Come, come to me and say that you’re sorry

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Árstíðir –  Evangelicky kostel, Rožnov pod Radhoštěm

For the final show of their spring tour I saw Árstíðir perform and acoustic show in a church as a quartet and it was wonderful on many levels. Hearing them play without microphones or much amplification created a special atmosphere where people really had to listen. The simple but beautiful church only added to that and not only filled my heart with warmth, but also lead to a few goosebumps. It was a bittersweet night for me – a beautiful ending to an amazing tour and time to say goodbye and return to real life. I have no regrets though and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. 🙂

The day had started with chaos and misunderstandings, but in the end it was all cleared up and will be filed under “shit happens”. None of that mattered though as soon as I got to hug the guys and Masha that day and had the wonderful opportunity to get a glimpse of them doing a photoshoot in Ostrava. It was amazing to see a professional photographer at work and the location was beautiful as well. After a late lunch it was time to travel to Rožnov. Upon arrival I went to my hotel to check in and was at the venue one hour later when the guys just got done with the soundcheck. I found a nice spot by the side, said hello to the girls from Prague and chatted with Masha.

The concert seemed to be sold out, the church was packed and when the guys walked in they were greeted with great cheers. Guillaume had to leave the previous day so the band had to play the songs without cello, which essentially meant more work for Karl. It worked really well. I had thought I would miss the cello, because I love all the cello parts very much, but to my surprise I didn’t and enjoyed this concert just as much as all the others, if not more so. I felt every note and every line that night – there was a special kind of magic at this place. 🙂

It was cold on the church floor where I spent much time sitting down so I would not bother people so much while taking pictures. It didn’t matter though, I was much to focused on watching the guys, taking it all in, trying to see and hear every little detail. Each and every song seemed to have a special meaning, felt right and true. From time to time, I took a look at the audience too: different age groups, new fans and old, some having traveled quite far and all equally enthralled. It was beautiful. <3

The music filled the small church and there were so few other sounds that at times I was afraid to even use my camera in quiet mode, because it seemed so loud. Not taking so many pictures made me listen more intently and it became a very emotional experience. During ‘Days & Nights’ I was close to tears for the first time that night, because during the lines “going round in my head is just how much I’ll miss it when I’m dead” I realized that this was something I would miss terribly. I found myself nodding and thinking, “yes, I would”. :’)

Once again the songs were mixed up since the last concert and not all of the new ones made an appearance, but ‘The Cannon’, ‘Moonlight’, ‘Ró’, ‘Vetur að vori’ and the untitled song with the working title ‘Kings of Giersbergen’ were still there. For the first time since last September they left out ‘Shine’, but I didn’t miss it. The set worked well. As an a cappella number they chose ‘Land míns föður’. Hearing ‘Næturylur’ again made me smile and ‘Kings of Giersbergen’ brought me close to tears for the second time. They played only one set so I was quite surprised when Ragnar announced they’s play their longest song, unless we were too tired. 😉 So I got to enjoy ‘Siðasta Kveðjan’ again and this time it made me cry. It was just too much beauty to bear. When it was over, Ragnar saw me wiping my tears and smiled. I smiled back at him and shrugged “yep, that’s the way it is”.

I loved all the other songs too. They carried me well that night, made the concert a sum of all the others I had seen this past week, let me relive all the emotions of the time on the road and all the memories.<3 When they ended the main set with ‘Ages’ the audience would not let them go and cheered even more than they had between songs. They came back for ‘Nú gleymist ég’ and ‘Góða veislu gjöra skal’, but people still did not have enough and clapped until they came out again for one last bow. This great reception was well deserved and the perfect ending to this tour. 🙂

Setlist

Heiðin
Látum okkur sjá
The Cannon
Orð að eigin vali
Day & Nights
Moonlight
You just have to know of me
Ró
Á meðan jörðin sjefur
Vetur að vori
Næturylur
Land míns föður
Someone who cares (formerly known as “Kings of Giersbergen”)
Siðasta Kveðjan
Kill us
Ages

Encore
Nú gleymist ég
Góða veislu gjöra skal

After the gig there were many who wanted to chat or get autographs and pictures so I kept in the background until most of them were gone. It had been an amazing week and I wanted a few words with each of the guys before it was time to go. After seeing them almost every day and being part of the family for a little while, saying goodbye was difficult, but I knew that when I started on this adventure. 😉 Each one of them took the time for a little chat with me and I got to thank them for the wonderful tour and the good times. After a big hug from all of them I finally turned and walked away, knowing I’ll carry these memories with me for the rest of my life. <3 I cried that night, as I sometimes do when something good has to end. Tears of joy, even mixed with a little melancholia, are always a good thing.

