Árstíðir – Brotfabrik, Frankfurt; November 25th, 2023

Árstíðir’s show at Brotfabrik in Frankfurt was one of the best on the tour with surprisingly great sound, a very lively audience and the band on top of their game. They were having so much fun and so were we.

My trip to Frankfurt was much less annoying than the one to Rorschach. I arrived pretty much on time and was able to take a nap at my hotel before going to the show. That really improved my mood and made me enjoy the show so much more. Met up with G. around six and as usual we waited alone for a while, but more people joined us before the doors opened. Once inside, we were surprised there were not seats for only the second time on tour. OK then. It looked empty as I turned around, but before the concert started, the hall had filled up nicely.

From the first notes of ‘Himinhvel’ it felt just right and there was a special magic in the air. Lights were nice and the sound was fantastic. The guys seemed very relaxed and looked less tired than the previous night. Or maybe that was me, feeling considerably more rested? Either way, they were off to a great start and it only got better from there. ‘Ljóð í sand’ was wonderful and when Ragnar mentioned it had been a while since they played there I wondered when I had last seen them in Frankfurt – turns out  I never have.

He announced an “all inclusive three course meal” of songs and with the “first of the main courses” they were going into ‘Bringing back the Feel’. It sounded absolutely amazing and I could not not move in tune with the music, singing along as well. ❤️ ‘Later on’ once again really got to me and the “viking chanting” of ‘Sanity’ was a great success, it’s so much fun to watch them get into the music and sing their hearts out. Jean-Samuel was working overtime on the violin too, it was just awesome!

G. had said she would miss the cello during ‘Figure’ and I noticed it too, but I also liked how they performed it. 🙂 Afterwards, Ragnar started playing the piano softly and Gunnar told us about a melody waiting around for years until the right lyrics acme to him yers later. It was ‘Mute’, of course and a perfect version. I felt the heartbeat of the song again. 🙂

Daníel spoke about driving along the westfjords to introduced ‘Þar sem enginn fer’ and I watched in awe as he hit his pedal board just before the song started, wondering how he know which setting was which. G. and I spoke about that during the break and she was thinking about the same thing. 😀 The song was beautiful and seamlessly transitioned into ‘Lover’ – it really sounded like a lot of longing. ‘Friðþægingin’ then, ended the set, but first they asked us, who spoke Icelandic and it was only one or two people. Raggi told us we would have to ask them for the meaning of the song’s lyrics because Google translate does not cut it. Daníel only added that it was the most rock song they had and I loved it. They were really having a good time on stage.

Once the band was back, they announced ‘Glitský’ and someone cheered for it. Nice. It sounded lovely, soft and delicate and people really listened. You could have heard a pin drop. Gunnar thanked us for being so quiet afterwards. On a Saturday night that is unusual. We cheered for Jean-Samuel coming back and then got to enjoy ‘Hvenar kemur sól’. A few people awwed when Daníel said they don’t see much of the sun in Iceland during winter. He was talking a lot, that is usually a good sign. 🙂

I don’t think ‘While this Way’ will ever not be perfect to me. It had been my theme song on so many occasions and I just love how powerful it is. ❤️ *happy sigh* Next, Ragnar announced they were gonna sing for us and we looked at him like “didn’t you do that the whole time?” until he added “without our instruments”, explaining how they often sing old Icelandic arrangements to warm up their voices and were gonna do that now. He mentioned ‘Ísland farsældafrón’ and someone reacted as if her heart just melted. Then I heard her whisper “train station song” and thought she might be disappointed to find out it’s not. It was great and ‘Hatið fer að höndum ein’ was even better. They dedicated it to Glühwein once more.  I really could hear Jean-Samuel’s part that night. In fact, all evening all voices were really clear and I could hear them all separately.

Ragnar talked about the Árstíðir runes they had developed together with the fans and the perception of time. Now it was Gunnar’s turn to play a soft melody throughout. ‘Home’ was amazing and I really enjoyed ‘Kirin’ too, but the best was yet to come. When Daníel went to fetch the synthesizer, I knew it was time for ‘Let’s Pretend’ – Gunnar mentioned that it was the first time in their history that they would all be playing guitars and how nerve wrecking that was. Daníel joked that next time they would only be playing synths. 😀 what can I say? It was the best version of ‘Let’s Pretend’ on the tour. Everything fit together so well and I could not stop smiling when Ragnar grabbed the mic and walked across stage to stand next to Daníel. He was also waving the other arm and people in the audience went along with it. I was too busy taking pics, but it was awesome. It all ended on the most perfect violin solo. Afterwards he said his heart melted when they did. ❤️

‘Seven Years’ followed and was just as amazing. Absolutely flawless from beginning to end. I could see it on Daníel’s face how pleased he was. Rightfully so, this was the definite version! I especially love the powerful part in the end just before the final chorus guitar solo that starts on “Now it’s time to cut my losses” and end on “I am changing!” – very Van Halen Don’t tell me vibes and that is a good thing. 😀

I could hardly believed we had reached the last song already and “awww”-d along with everyone else. Ragnar said “Let’s see what we can do about that, but for ow let’s pretend this is the last song” 🙂 Gunnar added they had been playing that song for years, because why fix something that is not broken. He also told us to look at Jean-Sam and he bowed when we did. Then they had a false start and everyone laughed. After that it was wonderful. They were really on top of their game that night.

We cheered and clapped loudly util they came back and gave us and encore. ‘Kill us’ had the added violin again and I liked it even better than the previous night. It works really nicely. Of course we heard the story of sitting on Daníel’s sofa and his home brewed wine. Ragnar said he still remembered the taste and Daníel quipped “That is not a compliment”. We learned that he started studying Chemistry. “Terrible wine, good guys,” Ragnar concluded. Last but not least was a killer version of ‘Things you said’. Jean-Samuel worked overtime again and did an amazing job. Such a great show overall.

Many people talked to the guys after, but eventually we got our chance too. Spoke to Jean-Samuel about working harder now and he joked that it was slavery. he also told us that his addition to ‘Kill us’ had been a misunderstanding and he had  walked on stage with the others the previous night convinced they’d play ‘Góða veislu gjöra skal’ and then they didn’t 😉

Daníel was really happy with the show and especially ‘Seven Years’. Somehow we ended up talking about train travel versus car travel. 🙂 Ragnar was happy to hear I had loved ‘Let’s Pretend’ and I have no recollection of what else we spoke about. *sheepish grin. Finally I aid hello and goodbye to Gunnar, telling hime that they had all seemed less tired and more lively than the previous night. His reply? “I faked it well” – we agreed it had been a great show and said goodbye. One more time around!

Setlist

Himinhvel
Ljóð í sand
Bringing back the Feel
Later On
Sanity
Figure
Mute
Þar sem enginn fer
Lover
Friðþægingin

Glitský
Hvenar kemur sól
While this Way
Ísland farsældafrón
Hatið fer að höndum ein
Home
Kirin
Let’s Pretend
Seven Years
Shades

Kill us
Things you said