Category Archives: gigs

Iceland Affair

In a small town nestled in the middle of Connecticut there resides a peculiar lady. She raises bats, tends to porcupines, and single handedly puts on the second largest Icelandic festival in the U.S. Gerri Griswald is her name, and Iceland Affair is her festival. The festival will be happening October 18th in Winchester center, CT at the Winchester Grange.

Iceland affair began 5 years ago when Gerri decided to bring some of the acts that had entertained her travel guides in Iceland back to the states. Relying on donations and a very forgiving husband, Gerri has been putting the festival on ever since slowly bringing more and more Icelandic talent stateside so that people who may not be able to make it to the island could experience it’s wonders here.

While some would be pleased with just a concert, Gerri has put together a day of presentations including Icelando-centric falconry, goat raising, ornithology, nature and geological talks. As well as authors presenting on things such as the Icelandic sagas, and the history of Icelandic music. To learn more about the presenters, click the image below.

From left to right, Brian Bradley (Falconer), Dr. Gunni (Musician/author of Blue Eyed pop), Jóhanna Bergmann Þorvaldsdóttir (Goat farming and preservation), Jóhann Óli Hilmarsson (photographer, ornithologist), Jón Baldur Hlíðberg (Naturist, illustrator), Nancy Marie Brown (expert on the sagas, author), Tom Alena (Geologist, meteorologist, entertaining lecturer)

And of course, how could one celebrate Iceland without music. The festival ends with the fire and ice music festival at Infinity hall in Norfolk, CT. The concert consists of 5 well known Iceland artists, ranging from indie, to jazz and folk.

From left to right, Svavar Knútur, Lay Low, Snorri Helgeson, Agnes Erna, Kristjana Stefánsdóttir, Myrra Rós, and Bjorn Thoroddsen. Click on their names to learn more about them. While the festival is free for the most part, the concert requires the purchase of tickets, which are selling out quickly, so learn more and get your’s here.

Ragnaarbastiaan.com and Theory of Whatever records are pleased to help out with this years festival, and even more pleased to be attending. So if you’d like to learn more about Iceland, hear some fantastic Icelandic music, this is the festival for you. For us it’s the perfect appetizer for the upcoming Iceland Airwaves. Go to Iceland Affair to learn more including directions and places to stay while attending. And we’ll see you there.

Icelandic Artists of Airwaves 2014

6 Replies

It’s almost time, and tickets are almost gone, so I would suggest getting off your duffer and getting them. Iceland Airwaves 2014 is around the corner, and of the 215 or so bands performing this year, 145 of them are Icelandic.

I’ve sorted the musicians loosely by genres, very loosely. Don’t judge, there are a lot of bands that walk the line between categories, but I think I’ve done an alright job of making it easy for you to find something you’ll dig. Clicking on the band name will take you either to a blog post I’ve done on the musician, or to a page with their music or more info. To see the full international list of all artists at the festival and for more info, check out the Iceland Airwaves website. And you can purchases packages for the festival here, at Iceland Air.

Last year’s band list is located here, and if you are new to Airwaves and want to learn more, here is a list of my previous posts on the festival. Here, you will find my recap posts of last years festival as well.

So here are the Icelandic bands so far:

Electronic / Dance / DJ

Ambátt	Árni²	Berndsen	DADA
Disa	dj.flugvél og geimskip	DJ Margeir	East of my Youth
Exos	FM Belfast	Fufanu	FURA
Futuregrapher	Ghostigital	HaZar	Hermigervill
Housekell	Kött Grá Pje	Kippi Kaninus	LaFontaine
Lily the Kid	M-band	Nolo	Prins Póló
Ruxpin	Samaris	Skurken	Stereo Hypnosis
Sykur	Tonik	Thor	Vök
Yamaho

Experimental / Atmospheric / Non-dance Electronic

Auxpan	Einarlndra	Gervisykur	Good Moon Deer
Kiasmos	Krakkkbot	Octal	Reptilicus
T.V.Thoranna Björnsdóttir & Valtýr Björn Thors	Vindva Mei	Yagya

