Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.01.2006, Blaðsíða 36
Slightly exhausted on the last day of Christmas,
the Grapevine made it out to Laugardalshöll for a
corporate-sponsored, all ages concert, which, were
it not one night before the biggest concert of the
year, would have had a standout line-up. Not that
the crowd exactly knew this: few of the 2,000 or so
on hand were over 16, and as I interviewed them,
none could identify which bands had played or
were playing, except a universal recognition of the
reggae band Hjálmar.
It was to be an awkward night. The stadium,
only one-third full, felt as lonely as something Gus
Van Sant might portray, and the crowd, while for
the most part well-mannered, admitted that they
were there because there was simply nothing else
to do. As much as it may have been 13 years too
late, for all practical purposes, we were watching
the filming of Smells Like Teen Spirit, the crowd
too bored to even mumble “entertain us.”
Hjálmar did their best with the crowd, and
had the easiest time, though they never cut loose
or allowed for sing alongs or even full vocals.
A good deal more surprising was the fact that
the usually dark and sophisticated Bang Gang
fit in like an updated Beavis. Joined on stage by
members of Ensími, the extended line up went
a long way to transform the ambitions of Barði
Jóhannsson’s low tempo melodies beyond their
sinister moody feel. While it failed to impress the
crowd, this at least allowed for some brilliant rants
from Barði – he brought the act of the idiot savant
to perfection, and managed to further alienate
what looked to be the most disengaged crowd of
teenagers in the world.
Mínus closed the night. Despite, or even
due to, their long lay off, Mínus held back on the
musicianship. In fact, the tightest band in Iceland
seemed a bit clotted. It was therefore a surprise to
see Krummi, the often slightly jaded and reclusive
lead singer, take such complete control of a crowd
that had otherwise lost its will to even be bored.
Krummi demonstrated a vocal and emotional
range that we’ve never seen from him – often over-
shadowed by a stand-out band, the rested Krummi
is flat out as good as it gets in hard rock.
Again, it may have been lost on the crowd,
who called for an encore after Mínus’s third song,
but got more interested in fighting each other by
the fifth.
By Sveinn Birkir Björnsson and Bart Cameron
Photos by Gúndi
Entertain Us
where
whO
whEN
Laugardalshöll
Bang Gang,
Mínus, Hjálmar,
Brain Police,
Beatmakin
Troopa and
Hairdoctor
January 6th
2006
ka
ld
al
jó
s
20
06
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