The next morning, when I had to leave, the skies were grey over Rožnov. The weather fit my mood and I was glad I’d have a full day before going back to work. In the coming months, while counting down the days to the new album and the upcoming concerts in the fall, I will look back on this week with a smile. It does not get any better than this! 

Árstíðir spring tour: 8 concerts down, none to go. Last stop: home

pictures of this concert

Winter into spring

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Árstíðir – Dum kultury mesta Ostravi, Ostrava; May 1st, 2014

Back in the Czech Republic, Árstíðir played at the Ostrava House of Culture. It was a pretty nice place that reminded me a lot of the venues in Belgium last year. Only that there was nowhere near as much room between the front row and the stage. It wasn’t sold out, but filled up nicely, once again drawing people of all ages, new fans as well as old. It was an enjoyable concert. I sure had fun. 🙂

Luckily there is a direct train from Warsaw to Ostrava so getting there was easy. Had I not gotten out of the train at the wrong station, I might have even been able to walk to my hotel. As it was, I found a local cafe and asked them to order me taxi. People were extremely helpful, even though I was unable to speak their language – sometimes I really wish I had a Babel fish translating for me. 😉 Finally at my hotel, I checked in and made my way to the venue. The area was a bit boring and unfortunately there was not enough time to see more of the city. Part of its long history is coal and steel industry just like it is in the area of Germany I live in. Hopefully I get to see more of that the next time around.

Arriving at the venue I spent some time walking around, trying to figure out if the guys had arrived already. They hadn’t, but I met Alice who told me they’d have a photo session the next day at the site of Colors of Ostrava (an old industrial site) before going on to Rožnov. Soon the guys arrived, we unpacked and it was time to explore the venue.  There were a lot of steel stairs, levers and buttons and all sorts of interesting stuff to see. Mostly I hung out with Masha, because the guys seemed to need some time on their own. The venue had an upper gallery, which would be great to take pictures from, especially because the downstairs seats were too close together to walk around.

There was some confusion as to when the concert was supposed to start. The band counted on 7:30 pm, but the tickets said 7. Thus, they started a little late. The mood was good from the beginning and so was the sound. The audience loved them and the guys played beautifully. I walked around too much though, always trying to find a good spot for the next pictures, trying to capture the shadows on the wall, because they might look interesting. Therefore, it was difficult to get into the concert and took me quite some time. The first part seemed to be over in a heartbeat.

During the break I hung out with Masha and friends, chatting, then went back upstairs where I spent most of the concert. It made me happy to see and hear people’s responses to the music. It felt like the guys were talking a lot, telling the audience how after the tour they’d spent some time in a cabin in the woods on Czech to work on the songs. People apparently liked the idea. Had I thought the setlist was pretty much fixed now, I was proven wrong. They dug out ‘Vetur að vori’, which I had not heard since their second gig in Iceland this year. It seemed to have totally changed since and only much later I realized that it wasn’t as different as I had though. Proves only that I don’t know all the new songs really well yet.

Either way, the mixture of songs was again close to perfect, even though I could not remember the setlist the minute it was over (the one listed below is only a rough guess 😉 ). No matter how many times I hear them live, I never get tired of the music, despite songs I like better than others. It may take a long time at some concerts, but the guys always manage to get to me in a good way that makes me forget any worries and pains I might have. Not all music moves me equally in any mood I’m in, but Árstíðir is one of the few bands that always work for me and that’s where their magic is. 😀 The concert made me happy and looking at the audience I knew I wasn’t the only one.

Setlist (out of order)

Heidin
Látum okkur sjá
The Cannon
Moonlight
Ljoð í sand
Eris
You just have to know of me
Siðasta Kveðjan

Ró
Someone who cares (formerly known as “Kings of Gersbergen”)
Vetur að vori
Á meðan jörðin sjefur
Days and Nights
Shine
Shades
Tárin
Kill us

Nú gleymist ég
Góða veislu gjöra skal

Of course they spent time with their fans after and it was late already when we went out for dinner. The first restaurant was closed already, but we found a nice bar and had a nice evening out. The evening was full of jokes and stories. Also it was Guillaume’s last night with the guys, since he had an early train to catch the next morning. We didn’t stay all that long, but long enough to unwind. It ended up being a quick goodbye with a last hug for Guillaume before I left, not wanting to think about the fact that the tour was ending the following day.

Árstíðir spring tour: 7 concerts down, 1 to go. Next stop: Roznov pod Radosthem

pictures of this concert