Indie Rock / Rock / Disco

1860	Agent Fresco	Ásgeir	Benny Crespo’s Gang
Bird	Boogie Trouble	Brain Police	CeaseTone
Halleluwah	Hide Your Kids	Himbrimi	Júníus Meyvant
Just Another Snake Cult	Kajak	Kiriyama Family	Lára Rúnars
Leaves	Low Roar	Lucy in Blue	Mafama
Mammút	Ourlives	Oyama	Pétur Ben
Rökkurró	Rúnar Þórisson	RVK Soundsystem	Sin Fang
Sometime	Steinar	Una Stef	Uni Stefson
Útidúr	Védís Hervör	The Vintage Caravan	Vio

Jazz / Folk / Reggae / Singer/songwriter

Amabadama	Árstíðir	Atónal Blús	Geislar
Hafdís Huld	Hymnalaya	Íkorni	Kaleo
Klassart	Kría Brekkan	Lay Low	Moses Hightower
Mr. Silla	Mugison	My Bubba	Ojba Rasta
Ólöf Arnalds	Sindri Eldon & The Ways	Sísý Ey	Snorri Helgason
Sóley	Valdimar	Var	Ylja
Þórir Georg	Ylja

Punk / Metal / Hardcore

AMFJ	Beneath	Börn	Conflictions	Dimma
Döpur	Elín Helena	Endless Dark	Grísalappalísa	In the Company of Men
Kimono	Kontinuum	Kælan Mikla	Mass
Momentum	Muck	Ophidian I	Pink Street Boys
Strigaskór nr 42	Svartidauði

Hip Hop / Rap

Alvia Islandia	CELL7	Emmsjé Gauti	Epic Rain
Gísli Pálmi	IntroBeats	Lord Pusswhip	Reykjavíkurdætur
Shades of Reykjavik	Úlfur Úlfur	Young Karen

Other stuffs or really hard to classify

Ásta F Sigurðardóttir – Poet	Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl – Poet	Icelandic Symphony Orchestra
Inferno-5	Kira Kira – Musician	Óbó – Musician
Sigurbjörg Þrastardóttir – Poet	Sjón -Poet

The Soundcloud playlist for Iceland Airwaves 2014:

ATP Iceland

Leave a reply

Wow, just wow. Shellac and Portishead have killed it for me, excellent doesn’t begin to describe how much I enjoyed their performances.

The night started out rainy, and grew to even rainier as we continued. But the bands were going at it with a vengeance, Low put on one of the highest energy sets I’ve seen from them, and Shellac just upped the anti. Kurt Vile & the Violators was mellow and matched the outside rain well, and Mogwai is Mogwai. They’ve become more docile in years and I miss them completely going nuts on stage, but the wall of sound was forceful, and I actually put in the ole earplugs.Spiritualized did an acoustic set with the gals from Amiina backing them up. It was in a theater setting and sounded quite nice.

The clouds opened up and Friday night was quite pleasant. I may have been the only guy in shorts, but it’s summer so that’s how it goes. The night started off with Sóley’s return, some great new stuff and of course the classics. Liars instantly notched up the high energy, and Slowdive’s performace was fantastic.

Portishead was amazing, so perfect, the sound, the video, everything about it was fantastic. It still looked like twilight outside, and there was a giant moon hovering in the sky as we left the show adding to the surreal ambiance they created.

There are plenty more pictures on my Flickr account for you to gaze at. Last night tonight here we go.

And the bands keep coming for Airwaves ’14

Leave a reply

Another chunk o’bands have been released. This brings the announced total to 124, 63 of which are Icelandic. A lot of Icelandic veterans playing this year such as Sóley, Prins Póló, For a Minor Reflection and Validmar, and there are even more newbies that I look forward to hearing.

As the list is getting bigger, I am going to break down my Iceland Airwaves reference page into a few more categories hopefully later today, definitely by the end of the weekend.

