Not the first, not the second – who is counting any more?

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Árstíðir – Bürgerbahnhof, Wuppertal; January 27th, 2019

After more than five years Árstíðir returned to Bürgerbahnhof in Wuppertal, where they had spontaneously sung ‘Heyr himna smiður’ out in the hall in September 2013, the video of which has since been viewed 6.9 million times on youTube. It was a good night with many friendly and familiar faces in the crowd and of course they did an after show encore out in the hall. We shall see that on youTube eventually.

My original flight from London had been in the afternoon, but I’d changed it to make sure I’d be in Wuppertal on time. Thus, I was on my way to the airport around 5 am. The guys, who were driving all the way, left about two hours after I did (as they told me later). Slept through the entire flight, including take-off and landing and got in one more hour of sleep when I returned to Dortmund at noon. Expected the doors to open at 6 so I arrived in Wuppertal shortly after 5. Of course the doors were not opened until 6:30 and I spent quite some time walking around and freezing in the hall. To my surprise C. showed up, having decided three concerts in the Netherlands were not enough. 😉 Later S., M., C. and H. from Solingen arrived too. I would have been very surprised if they had not. 🙂 When they let us in, they had to get Ragnar from backstage, because he had forgotten to put me on the guest list. Too much tour stress, clearly. Of course he confirmed and in I was. The place was just as tiny as I’d remembered. I’d considered filming, but decided against it and rather stood at the front. It was supposed to start at 7 so I’d make it home at a decent hour or at least that was the plan.

Well, the band took their time and it was after 7:30 when finally someone from the venue stepped on stage to announce them. He reminded everyone of how they’d sung out in the hall last time they’d been there and even claimed that it was the first place they’d gone when they arrived. I rolled my eyes. We’d been talking about this the past days and how everyone would expect them to repeat something that in my opinion cannot be repeated. L. said the same, but they still felt pressured to do something. “If you’re gonna do it, you should at least make sure it is one of your own songs this time. It really bugs me that you are best known for a song that isn’t even yours!” were my final words on the issue the previous night.

First it was time for the concert though and after a short hello the guys launched into ‘While this Way’. Last time around it had been rather dark at this venue and this time there was light, but nothing special, it just felt like they’d forgotten to switch off the main lights. At least it made it easy to take pictures. 😉 C. and I both sang along and so did someone behind me. 😀 I love it when that happens. The first two songs were no problem lyrics wise either. When Ragnar wanted to announce the next song, he had a momentary blackout and Gunnar asked “Do you need help?” “Please help me.” was the reply. It made me giggle. 😀 From the beginning there was feedback on Daníel’s guitar and now he asked the sound guy to do something about it, saying that it might sound kinda cool but the guitar should not take control over the one who is playing it. People laughed, but he was clearly annoyed.

Afterwards they had a small discussion and played ‘Vetur að vori’ before ‘Ljóð í sand’ – I did my best to sing along to those as well and Ragnar winked at me when he saw it. He told a story about the coolest rehearsal space one could have and joked about referring to their albums by colors. Gunnar explained about the poems in the black sand that are morbid rather than romantic. So now we had “dramatic” and “morbid” – let’s see what else they come up with. 😉 ‘In the Wake of you’ and ‘Mute’ followed back to back. I loved all the songs as well as the enthusiastic audience, but the whole gig felt less relaxed than the previous one. Daníel spoke about how the songs decide if they want to be written in Icelandic or English and then told us that ‘Þar sem enginn fer’ was written while traveling in Iceland, but if we wanted to get the message we’d have to learn Icelandic. 😉 ‘Shades’ of course was the last song in the first part and made people happy.

When the band walked back on stage after the break they were four so I knew they were not going to pick up their guitars right away. I was right, they started the second half with ‘Heyr himna smiður’ and told us after they felt they needed to do it because of the youTube hit that had originated in this place. Unfortunately the feedback was still there and now only one of the double mics was working. They made do with one. When Gunnar snapped his fingers to test it, people laughed. I noticed all night that this audience seemed to find everything funny. It was a bit strange to me, but whatever floats your boat. I was in a silly mood myself and remember getting into a giggle fit about something they said somewhere along the way, even though I cannot remember what it was all about. As always I loved the acoustic set, even with less than ideal sound.

Ragnar asked us if when knew what “nivalis” meant and I nodded so he was like “Yeah, you know”. C. whispered to me that we knew thanks to them. True. 🙂 He added that it was a description for animals that strive in the cold, a bit like Icelanders. They played ‘Entangled’ first though and then gave us ‘Like snow’. I love the strings on that song and also how it just ends abruptly. They really rocked ‘Friðþægingin’ and that too ends with a bang. I could not stop smiling, enjoying the show all the way. When ‘Things you said’ was over, Gunnar and Ragnar both breathed out as if they were glad it was over and had been holding that breath. It made C. and me laugh.

