Árstíðir – Kulturkirche, Cologne; December 5th, 2022
Árstíðir’s concert at Kulturkirche in Cologne was not only the closest one to my home, it was my favorite on the tour so far. Little did I know that it was also going to be the last one for a while, but that’s not the important part here. The important part is that it was utterly amazing.
It was a long trip back from Délémont that went fine until Frankfurt, then the delays started setting in. Shouldn’t have surprised me, since it was snowing and German rail does not deal well with snow. By the time I finally made it home, I had 20 minute before I needed to leave again, only to be delayed for another hour and finally getting to Kulturkirche 90 minutes later than I had planned. Therefore, not a chance to get any food before the gig and standing in the pouring rain, waiting to be let in. Luckily that was only for 30 minutes.
Got exactly the spot at the front that I wanted and took in the venue. I’d been there before, but that was so long ago, that I could not remember. It looked nice, so it might be a good one. Spent the waiting time talking to C. and H. next to me. I had a bit of a scratchy throat and was already armed with cough drops for that.
The guys were on stage shortly after 8 and Ragnar greeted us in German, but then decided he wanted to speak English that night. 😀 As usual, he explained to us how the evening would go and the audience liked it. With the first notes of ‘Ljóð í sand’ I knew that the sound was amazing and the lights were great too. This was going to be a good one. 🙂 Daníel explained about the bright summers and dark winters in Iceland and wondering when the sun would come out again. It felt particularly fitting that night and I let the music carry me.
With ‘Ages’ I got up and walked around for a bit to get pictures from the back of the church – it just sounded wonderful from everywhere! I’m sure the church has naturally great acoustics, but the soundguy also really knew his job. All the instruments and voices were so clear and distinguishable. I was back in my seat with ‘Endatafl’ and it sounded glorious, especially the choir singing in the end. <3
Gunnar spoke about being proud of the Pendúll album and the upcoming one Blik before they gave us a taste with ‘Later on’. He had the small keyboard again, just like the previous day. This song always grabs me – everything about it is perfect. It also feels related to ‘While this way’ with the “edge of the world” from that song turning into “the edges of my world” here.
‘Passion’, their tribute to themselves, also sounded amazing that night, with a beautifully clear guitar melody at the start and the strings in the end. 🙂 Before ‘Shine’ Ragnar explained that they usually have something on their minds or hearts when they write songs and told us about the article that inspired this one. We heard about being the first astronaut on the way to Mars and then realizing it was a mistake. The song always takes me on a trip, but it’s usually one to the inside. I loved it very much that night. <3
With no break nor introduction, they moved on to ‘While this way’ – it was brilliant. There I was, falling… and then floating on waves of music. This song can help me focus and make me be in the music like few others. <3 After announcing it was the last song before the break they powered through ‘Shades’ like there was no other set or next concert. It could not have been any better! 😀
During the break I realized my sore throat turned into coughing and my voice was leaving me. Not a good sign. I still enjoyed the show very much and just hope I’d manage to not cough during the quiet parts.
Jean-Samuel welcomed us to part 2 of the show and told us they would play us a song that the band sang at a train station once upon a time. ‘Heyr, hymna smiður’ is really nice as an instrumental piece. It never bothers me at the Christmas shows, but I might just like this version best of all. 🙂 Gunnar introduced the French guys and told us how they needed them for more culture in the band. By now, Daníel’s “savages” had turned into “Viking savages”, i.e. what they would be without those two. Then Ragnar had to “bring something to the table” with his favorite Swedish Christmas song ‘Gläns över sjö och strand’. It was nice, but it’s not my favorite Christmas song of the show.
Gunnar told us that last time in Cologne there was a Christmas market just outside so they kept sneaking over there for Glühwein. It turned into a nice sales speech for their name cups. 😉 ‘Jólin alls staðar’ followed and I always enjoy this one. If really feels like Christmas to me. I might have also heard it in Reykjavik outside of their Christmas concert.
We had reached the part of the evening where they teach us about Icelandic singing traditions and the fact that playing instruments came to their island rather late. Even multiple times in a row, I find it interesting to hear how their way of singing developed – the jokes evolve every night too. 😉
It is always stunningly beautiful to hear them sing these old songs. Parallel fifth or not, both ‘Hátið fer að höndum ein’ and ‘Ísland farsældafrón’ are great music in my book and I love especially the former. Guillaume and Jean-Samuel are getting better every night too. ‘Góða veislu gjöra skal’ is always fun of course and I love how they turn and sing at each other for that one. I caused a short disturbance there, because I had walked side stage to take a picture and stumbled. Yikes. I felt so embarrassed, but could not change it, so I just stood still for the rest of the song. It still sounded like a good party.
‘Allt er hljótt’ is always announced as being “not so old, only about 12 years”. It is one of my favorites in the show. 🙂 For ‘Ró’ Guillaume joined Ragnar again, but like the previous night they used piano and keyboard so they each had an instrument to play. It was lovely to hear. ‘Things you said’ kicked up gears again, before we all joined in for ‘Silent Night’, once again in German. We definitely sang just as well as the people in Twist. I held back a little though, my throat was really scratchy. With the acoustics of the church especially, it did sound great when everyone sang.
Many cheers called the band back to the stage very soon for some ‘Bringing back the Feel’ fun. It was great as always and once again I could not sit still. C. and I were snipping our fingers in tune with the melody.It is the perfect song to brighten up anyone’s day. All the props made an appearance too from the hat to the soap bubbles. 😀 Finally, for ‘And so it goes’ they stayed on stage and gathered around the double microphone again. It was impossible to get them all in a picture so I just sat back and enjoyed. It was the beautiful ending to a truly wonderful show. <3
There wasn’t much time before I had to go, so I said a quick hello and goodbye to whoever I could catch, told them it had been my favorite so far, promised to say more the next day and left. Unfortunately, the trip home was just as bad as the one to Cologne and it took me much longer than it should have.
When I finally arrived home around 1 am, I already knew I was getting sick. Didn’t realize until the next morning though, that I wasn’t fit to travel at all. Thus, I missed the next five concerts and stayed in bed. That’s how it sometimes goes. I’m glad I got to see this one though, because it as amazing.
Setlist
Ljóð í sand
Hvenær kemur sól
Ages
Endatafl
Later On
Passion
Shine
While this way
Shades
Heyr, hymna smiður – strings only
Gläns över sjö och strand
Jólin alls staðar
Hátið fer að höndum ein
Ísland farsældafrón
Góða veislu gjöra skal
Allt er hljótt
Ró
Things you said
Heims um ból
Bringing back the feel
And so it goes
Vetrarsól tour 2022 – five gigs down, four to go. Next stop: Vienna