You can see the full line up On the Iceland Airwaves site. And you can see the broad genre breakdown of the Icelandic artists on my Iceland Airwaves 2014 page. You can read all my posts on Iceland Airwaves here, and see my photos from 2013 here.

I have a few hopeful Icelandic bands I am still holding out for such as Knife Fights, Ghostigital and Boogie trouble, but I am really enjoying the roster so far.

So get your tickets, it always sells out, and the longer you wait, the less options you will have for hotels and housing, it definitely is one festival where the more of an early bird you are, the better your choices are.

New Airwaves Bands

Leave a reply

Júlía from Oyama’s green fingers dancing away

Woo-a-hoo. Another chunk O’ bands have been announced for Airwaves 2014. And I’m extremely pleased as there are a lot of Icelandic bands I haven’t heard yet, and the ones I have are classic. So far, there are 61 bands that have been announced, 40 of which are Icelandic.

Click here to go to my updated my Iceland Airwaves page sorted by genre, and now with a new category for the Hardcore and Metal bands.

Non Icelandic bands include Future Islands, Farao, Emilie Nicolas, and The War on Drugs will be closing the festival with the Flaming lips. Also, Zhala, Spray Paint, and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard will be there.

This round of bands goes to the Icelanders though. There are so many good bands coming, Oyama will be there. And Rökkurró as well. Þórir Georg, Kaleo, Endless Dark, Kippi Kaninus, Brain Police, Beneath, Fufanu, Epic Rain, Skurken, AMFJ, Kontinuum, Ophidian I, Var, Atónal Blús, Mafama, Vio, Lucy in Blue and Conflictions as well.

Links to all the Icelandic bands music will be on my Iceland Airwaves page, and you can learn more about the festival here as well as see the entire line up on the Iceland Airwaves official website. The festival is definitely going to be another goodun!

And I leave you with Þórir Georg’s cover of Heya but Outkast. It’s an oldie, but I love it:

Taste of Iceland 2014 – Boston

1 Reply

For my post on the Reykjavik Calling concert on May 15th. Click here.

Taste of Iceland is coming back to Boston this week with food, art, and of course the free concert, Reykjavik Calling. The event goes March 14th through the 18th, with Reykjavik Calling happening Saturday, March 15th.

Iceland Naturally has been putting Taste of Iceland on for 10 years. A cooperative marketing outfit, Iceland Naturally promotes all things Icelandic and Taste of Iceland is their signature event. Supported by a large community of Icelandic sponsors such as Icelandair, Icelandic Group, Islandsbanki, Reyka Vodka, City of Reykjavik, Icelandic Glacial Water, Blue Lagoon, Keflavik International Airport (KEF), Landsvirkjun, Promote Iceland, and the Government of Iceland, the event brings an Icelandic representation of cuisine, art, literature, and music to North America.

This year along with the concert at the Middle East Club, there is a Reyka vodka cocktail class at the Liberty Hotel, a Photography exhibit the 555 Gallery, and all event long you can sample Icelandic cuisine at Rialto. Go here to read more about these events and RSVP as some events are limited.

Every year Taste of Iceland delivers different artists from Iceland to North America for a concert called Reykjavik Calling. The artists not only play their own material, but pair with local artists creating interesting collaborations. They coordinate with local radio stations, in Boston’s case WERS, to pair the musicians and this year Boston will see The Love Experiment and Skinny Bones on stage.

In the past, acts such as Lay Low, Pétur Ben, Snorri Helgason and Sóley have all played. And this year, Retro Stefson, Sin Fang and Hermigervill are playing. All three musicians deserve their own write up, but as that would make for a rather long blog post I’ve just put a snippet and links to more. If you click on their names it will take you to their Soundcloud pages, and I’ve embedded my favorite tracks available via Soundcloud above the artist.

Retro Stefson are a supergroup of sorts, they’ve grown and adapted over the years, but their live gigs still remain high energy and fun. And while the members of the band have branched out into things of their own, they always come back together to entertain the masses.