Again it worked that people said “awww” when they told us they were down to the last song and Ragnar mentioned how they had not gotten an encore three nights in a row while in the UK, adding “soon they won’t be part of Europe any more so who cares?”. Gunnar responded that they had to hold back with the Brexit jokes while there so they had to come out now. It was highly amusing! Of course musicians need a bit (or a lot) of ‘Passion’ to do their jobs and brought the show to a nice close with that song.

Yes we wanted more and the first encore was ‘Nú glyemist ég’ to which they said that despite the title they did not want us to forget about them. Don’t worry, we won’t! It was a great rendition and we still didn’t have enough so they asked if there was room for us down in the crowd and sang ‘Góða veislu gjöra skal’ in the middle of the audience. I’d been hoping for that. It is always nice when they get close. 🙂

Many people came to chat after the gig and one even bought their entire music catalogue and had it all signed. 🙂 A. was there and some more familiar faces as well. Someone said she saw me sing along to all the songs and thought I spoke Icelandic, but I had to admit that I am just pretending. I sat with Gunnar for some time, because I’d asked him to handwrite the lyrics to my song for me and finally there was time to do it. <3 It will soon be up on my wall. After that they did go out into the – still freezing – hall with their guitars and played ‘Kill us’ for those who were still around. It was fun and filmed by so many that there will be several versions on youTube. It was a nice gesture to those who were waiting for it and it worked well too. Let’s see how many people view it.

This was the only concert in my area and I was happy to go home and sleep in my own bed after the show for once. That also met I had a train to catch, but since it was an early show there was not much of a problem. I enjoyed hanging out until it was time for them to pack, hugged them goodbye and joked with them about still telling myself that I would not come to Antwerp. See you in Antwerp, their tour manager said and he was right. I knew I wanted to go before I even arrived at home. Two days to catch up on sleep and I’d be back on the road. 🙂

pictures of this concert

Setlist

While this Way
Lover
Please Help me
Vetur að vori
Ljóð í sand
In the Wake of You
Mute
Þar sem enginn fer
Shades

acoustic set:
Heyr himna smiður
Sunday Morning
Kill Us

Entangled
Like Snow
Friðþægingin
Himinhvel
Things You Said
Passion

Nú gleymist ég
Góða veislu gjöra skal

Nivalis winter tour: 5 gigs down, 9 to go. Next stop: Antwerp

Easy now, it’s gonna go my way

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Árstíðir – The Macbeth, London; January 26th, 2019

“Yesterday was an eight on a ten scale, today was at least a ten, maybe even an eleven!” is what I said to Ragnar after the Árstíðir show in London and it was absolutely true. It was one of those rare nights were things fall into place in such a way that everything fits and nothing can destroy the good mood or the beauty of it all. This, right then and there was the Nivalis concert I had wanted and I am sure the band felt it too. It made me really proud of them and left me smiling like a loon.

The night in Manchester had been horrible. My bed was uncomfortable, the room was cold and outside it was so noisy that I barely slept. Luckily the trip to London went smoothly and I even had time to rest a little bit once I arrived at my hostel there. Around 4 I made my way towards Shoreditch to meet up with L. and M. We had some delicious Korean food for dinner, then checked on the venue, because it was unclear if they would open at 6 or at 7. It was still closed so we went up the road for tea and coffee.

I went back shortly after six and the doors were open so I got the others and we went back. L. and T. had just arrived as well. Unfortunately the open doors had been a misunderstanding and it was not supposed to open until 7 after all. Since it was raining and Ragnar was there to let in the others we got lucky and were allowed to get in too. 🙂 During sound check we sat on a sofa in the back, listening. The sound was brilliant and I already liked the place. After sound check more people had arrived and since it was still raining, they were allowed in as well. Once the doors opened for real, I went to the front, together with V., whom I’d seen at their last London solo gig and we started chatting. More people arrived and to my right stood a guy I’d met at Iceland Airwaves a couple of years ago. Always the same faces. 😉

They started a little late, but as soon as they stepped on stage the audience moved closer to the front. Thankfully that warmed up the venue that had been a bit chilly before. From the first note I sang along and so did V. next to me.  She was already swaying with the music, eyes closed at times. I kept mine open mostly, because for once the band wasn’t in the dark and the light wasn’t red only so I could take some pictures. 😀 I already knew then that it was going to be good, because the sound was brilliant even at the front and the audience was into it from the start. They listened to the songs quietly and they cheered loudly in-between. 🙂

The guys were really relaxed that night, wearing smiles on their faces, looking like they were enjoying the hell out of this. I felt good vibes all around, smiling at anyone who looked at me and once more being completely caught up in the music. Standing at the center I had a great view of Guillaume and watched his fingers dance across the strings of his cello for much of the night. For once, the big microphone they use for the acoustic set had been moved out of the way and didn’t stand in my line of sight. Jean-Samuel was blocked by Gunnar at times, but I got to see a lot of him too and the others were in plain sight anyway.

