New friends, new songs and raspberry beer

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Árstíðir – Rynek Glowny, Myslowice; July 19th, 2013

My original plan had been to fly to Krakow on the 19th and see the concert there on the 20th. When this concert was announced I immediately checked if it was possible to get there on time from Krakow airport, but public transport was too slow. Thus, I did what I usually do in these cases and rebooked my flight, now landing in Katowice on the 19th. This brought the challenge of squeezing my notebook, my full camera bag and a few clothes into a ridiculously small backpack, because any additional luggage was to be paid extra. It was quite surprising how much can fit into very little space. 😀 Arrived noon-ish, checked in to my rather posh hotel and explored Katowice for a bit. Unfortunately most of the downtown area was one big construction site.

I could hardly believe it had been less than a week since the last concert and only two days since I had listened to the radio broadcast from Vilnius on my computer, wishing I could be there and crying happy tears at the beauty of it all. It always surprises me how easily I adjust to life on the road and how difficult it sometimes is to return home and get into my daily routines again. Yet if there wasn’t such a vast difference between my “real life” and going to concerts I would not enjoy it so much.

In the afternoon I made my way to Myslowice, a small town just 11 km away. As small towns are, there was not much to see, but the sunny weather made me happy. The stage was set up on the main square with two rows of chairs in front of it, way too far back, just strange. The guys arrived for soundcheck, I said hello and chatted with Masha for a while. M. and O. arrived, also fans and friends of the band. Nice people, we enjoyed talking.

As the time for the concert drew closer a few people came and sat in the chairs. We decided the distance was too large, took three chairs and created our own VIP section closer to the stage on the left. A few kids gathered by the side of the stage, watching from there. Some of them forgot all about playing and stood there with their mouths open. 😀 My camera was resting safely in my bag so I had the chance to just watch and enjoy. The audience was small, but they loved it and even the people from the cafés and bars around the square cheered after every song.

Apart from the known and much loved songs Árstíðir usually play, they treated us to a few new ones: One was a traditional Icelandic song (“very macho” singing, as Ragnar explained) and two were newly written. So new in fact that they did not have names yet. Especially one of them I fell in love with right away. The beautiful cello melody got to me immediately. Judging by Gunnar singing the lead I would guess this is his song. The other one was really nice too with Jón singing the lead.

We had the best seats in the “house” by the side of the stage. And as long as I didn’t look towards the square I even forgot how few people had come. When I did, it made me feel a little sad, but those who didn’t come will never know what they were missing. We got a beautiful concert, with Árstíðir giving their all for everyone who had found their way to the main square that day.

I loved every minute of it, happy to be there, letting the music carry me. The new songs alone made it all worthwhile, but I’m sure I would have liked it just as much otherwise. The open space and stage suited the guys and the sound was just as good as in an inside venue. O. and M. were happy as well, especially M. when Ragnar dedicated ‘Shades’ to him. 🙂 When it was over, the audience dispersed quickly, only few stayed for a chat.

Setlist (out of order)

Sunday Morning
Days and Nights
þér ég unni
And so it goes
Á meðan jörðin sefur
Heiðin
Við dagsins hnig
You just have to know of me
Ljoð í Sand
Lost in you
Brestir
The very macho Icelandic one
Júli lag
Nú gleymist ég
Jón’s new song
Shades/Tárin (dedicated to M)

Once the instruments had been packed our group got a tour of the culture center that had invited the guys. Afterwards we gathered at a nearby pizza place for a drink and chatted until it was time to say goodbye. I left with O. and M. – we made plans to go to Krakow together the following day and agreed they’d pick me up at my hotel in the morning. Goodnight everyone. See you tomorrow!

Árstíðir summer tour – 4 gigs down, 1 to go. Next stop: Krakow

if you visit a synagogue, make sure there is music

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Árstíðir – Synagoga Pod Bialym Bocianem, Wroclaw; July 14th, 2013

One of many things I love about Árstíðir is that they always manage to have brilliant sound at their concerts. No matter where at the venue you are seated, you will clearly hear every note. Working only with local sound engineers and playing vastly different venues from clubs to churches, this is an achievement to be proud of. Now if that comes together with naturally great acoustics, that’s as close to heaven as I’m ever gonna get. Their concert in Wroclaw was one such occasion.