Hermigervill, AKA Sveinbjörn Thorarensenis a remix master. He has remixed quite a few of Iceland’s top artists, as well as creating original sounds. His original work reminds me of the carefree and happy days of BS2000 and it’s enjoyable pretty much anywhere you’re listening to it.

I’ve written about Sin Fang before and every year I see him at Airwaves he’s running around mad playing as often as he can or selling artwork. His new album, Flowers, justifiably has earned accolades across the globe, and I hear he’s been playing new material all over Reykjavik so I’m hoping he brings the new stuff down here.

The Concert is Saturday March 15th. Doors are at 8pm, gig starts at 9. It’s free so I suggest you show up earlier than later, and RSVP here. This really is a powerhouse of Icelandic musicians, and the possible collaborations between the artists could make for quite the concert. If you are into all things Icelandic I also suggest you follow Iceland Naturally on Facebook as they frequently keep you informed of Icelandic things that may be happening around where you live.

Taste of Iceland only gets to come to a select cities here in North America, so Bostonites, get out and enjoy what they have to offer. For all the details, times, RSVP’s and dinner reservations, go here.

Hermigervill was ever so kind as to answer my 4 nonsensical questions:

1. What is your favorite off-venue Airwaves joint to jam at? There are now so many off-venues at Iceland Airwaves, it’s hard to pick! Last year, Kex Hostel hosted a really good program, and I had a very memorable show there.

2. If you combine all of your favorite colors, what do you get? I get a song. I see colours when I make music.

3. What are 3 of your favorite little known bands of Icelandic origin? a) “Þú & Ég” was a great 70’s disco thing which was big here, but never made it out of the country, despite several attempts. b) “Grísalappalísa” is a raw punky rock kind of band, which usually isn’t my cup of tea, but there is some special energy going on there, especially during their phenomenal live shows. I just did a remix for them which should be out soon. c) “Highlands” is a new project consisting of my friend and bandmate Logi Pedro and singer Karin Sveinsdóttir. This will be big, that’s all I can say!

4. If you could be any creature playing your favorite song, what would the creature be? And what is the song? Any kind of bird. I love birds, and spent my childhood summers on a remote island, in close proximity to arctic terns, puffins and eider ducks. This bird would probably be playing the Blade Runner soundtrack by Vangelis.

Iceland Airwaves 2014

Leave a reply

And so it begins, the steady, slow, and suspenseful drip of revealed artists for Iceland Airwaves 2014 has begun. Yes the festival is nearly still on the other side of the sun but names have been released and tickets are available.

Just like last year, I will be doing blog posts on the Icelandic bands involved, as well as maintaining a page with links to all the Icelandic bands music. You can see the 150 Icelandic bands that played last year here.

Iceland Airwaves is my favorite music festival of the year. Instead of having a field or pit with competing outdoor stages, the gigs are in actual venues spread throughout Reykjavik. You are surrounded by musical choices from early afternoon to the early morning of the next day, in cozy joints like the Kex hostel, underground bars such as Bar 11, and of course larger event halls such as Harpa. Yet you can stop to relax and take in the beautiful country you’re in at any time. And while you may think going to a music festival in Iceland is cost prohibitive, Icelandair nicely wraps up package deals with prices ranging from the budget minded to the luxury seeking.

So, the first 17 bands that have been announced, The Icelandic bands announced are: Mammút, Samaris, Grísalappalísa, Muck, Snorri Helgason, Tonik, Vök, Just Another Snake Cult and Highlands. Bands from other parts of the world are: East Inda Youth, Jungle, La Femme, Jaakko Eino Kalevi, Tiny Ruins, John Wizards, and Blaenavon.

According to the Iceland Airwaves website, there are two, yes TWO headlining bands. The Flaming lips have been revealed, but we’re all going to have to wait on baited breath for the reveal of the other. Typically band announcements get better and better as the year goes on, so starting off with this band really makes one wonder what the festival has up its sleeve.

If you want to see my photos from last year’s festival you can go here. And if you would like to read all of my blog posts from last year’s festival go here.