Everything was beautiful and I noticed I was slowly getting better at the lyrics. ‘While this Way’ and ‘Lover’ were easy. Not only do I love both, but have heard them live many times. Both were wonderful and I loved all the other songs as well. ‘Please help me’ was great and I almost mastered the lyrics. Again, I tried my best with the Icelandic songs, but I only vocalize what I hear and still draw a blank for much of them. It is fun though and I keep telling myself that I am slowly getting better.

One of the songs sounded a little bit off at the start, I think it might have been ‘Mute’, but soon the sound was back to great. ‘In the Wake of you’ just made me smile, even though I can’t really relate to all of it. I still feel the song though. ‘Þar sem enginn fer’ truly rocked and ‘Shades’ pretty much brought the house down. The guys were really into it and so was I, swaying with the music.

During the break L. and M. told me how much they were enjoying the show and they even went and bought T-Shirts. Success! M. mentioned that he especially liked the songs with lots of cello – you and me both! 😀 we talked about lots of bands while we waited for this one to return and time passed quickly.

Árstíðir were back with ‘Sunday Morning’ and I choked up during it, very nearly bursting into tears. It felt good, I have not cried at one of their gigs in a while, at least not for the right reasons. There music has always moved me though and when it moves me to tears the show is a special one. ‘Kill us’ was brilliant. Before the song they joked that they didn’t mean it literally and it was just a metaphor, so if we would please not do it. We all laughed. Until that moment I’d never thought about the song that way and now I cannot get it out of my head. 😉

Not long before the show started the venue had still felt somewhat empty, but many arrived just in time for the concert. People were soon drawn closer by the music and stood all around the stage. There was a good energy in the room and it felt like the audience and the band really connected. Everything flowed nicely, they didn’t have to work hard to capture our atention and for our willingness to listen they rewarded us with a wonderful performance.

The second half of the concert always feels longer, even though it contains the same number of songs. Maybe I just count the encores in. 😉 It’s a good thing though, as their shows can never be too long for me. 😀 After the acoustic set Gunnar explained about quantum entanglement again, but somehow started in the middle, saying that it baffles scientists, before getting around to telling us what it actually is. Many people nodded though when he talked about how it seems to work on a big scale. He said that we have written off telepathy as an explanation, but there still seems to be some connection. Makes sense to me and the song is always amazing. <3

Ragnar spoke about the meaning of “nivalis” and how you can use “snowlike” as a metaphor for many things, an example of which being the song ‘Like Snow’. It made me sigh happily. 🙂 Then, he raised his bottle to us, saying cheers and asking if we knew how to say it in Icelandic. Several people said “Skál” so he translated that it means “bowl” and joked how it said something about Icelandic drinking habits. Daníel noted very gravely: “It was the bowl of the skull of your dead enemies!” – I’ve heard that before, i.e, how in old times Vikings drank from the skulls of their enemies after battle, but it still made me laugh.

People also laughed when they challenged us to pronounce ‘Friðþægingin’ correctly and said some had tried and failed in Manchester. 😉 The beautiful ‘Himinhvel’ and a rocking ‘Things you said’ followed without introduction. Next, Ragnar spoke about doing crazy things for art and how they transported a 100 kilo chunk of ice up on a glacier. He added how they’d frozen a heart into the polar bear sculpture made of ice. When he mentioned the heart, Daníel quipped “for morality!”. It made everyone laugh. He was in a great mood that night, always making funny comments. His answer to people raising their hands to the question who spoke Icelandic was telling us “you can ask them about the lyrics later!”

Again, Ragnar mentioned how they did not get an encore for three nights in a row until they dropped a hint about it in Manchester. People responded that of course the UK does encores so Gunnar joked “Then it’s us!” The last song was lovely and as they walked off stage and we cheered for more, L. suggested that people might not have done that in other cities, because it was a show in two parts and the second half could have been one long encore.

The guys came back without Jean-Samuel and gathered around the double microphone so I knew they were not going to play ‘Nú gleymist ‘eg’ just yet. Someone asked “Are we in a train station somewhere?” and they responded that it wasn’t going to be the train station song. Instead they gave us a perfect rendition of ‘Jólabæn einstæðingsins’ during which you could have heard a pin drop. Gunnar even asked us if we usually got this quiet on a Saturday night. ‘Nú gleymist ég’ followed and would have been the perfect ending already, but we cheered more and they walked into the crowd for ‘Góða veislu gjöra skal’. What a great finale that was. <3

We stayed, we chatted, I hugged them, told them how amazing the show was and that to me it was the best one so far. They all felt the same. Finally, we said goodbye and L., M, V. and I went out for after show drinks. It was lovely to just hang out and digest all we’d seen and heard. Surely this was a night to remember.

pictures of this concert

Setlist

While this Way
Lover
Please Help me
Ljóð í sand
Vetur að vori
In the Wake of You
Mute
Þar sem enginn fer
Shades

acoustic set:
Sunday Morning
Kill Us

Entangled
Like Snow
Friðþægingin
Himinhvel
Things You Said
You again
Passion

Jólabæn einstæðingsins
Nú gleymist ég

Góða veislu gjöra skal

Nivalis winter tour: 4 gigs down, 9 to go. Next stop: Wuppertal