To my surprise, they brought back ‘Danny Boy’. It made me very happy. Gunnar did a good job even though he screwed up the lyrics just a little. 😉 And even though he had said they would play one song from the ‘Verloren Verleden’ album, ‘Heyr, Himna Smiður’ was next. the audience loved it! Way too soon the second set ended as well. Of course they came back, but even after two encores I didn’t want to leave and everyone in the room cheered so loudly I thought they might play one more song. Not a chance though, they only came back for a final bow.
Afterwards there was time for chatting, saying goodbye to their Austrian promoter who left after this show and getting final hugs from everyone before going home. I felt the tour coming to an end, but also knew there would be another one somewhere in the future.
Setlist:
Himinhvel
Things you said
Someone who cares
Á meðan jörðin sjefur
Land míns föður
Næturylur
Moonlight
Orð að eigin vali
Systir
Nú gleymist ég
You just have to know of me
Heiðin
Silfurskin
Ljoð í sand
Days & Nights
Londonerry Air (Danny Boy)
Heyr, Himna Smiður
Shine
You again
Shades
And so it goes
Góða veislu gjöra skal
Árstíðir spring tour: 18 concerts down, 2 to go, next stop: Innsbruck