Iceland Airwaves recap part 2 – annual fun and off-venue

1 Reply

There are certain bands and events that have become staples of Iceland Airwaves for me. I almost look just as forward to these events as I do the festival itself.

Off venue performances are key to the daytime schedule. Scaled down and sometimes more intimate; these performances happen in record shops, coffee houses and even retail outfits playing to the street. Available to everyone in Reykjavik, not just the wristbanded folk, it’s a good opportunity to see the bands play smaller sets. This year there were over 200 Icelandic artists playing the approximate 650 performances.

Pétur hallgrimsson and John Grant at Kvosin

I caught a laid back John Grant set. John Grant is a big sweetheart so seeing him at an off venue is made even more special as his quick wit and charming demeanor really shine. His keyboardists was sick for the performance so it was just him and Pétur on stage. That strong baritone voice that could melt rock combined with Pétur’s extremely talented guitar made the Kvosin basement show fantastic. We even got a teaser off the new album as during a keyboard snafu, he made up a new tune about evening time murders and broken keyboards.

I also caught Ghostigital at an off-venue event. I fucking love this band, consisting of Einar Örn Benediktsson of Sugarcubes, and Curver Thoroddson, an amazing mixer who has worked with bands such as Kimono and Sigur Rós, these two always put on amazingly chaotic shows. Every year Einar Örn is in rare form precisely spazzing out with a microphone, ranting about being alone and fuzzy televisions, all while Curver is at the helm tweaking knobs and distorting the mic making a perfect concoction of organized and blissful chaos.

The gig happened at the top Harpa with the sun setting through the prisms of glass while Einer Örn began in a mexican wrestling mask that was quickly shaken off revealing a face with multitudes of expression topping off their quick but potent set. I’m pretty sure everyone walked away very satisfied they saw them, I definitely was.

Another band I always seek out is FM Belfast. Over the years they have become more and more known to the world off the Iceland rock, and their shows are energetic interactions. Árni, Lóa and crew really know how to throw a party, and this year was no exception. From making 500+ people crouch on their knees mid set, to streamers and a pre-emptive depanting on stage, these guys know how to include the audience in on all the fun.

Entire Harpa audience on the ground

I was really impressed with Árni Vilhjálmsson this year as he brought that ability to naturally interact with the audience to both Nini Wilson and FM Belfast. With two completely different bands and atmospheres, his natural ability to break down that performer/audience barrier is spectacular.

Æla is another guilty pleasure of mine. And as of yet, they’ve never disappointed. Typically cross-dressed, they are a band that definitely could not do a super bowl halftime event. Copious amounts of nipple slippage, riding on the backs of the crowd as they sing away, and tux stripping to reveal a dress-clad singing member are all standard fair at an Æla gig.

at one point in the night, the band declared their love for, and pleaded for all the homosexuals in the crowd to come dance with them at the front of the stage. Æla is fun and reminds me of the ole punk-rock standard of just rock out with your cock….

There is another festival that runs parallel to Airwaves, and it was at Bravó this year. RafWaves is the love child of Ísar Logi Arnarsson and this year with over 30 local artists and DJ’s spread over two nights it was a great way to fill in and end both nights. If the crowds get to be too much for you on the main drag and you just want to let your hair down and dance, I suggest you check out their website and plan to attend next year.

yet again, these annual performances did not disappoint. the off-venue crowds were quite a bit larger this year, so I did have to miss a few performances I would have liked to have seen. But over all my list was checked off and I didn’t go without at any point.

Airwaves ’13 recap part 1-The new

1 Reply

Pétur Ben at KEX

Now for the recap on Airwaves, Yes initially I was going to do a day by day, yes I was ambitious. No, after day 1, it didn’t happen. So, I am going to do a couple blog posts on stuff that was new to me, and stuff I dug.

To start off, Kudos to the Iceland Airwaves staff and crew. This was the smoothest I’ve seen it run, and I really appreciate how much help they are, even to us small potatoes that dig music and blog about it out of fun and not as our careers. So, thank you guys for another great year.

