Árstíðir – Musik und Frieden, Berlin; December 8th, 2018
Berlin was my second stop on Árstíðir’s Christmas tour and it was just as wonderful as the first one, if not more so. This time around, I was really looking forwards to the concert and happy to hear the songs again. It was a good show and a good night, making me really happy. I wasn’t yet in full tour mode, but after this show, I just wanted to go on the road with the guys for the rest of December. 🙂
The concert took place on a Saturday so I didn’t have to stress about getting there after work. It was all pretty easy. I’d never heard of the venue, but it was in the same area where many other venues are. When I got there I was surprise dto see people already gather in front of the door that had “Musik und Frieden” written above. It seemed weird though and since I had earlier seen a sign pointing to “Musik und Frieden” in an archway, I checked there. I found another entrance to the venue (it apparently contained several halls) that clearly said the entrance was there. Just to make sure I asked someone from the staff and he confirmed. A few more people arrived and some told me that this used to be the Magnet Club/ Comet Club. Now I knew why it had seemed oddly familiar, even though I did not remember this entrance at all.
They let us in on time and we gathered in front of the stage. It was a a small venue with standing room early and at first there were not many people around. Yet, people in Berlin usually arrive to concerts late and it filled soon enough. There was enough time to get drinks and chat with my neighbors before it started. Everything was nice and relaxed.
Shortly after 8 Daníel, Gunnar and Ragnar walked on stage and started right away with ‘Schedryk’. Ragnar introduced them and explained a little bit about the show they were doing this tour, concluding with saying that they picked up this Ukrainian original version of ‘Carol of the Bells’ in Russia. Next was going to be the first song they ever recorded together, ‘Ages’. The song still works for me even after all these years. Gunnar took over the narrative and told us how their version of Crosby, Stills and Nash’s ‘Helplessly Hoping’, ‘Með hallandi höfði’ was never meant for an album, but ended up on the radio and thus became the first impression many people had of the band. I love this song and I loved how they tie the stories together with the music and let us in to their history. At the show in Hamburg they were still trying this out, but by now they found the right rhythm, pace and words to take us on a journey through ten years of Árstíðir. 🙂
Whenever Ragnar talks about the black beaches of Iceland and how the ocean is too cold to swim, I want to say that I have swum in the ocean in Reykjavik. He is still right though, because that ocean pool is heated with thermal water from the hot springs (and was still bloody cold). I realized that strangely some of the songs that I’ve already heard so many times and thought I might not want to hear for a while did not bother me at all. In fact, I enjoyed them very much. It made me happy just to be there and I particularly liked having string players around, because on the tour last year there had not been any. I’ve always loved Guillaumes’s playing and Lotta is great too. 🙂
Daníel continued their story, about sitting at his place, listening to music and thinking about forming a band together. They’d especially loved the version of ‘Scarborough Fair’ played by Simon & Garfunkel with Andy Williams and have played exactly that version ever since. The song is always a highlight for me. I loved how good the sound and lights at the venue were. Before the show it looked like it was going to be dark and I expected red lights only, but it wasn’t like that at all. Whoever was at the mixing desk did a great job too. The sound was brilliant and not only for the a cappella songs. 😀
After ‘Passion’ Ragnar talked about how depressing music lies in Icelandic culture and how their ancestors sang about the hard life they had. Even in popular music today this can be fund. I was very much reminded of the lecture on Icelandic music he did in Russia. 🙂 It’s interesting and the story of the author of ‘Jólabæn einstæðingsins’, who lived like a hermit for years is a good one. The song does indeed sound sad and lonely, but also very beautiful. <3 They mentioned how amused they often are by how people pronounce the band name, which is difficult for anyone who does not speak Icelandic. I actually still have trouble with it. Compared to that, saying ‘Þar sem enginn fer’ seems easy. 😉 Can’t sing along to that song though. Maybe one day. Last song before the break was again ‘While this way’. It always makes me long for Iceland. <3
To my surprise, Lotta joined the guys in singing ‘Hátið fer að höndum ein’ and she did it beautifully. I loved her voice. she and Guillaume shared a lyrics sheet, taking a peek at it from time to time. After this example of a “happy Icelandic Christmas” song they gave us another one, ‘Góða veislu gjöra skal’ and Lotta stayed for that one too. I remembered learning that lyrics at my one week Icelandic class back in the summer of 2016 and did my best to sing along. Ragnar saw me do it, looked surprised and then smiled about it.
“This is one of those mysteries of life that science doesn’t really know how to explain, kinda like love”, Ragnar said when he talked about quantum entanglement and how it has inspired ‘Entangled’. I think knowing the theory behind it makes me like the song even better. I also think particles that react with each other even though they are huge distances apart are indeed a good metaphor for human relations. Everything about the song was perfect that night, the night as a whole was wonderful and I could not stop smiling. They went straight into ‘Nú gleymist ég’ after it and I was so happy they’d kept the song on the setlist.
‘Things you said’ and ‘You again’ came as a combo without much of a break. I’ve always liked how the former does not fade out, but just ends abruptly. People used to be confused by it, but not any more. With out much ado or any introduction they went into the next one. Afterwards Ragnar told us they only had one more song and got there by saying there was a Swedish expression meaning “everything has an end, only the sausage has two”. I had no idea the Swedes have that saying too. I always thought of it as very German. 😀 Wither way, we missed our cue to say “ooooh!”, but the show ended with ‘Shades’ anyway and we made up for the missing “ooooh!” by cheering extra loud for them to come back. 😉 Someone cheered “woohoo” when they told us that they normally only did this last song in train stations. ‘Heyr hymna smiður’ works well in the end, but I always think that if we clap enough they might give us one more. They didn’t though, just came back and took a final bow together.
I went and hugged everyone, chatted with them for a while and learned how the concerts in Poland had been. Apparently one had better sound people than the other, but the audiences had been good. It was a lovely night over all, we kept talking while they packed up their stuff and it ended up in a conversation about Svavar Knútur. We got their by way of TV noir and what Daníel says is the best version of ‘Emotional Anorexic’. I agreed and there we were. It was a great night and I was already looking forward to the next show.
Árstíðir European Christmas tour: Two gigs down, five to go. Next stop: Reichenbach
Setlist
Schedryk schedryk (Carol of the bells)
Ages
Með hallandi höfði
Ljoð í sand
Someone who cares
Scarborough Fair / Canticle
Passion
Jólabæn einstæðingsins
Þar sem enginn fer
While this Way
Hátið fer að höndum ein
Góða veislu gjöra skal
Mute
Entangled
Nú gleymist ég
Things you said
You again
Shades
Heyr hymna smiður