Árstíðir – Rock Cafe, Hamburg; September 12th, 2013
My second day on the road started very early at the hotel in Aschaffenburg. Took a nap on the train, but didn’t sleep much. Went straight to the office where my colleagues where wondering about my little suitcase. 😉 Made it through the day somehow and was off to the train station again in the afternoon. The previous day I had been joking that the train route to Hamburg is jinxed, because whenever I go there something goes wrong. And alas, it did. We made it well to Osnabrück, when the train had to stay there, because someone had broken a window and it needed to be fixed first. *eyeroll*. It caused a 50- minute delay – good thing the concert did not start until 9 pm.
Made it to the venue just before the doors open and was happily surprised to see a few people who already knew Árstíðir. Once inside I met the couple that had been in Plauen in January. they had not seen the guys since and were quite happy to have them closer to home this time. We chatted while we waited for more people to arrive and the concert to start. Shortly before Myrra walked on stage I counted 34 guests.
She started with ‘Insomniac’ and ‘Animal’ again, both songs I really like and was vsibly less nervous than the previous night. 🙂 Everyone appreciated her singing and with the second song, C. remarked “She’s really good!” I could only nod in agreement. Myrra mentioned the title of her album ‘Kveldúlfur’ means “night wolf” and asked for the German meaning of those words. After another song explanation she swore the guys to secrecy: “What happens on tour, stays on tour.” 😉 For the last two, she called Hallgrímur and Jón on stage with her again before they all left the stage to great cheers.
Being tired didn’t make the waiting any easier, but the good company I had did. Unfortunately no more people came to see the guys, but that would not keep us from enjoying the concert. As soon as Árstíðir stepped on the small stage, I was smiling happily.
There was much room for me to walk around so I could take pictures from many different angles. That didn’t make the light any better though, i.e. there was none on the right side of the stage. they also had some weird feedback at times, but generally the sound was great as always. Only after the concert I learned from Gunnar that it was difficult and needed much concentration to sing. I didn’t notice any of that.
What I did notice was the audience being rather impressed with the music and some even dared moving a little closer to the stage. 🙂 They guys seemed to have fun and were still quite relaxed and awake this early on the tour. The mood was good and they had some fun joking about songs. ‘Days and Nights’ was announced as “our black metal song”, because it is about death and ‘Brestir’ became the “country song about depression”. 😀
For me, aside from the always-great music, the best part of the night was seeing the smiles on other people’s faces. Once again, Árstíðir worked their very own magic. I don’t think I will ever be able to fully explain to anyone what it is like to see them on stage, because not only are they amazing musicians and lovely people, but they bring something extra, something beyond playing and singing well. Their music is perfection in so many ways, even though not every songs always perfect. They have the power to make me forget all my worries, just by singing. The best explanation I can give of the transformation that happens to people at one of Árstíðir’s concerts is that their love for music becomes palpable and while it lasts, people feel they are witnessing something bigger than themselves, something that amounts to more than the sum of its parts. The magic is real, it must have been like that when Orpheus sang.
Like all great concerts, this one had to come to an end as well. I awoke slowly, feeling exhausted. Yet the mood was so great and people so nice that I did not want to leave. First I talked with the couple I’d met in Plauen a bit more, chatted with Masha and Pain of Salvation’s booking agent for a while and finally decided to say goodbye. Ragnar asked me if I could stay for one beer, but I declined, saying I needed to do “the sensible thing” once in a while. Really, it’s not like I’m not gonna see them in ages. 😉 Thus, I returned to my hotel for some shut eye and an early train a few hours later.
Setlist (out of order)
Sunday Morning
Heiðin
Á meðan jörðin sefur
Orð að eigin vali
Ages
þér ég unni
Lost in you
Ljoð í Sand
Við dagsins hnig
Days and Nights
Brestir
You just have to know of me
Nú gleymist ég
Shades/Tárin
And so it goes
Góða veislu gjöra skal
Árstíðir Germany tour fall 2013 – 2 concerts down, 8 to go. Next stop: Neustadt am Rübenberge