As with all 5 years that I’ve attended, there was good, and there was notsogood. The high points out numbered the rare low points and it’s easy to call this my favorite music festival of the year.

One of the highlights was the off-venue schedule being added to the app. It really made picking a band during the middle of the day a lot easier, and if the off-venue performance you wanted was too crowded, it was easy to pick something else. And this year that became more important than in the past, as it seemed the off venues were packed almost all the time, and quick changes of plans were necessary.

DJ. flugvél og geimskip

My goal was to focus on Icelandic bands that I had not heard before, I relied heavily on the suggestions other Icelandic musicians and friends, and regardless of their genre I made an attempt to see them play. I did make an exception to my rule in order to see Zola Jesus, FM Belfast, and John Grant. But all the other bands on my schedule were Icelandic, and/or bands I had seen once or twice. And with over 200 of them rarely did I have a time where I couldn’t find something to see.

Top 3 new bands I had not seen before were Boogie Trouble, Oyama, and Hudson Wayne. Oyama was on my list based on the blog I did about them, and Boogie trouble was a must see, as a lot of Icelandic friends and musicians recommended I not miss their gig.

Boogie Trouble at Hressó

Boogie trouble’s upbeat music came in second only to their lead singers energy and charisma. She was laughing, dancing around the place, and the entire band jammed away at both gigs I attended. Two entirely different crowds for those shows, and yet the band created the same party like atmosphere in both situations. They played the first day I was in town at Lucky Records, and again at Hressó near the end of the festival. Well worth the recommends they received, and their cover of Britney Spear’s Toxic is not to be missed.

While so called “shoe-gazing” music isn’t typically my jam, I was excited to see Oyama, as I like the music I’ve heard and was interested to see how their live show would turn out. I also saw Oyama twice, once in front of the 12 Tónar shop at Harpa, and once at the Amsterdam bar the last night of Airwaves.

Oyama rockin the walls of Harpa

The off-venue gig at Harpa turned scandalous, as the band was just too wild and crazy for the stone cold walls, and as their music filled the event hall, it breached the serenity of the Ólafur Arnalds Symphony experience, causing a panicked man to whisper pleas into Úlfur’s ear to stop briefly to allow the symphony to end in peace. Ok, not that dramatic, but the band did have to stop briefly, you can read more about it here.

Oyama at Amsterdam

At both sets the band played energetically and together, the smaller set at Harpa was definitely more mellow than the on-venue set at Amsterdam. And at the Amsterdam set I was really impressed with Júlía, who obviously was having issues with her voice, and yet it came out strong, non-wavering, and almost pitch perfect the entire set. the Amsterdam set was more rowdy, and there was nothing shoe-gazing about the guitar and bass trio break-down during one of their first few songs. I highly enjoyed the new tracks they premiered during their set.

Hudson Wayne at Iðnó

Hudson Wayne gets a golden star as being one of the only bands I’ve ever heard at Iðnó where I thought the sound quality was great. They were so spot on it would be hard to believe they were Icelanders and not from the Mid Western part of the U.S. They appeared to be having almost more fun than the audience. So, aside from the over-priced beer at Iðnó, I stayed the entire set and really enjoyed myself. Was very glad to finally hear them play.

Pétur Ben at KEX

I’ve seen Pétur Ben perform before, but not the newer darker catalog he has, and not with a full band. So it was great to make it to Kex and hear him play full on. Even though the new album is quite a bit darker, the music came off strong and I really dug the new live tracks.

Once again, Kex Hostel had KEXP hanging around, doing live streams of the music during the entire festival. If you want to hear the live sets they recorded, I suggest heading over here to give them a listen. They all work incredibly hard every year exposing new acts and bringing music from Iceland to the United States.

Samaris

Sadly, the one set of new artists that turned out not so well was the Samaris show at Gamli Bio. There were massive tech issues from the beginning, and the band looked really out of sorts and discombobulated in their performance. I wish I could have seen them at another gig, as I was really excited to catch their act. So until I do see them again, I am holding off judgement on their live act.

