Árstíðir – Ratssaal, Reichenbach; December 9th, 2018
Seeing Árstíðir in Reichenbach was a beautiful trip down memory lane that felt very much like the very first concerts did. Easy and uncomplicated and deeply moving. It fully grabbed me from the first moment on and did not let me go until the very end. <3
Reichenbach (Vogtland) is quite far east from where I live and close to Plauen, the city of my second ever Árstíðir concert in 2012. When I first read about this one I didn’t plan to go, but with it happening on a Sunday Berlin the day before, it wasn’t such a long trip after all and I figured I might as well. Best decision in a long time!
Going to Reichenbach from Berlin was supposed to be easy, only that the S-Bahn from Leipzig didn’t go. Still got there eventually, checked in, found food, walked the city in the rain. There was Christmas decoration everywhere, but nobody was around and the Christmas market was not open. The concert took place at the town hall, but when I arrived, nobody was there and I learned that they hadn’t even sound checked yet.
More people came, there was mulled wine to be had for those who wanted to and I chatted with a few people who had seen them in Plauen and elsewhere in the area years ago. We’ve come a long way since. The hall they played in was huge and I feared it was going to be half empty, but there were quite a few people before they started. The stage was huge with a grand piano that the guys didn’t use and some Christmas decoration, including a creepy Santa on one side. The lights were alright though, after the ones lighting the entire hall had been turned off.
It was an early concert and shortly after 7 the guys walked in from the back. They remained in the audience, standing right next to me and sang ‘Shedryk’ there. <3 The room had great acoustics. They could clearly be heard without any amplification. With them being in the room instead of on the stage, I felt transported right back to my first Christmas concert in Reykjavik, even though I am not sure they even played that song then or did it this way. Right then I was sure the night was going to be special.
By now I knew what was coming in terms of setlist, so it was time to relax, enjoy the familiar feeling and look for subtle changes in the stories they told. I love doing that, because they may tell the same things, but it is never the exact same story. To me it is special that I will notice changes that people who see only that one show will never know about. That also applies to changes in the setlist of course . They aren’t subtle, but with nothing to compare to, most of the audience will not know they even happened.
Their acoustic set with all three of them singing into one microphone started with ‘Ages’. It is a song I have always liked, but it hasn’t really spoken to me in a long time. That night though, it almost moved me to tears. Now, a day later, I am still trying to figure out why, but I honestly have no idea. It almost felt as if I was hearing it for the first time. I sang along all the way and a deep, happy sigh escaped me when it was over. ‘Með hallandi höfði’ made me just as happy and to my surprise, I was moved by ‘Ljoð í sand’ as well. Somehow everything seemed especially beautiful that night as if we’d traveled back in time to when I hardly knew the band and the whole emotional roller-coaster ride was just beginning.
I leaned back in my seat, enjoyed, smiled at the guys whenever any of them looked at me and even remembered to take pictures from time to time. 😉 ‘Someone who cares’ was just as good as it was the very first time I heard it and there are not enough words to describe the beauty of ‘Scarborough Fair’. It is a song I have always loved and this rendition was a close to perfect as it gets. I sighed again and never wanted this concert to end. All the love I’ve ever felt for the guys came rushing back and the smile on my face grew bigger by the minute. The previous night Gunnar had told me that he knew everything was alright when he saw me smiling and singing along – he certainly had nothing to worry about. 😀
For ‘Jólabæn einstæðingsins’ they gathered around the center microphone again and with a seat just slightly left of the center this time around, I had an unobstructed view of everyone for a change. Oh how much I love watching them sing! After a great rendition of ‘Passion’, Daníel used one of his effects, tried again and then asked us if we could hear a humming sound. I confirmed so he called out for the tech guy to help, because apparently his effects were connected to the same electrical outlet as the dimmer for the lights and that created the sound. At first nobody came, so Daníel went to check if he could fix it. Meanwhile Ragnar told us something about their Christmas concerts, talked to Gunnar briefly and they started playing ‘You again’. By now the tech guy had arrived and fixed things and Daníel was back at his mic right when he needed to start singing – perfect timing! 🙂
Gunnar told us they had one last song before the break and Ragnar mentioned they were only taking it so they could go downstairs to get more Glühwein (which they actually did). But first they gave us ‘While this Way’. I can’t even put into words how much I love this song. I sang along happily and took a deep breath when they said goodbye for now, already awaiting their return.
After the break ‘Hátið fer að höndum ein’ sounded especially nice with Lotta’s voice in the mix. I loved hearing her slight Finnish accent. In pronunciation of certain letters, especially the rolled “R” Icelandic and Finnish are very similar, but it sounds just a little bit stronger in Finnish and that’s what I heard. It was lovely. Gunnar explained that what we just heard was an example of an Icelandic Christmas song and that they were going to do an even happier one now, ‘Góða veislu gjöra skal’. It always makes me smile.
Ragnar spoke about the terrible Icelandic summer that made them productive, because there was nothing else to do and how critics claimed ‘Nivalis’ sounded like a winter album. I don’t really have an idea what a winter album is supposed to sound like (or a summer album for that matter), but I know that I loved it and don’t care which season it represents. ‘Mute’ and ‘Þar sem enginn fer’ were both great. Somehow the latter never seemed to rock as much on the album as it does live. 😀 ‘Entangeled’ was played without much introduction and they delivered the explanation afterwards, but it really doesn’t need one. The song has spoken to me from the moment I’ve first heard it. It’s nice to have the theory of quantum entanglement explained but even before I knew that part, the song spoke volumes and the video they made just added to the images in my head. <3
‘Things you said’ hasn’t changed all that much since they have first played it, but the meaning and importance of the song to me has. I’ve always liked it and right now it is just a good song, but there was a time when really resonated with me. I was quite ad and angry then so it feels much better now. 🙂 Next Ragnar talked about how the eruption of Eyjafjallajökul in 2010 almost kept them from their first tour, but made them interesting everywhere they toured and now they wanted to teach us the name of the volcano. No problem! 😀
I enjoyed absolutely everything about this concert and it felt like they’d been especially good at choosing the setlist this time around. I can never get enough of ‘Nú gleymist ég’. This song often moves me to tears and yet makes me so happy at the same time because it contains all the elements I love most about the band. It was already time for the last song as Daníel told us and we appropriately said “oooooooh” in response. He asked us to meet them after the show to talk, or tell our life stories. 😉 ‘Shades’ was brilliant and showed again just how brilliant the acoustics were in that room. The guys really rocked, including Daníel and Ragnar both head banging with flying hair. Yay! 😀
As they left the satge I clapped them on the shoulders and hi-fived Guillaume on the way out. Cheers and much clapping called them back to the stage immediately after they had walked off. For a moment I was convinced they would stand somewhere in the crowd for the last song, but they walked all the way back to the stage. ‘Heyr hymna smiður’ was just right to close the show. When they said goodbye I’d already decided that I needed to see a few more concerts before the end of the tour.
Afterthe gig I finally let them sing my ‘Nivalis’ album which I’d always forgotten to take with me so far. There was time to chat and for a few hugs too. I told them I’d loved it and we said goodbye. It was really a special concert for me. I felt at peace and left with a happy smile on my face.
Àrstíðir European Christmas tour: Three gigs down, four to go. Next stop: Aschaffenburg
Setlist
Schedryk schedryk (Carol of the bells)
Ages
Með hallandi höfði
Ljoð í sand
Someone who cares
Scarborough Fair / Canticle
Jólabæn einstæðingsins
Passion
You again
While this Way
Hátið fer að höndum ein
Góða veislu gjöra skal
Mute
Þar sem enginn fer
Entangled
Things you said
Nú gleymist ég
Shades
Heyr hymna smiður