I had flown in from Germany in the morning and taken a nice walk around the city before making my way to the venue. Wroclaw is rather pretty, especially around the main square: beautiful houses, many of them looking like they were painted recently. Picturesque is a good word to describe it. The venue was beautiful too. My first time at a synagogue. Only these guys can get me to frequently visit places of religious worship. 😉

First I needed to get by the women at the door though. They didn’t have a guestlist yet and would not quite believe me until I had spoken to and hugged Gunnar, Daníel and Linda when they poked their heads out. It was amusing on several levels and they were only doing their job anyway. Masha came to pick me up in the end. <3 The merchandise stand was outside this time, but Linda and Masha didn’t have to run it. A lady who worked for the synagogue did that. I had a job to do however, since the guys had given me a press pass. Once inside, the front row was still surprisingly empty so I took a seat there. As often I was a bit torn between wanting to make full use of the opportunity to take pictures and wanting to listen to the music. I did a bit of both, walked around to take pictures from different perspectives, but also stood still or sat down from time to time.

When the guys stepped up on the stage, Hallgrímur tripped and almost fell, but luckily caught hmself and took an elegant bow to much laughter from the others.
They had changed around the order of songs once again, starting with ‘Sunday Morning’ this time. The acoustics were unbelievable, just made for this type of music, voices and instruments rising and falling in harmony. They had me captivated from the first note and I believe it was the same for the rest of the audience. A few songs in I noticed even the photographers applauding wildly and after the concert at least one of them bought an album.

The delicate music Árstíðir make is written for places like this – it unfolds a special beauty there. All the songs go straight to the heart. In-between the guys told us the song titles and sometimes said a word or a few. Jón kept smiling at me, especially when he noticed that I tried singing along to the Icelandic songs. 🙂 He announced ‘Till hennar’ as “this is my favorite, because I wrote it”. 😀 For ‘Heyr hynma smiður’ Hallgrímur said he hoped no one would be offended since it is a Christian hymn.

All in all they were quite relaxed and in a good mood if a bit tired after ten gigs in a row. As always I just enjoyed listening to them playing and singing. There are not enough words in my vocabulary to fully describe what it feels like. I receive this music on such an emotional level that words often fail me. Melancholia and beauty are sure part of it, but by no means enough. This really is not like any other music. I’m also still trying to describe the difference between the Icelandic and the English songs for there is one that goes deeper than language or understanding words, but I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe I don’t need to, maybe I should just leave it be, close my eyes and enjoy what I am being given. The concert made me feel elated and happy – I must have smiled all the way through.

When they ended their set, everyone stood. The concert was not sold out, but those who were there knew what a gift they had been given and yelled for more. They got one more song.

Setlist (out of order)

Sunday Morning
Á meðan jörðin sefur
Heiðin
Days and Nights
Við dagsins hnig
þér ég unni
Ages
Nú gleymist ég
Brestir
You just have to know of me
Ljoð í Sand
Lost in you
Til hennar
Orð að eigin vali
Shades/Tárin

Encore
Heyr himna smiður

People walked out quickly and as usual many crowded around the merchandise stand. The guys were quite busy signing CDs. I spent the time chatting with another fan and Linda introduced me to J. who is making a documentary about them. It’s going to be a long time until it is done, but I’m sure it will be worth it. I certainly wish her the best of luck.

Árstíðir disappeared to gather their stuff and it took some time for them to come back. Eventually they did, some still munching on pastries I had brought them earlier. It was still early so they were planning to go out for diner and asked if I wanted to coke along. Of course I did. We ended up at a Greek restaurant. While their, the sound engineer from the gig dropped by mentioning he had suggested to have them play at the synagogue every Sunday. Fine with me. 🙂 After dinner, we went for drinks. Somewhere around midnight I walked back to my hotel. It was a wonderful day and night. Well worth the trip.

Árstíðir summer tour – 3 gigs down, 2 to go. Next stop: Myslowice

pictures of this concert