Árstíðir – Kobuci Kert, Budapest; April 28th, 2022
Their concert in Budapest kicked off Árstíðir’s first tour since 2019 with a sold out double headline gig in front of 1100 people. Their sidekicks, Platon Karataev, wer well known and liked in Budapest and both bands delivered a beautiful show. <3
Less than a week after their concert in Reykjavik I found myself on a night train to Munich at the start of what was going to be a very stressful journey, but I did not know this at that point. Only when we got to Cologne it turned out that the train was going to take a detour and we might arrive two hours delayed – and I had thought 80 minutes was more than enough to change trains. In the end I barely made my connection and had not slept all night with worry. So when I finally got to Budapest around 2 in the afternoon, I badly needed a rest, but there was no time for that. So I checked in to my hotel, had some food and then set out for the long walk to the venue.
It was an outside stage and looked rather nice. I sat around and listened to soundcheck until they were done, waved hello to the guys and took up residence at the front. Soon, a few others joined me and we passed the tim talking. The venue filled up and I decided there were too many people to do this without a mask on. My one goal was to get through the tour without catching Covid.
When the band stepped on stage I felt so happy – I had missed this. Right away they told us how happy they were to be back on a stage and how they had always had a good time in Budapest so far.It took them a moment to get their instruments ready and start with ‘While this way’. I could not have imagined a better first song to pull me back in. I felt a big smile spread on my face and sang along immediately. Not only was I happy to be there, but also very grateful. The world, my world had been stopped far too long and it felt almost unreal that it was finally turning again. We cheered loudly for them after this first song and I knew it was going to be a great gig.
A great version of ‘Things you said’ followed and I was drawn in more and more, just like it as supposed to be. 🙂 Jean-Samuel and Guillaume got a special mention and extra cheers, before they played a beautiful version of ‘Ljoð í sand’. The cheers of the audience grew louder with every song. Daníel announced ‘Hvenær kemur sól’ as “a song about something that doesn’t happen as often in Iceland as it does here” – comments like that make me always think they must be exaggerating or I am incredibly lucky, because I often get great weather in Iceland. 😉 The song is lovely either way.
Ragnar told us how their way of dealing with the pandemic was writing music and how they defined the band as their family bubble and wrote almost 30 songs. The amazing ‘Týndur’ was next, once again a highlight for me. <3 Next, they set up the double microphone and gathered around it for ‘Kill us’ – they killed it and afterwards the audience erupted into cheers. It was the loudest reaction they got all evening and they were visibly moved by it.
Moving back to their instruments the band played ‘Lover’ for us. It is one of those songs I can never get enough of. 🙂 Gunnar told us we would get to hear a preview of the next album now and I was snapping my fingers along with ‘Bringing back the feel’. I also brought out the shaker I had made, but of course nobody got the joke. The song is so much fun, I can’t help but smile when I hear it. I brings sunshine into my heart. ‘Þar sem enginn fer’ followed and brought a little bit of melancholia in contrast. <3
This wasn’t the darkest the band could go though, which thy proved with ‘Endatafl’ – I took a deep breath when it started, it always hits me right in the guts. So much beauty and sadness combined. Especially the choir in the end gets to me and I just have to sing along. Ragnar explained how the new album was the first one entirely in Icelandic and how they would play the title track now. ‘Lifsins Pendúll’ was gorgeous. I don’t have words for how amazing this song is. <3
They thanked us and let us know it was time for the last song. It was, of course ‘Shades’ and it was brilliant. We cheered them back to the stage and after confirming they were allowed an encore, they played ‘Heiðin’ for us. The show could not have been better! 😀
Setlist
While this way
Things you said
Ljoð í sand
Hvenær kemur sól
Týndur
Kill us
Lover
Bringing back the Feel
Þar sem enginn fer
Endatafl
Lifsins Pendúll
Shades
Heiðin
Once thy left, I felt how tired I was, but of course I would watch Platon Karataev as well. It wasn’t a long wait and for the next hour I alternated between watching the band and their fans around me. They cheered loudly and sang along to every word.
Once in a while, the woman next to me translated what they said. It was mostly about songs thy had specially chosen for tis gig. The band was good, I liked them, especially when they sang harmonies. They had songs in Hungarian and English and were generally a bit louder than Árstíðir. Sadly, I was a bit too tired to fully enjoy them, but I already knew I’d have fun with them on the tour.
Setlist
Csak befelé
Valaki Jár A Fák Hegyén
Partért kiáltó
Elmerül
Ex Nihilo
Atoms
Wide Eyes
Most Mabamab
Tágul
Lassú Madar
Aphlion
Rajokaban Szall
Vízből van
Ocean
Wolf Throats
Afterwards I went to the merch to hug my guys and chat for a bit. I told them how much I’d loved it, thanked them and finally said goodnight, happy to head back to my hotel and catch some much needed sleep. See you soon.
Moments in Time tour: One gig down, six to go – next stop: Vienna