Nini Wilson at Harpa

Last but not least by any means, another great new band was Nini Wilson. Comprised of Örn Ingi Ágústsson from Seabear on guitar, Árni Vilhjálmsson of FM Belfast doing vocals and guitar, and Björn Stefánsson on drums. Their music was made public only days before the festival, and yet there still was a near full venue waiting to hear what they had to offer. After taking a moment to relax via a bottle of Lavender oil, which they passed around for the crowd to inhale, Nini Wilson began a very tight set of Folk-ish rock, moving through the set entertaining themselves and the audience with quips about being naked, not being naked and of course, a few rock guitar solos intermixed. Very entertaining and I wish the set had been longer as it was one of the more enjoyable ones of the festival. Can’t wait to hear what else they have in store.

You can click any picture above to see my entire photo set from Airwaves this year.

Day 1

1 Reply

Officially day one of Iceland Airwaves. For me, it started with Vigri and ended with FM Belfast, and a lot in between. I took a fair amount of pics, and instead of flooding my blog with them, I have created a set for Airwaves on my Flickr Account.

Vigri’s off-venue set at Backpackers was a good way to start. Now a 4 piece, they played some of their old catalog, and even with sustainability issues, the endured. They mentioned a new album in the works, and played a few new tracks, most notable was the set ending “I Follow,” a longer track with a great build up and fantastic ending.

Next up was the Kimono off-venue show at Bar 11. They also had a few new songs to try out on the crowd, there is more of an electronic element now and I quite like it.

They ended the set with a remixed extended version of Black. and by remixed and extended, I mean Kjartan thundered away on drums for a very long time while Alison and Gylfi laughed about not playing.

Next up was Metz, I had gone outside for a brief minute after the Kimono show, and when I returned to see Metz the basement was so packed people were on the stairs huddled down trying to see. Sitting outside I could hear them and it was nuts. Luckily I got in to see the last track, and as people were being tossed up into the ceiling the band was sweatily bouncing around the stage.

After Metz, it was back upstairs to hear Kajak play. Very energetic duo with keys and a Korg. Trippy lyrics backed by dance and rock beats, the windows were rattling from all the energy.

This ended the off-venue part of the day for me, and it was time to quickly grab a Pylsa and head over to the YLJA gig.

I went in the wrong door and ended up at DJ Flugvél og Geimskip’s show. She was so happy and as I stayed for a few songs I couldn’t help but smile. Very high pitched voice and dance beats, with fog and a rotating light ball, very creative and entertaining.

YLJA was next door. A 5 piece consisting of 2 chanteuses surrounded by three talented guys. Very soothing folk rock, and they played well together.

Next, after a brief musical intermission with friends, we headed off to see Þóranna Dögg Björnsdóttir. It was a audio visual set with a large backdrop of morphing images combined with audio cues. Relaxing and surreal.

Stroff was next, these guys were on my list of bands to see. Very 90’s west coast America feel to them and with only a few technical issues they played a great set at Amsterdam.

After Stroff back to Harpa we went, it was time to see FM Belfast, we were a bit late so we had to sit in the back of the crowd, but FM Belfast was doing what they do best, throwing a party. Masses of people jumping up and down, in the photo above you can actually see the masses crouched down on their knees eagerly waiting for the band to cue them explode into dancing happiness. There were streamers, confetti and sorts of mayhem. They always seem to have a lot of fun, and they did not disappoint last night.

Ragnaar's Icelandic Music Blog

Icelandic musicians and the music they play

Category Archives: gigs

Iceland Affair

Icelandic Artists of Airwaves 2014

ATP Iceland

And the bands keep coming for Airwaves ’14

New Airwaves Bands

Taste of Iceland 2014 – Boston

Iceland Airwaves 2014

Iceland Airwaves recap part 2 – annual fun and off-venue

Airwaves ’13 recap part 1-The new

Day 1

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: