Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.08.2005, Blaðsíða 42

Despite being probably the world’s
second best-known rapper (after
Eminem), Snoop Dogg still saw
reason to end his European tour
with a quick stop in Iceland. The
mainly sub-16-year-old crowd came
a bit as a surprise when I entered the
ridiculously large Egilshöll stadium.
I felt overdressed as insanely short
skirts sitting on bodies yet to grow
hips appeared to be the norm.
Once I’d set my worries about
how I was dressed aside, I waited for
the show to start. And then I waited
a bit more. And when a full hour had
passed Icelandic rap group Forgotten
Lores came on stage.
Widely considered one of
Iceland’s best, they at least
proved to be an ambitious
group, supported by a lot of
instrumentalists including
a trombone player. Visibly
enjoying themselves, FL
jumped around the stage
in true hip-hop fashion
and ran through a number
of decent songs. Between
songs they acted out short
skits that unfortunately
reminded me of Skrekkur,
Reykjavík’s secondary
school talent competition.
This was countered by
original and strong grooves
and impressive word-
play from rapper Birkir.
However, the sound did
FL no justice, the added
trombone was never heard, the
keyboards drowned in too much bass
and there was no way of following
FL’s rhymes a long way as they
tended to give way to the drumming.
Bad sound actually turned out to be
the main theme of the night.
Icelandic reggae-kings Hjálmar
were next on stage. Much like
Forgotten Lores they put some extra
effort into their show that night,
expanding their normal line-up to
include a brass section. That gesture
was nice, adding a lot of flavour
to Hjálmar’s sometimes risk-free
approach to reggae. I’ll admit I’m
not a huge fan of Hjálmar but it’s
hard to deny they’re very talented
performers and fun to watch,
especially because of the bass player’s
intimate and bodily relationship with
the music, displayed in a tribal-like
dance. But the sound didn’t pick up,
and Hjálmar actually ran through a
whole God damn song without the
lead singer ever being heard. Can it
be that the mixer-man simply didn’t
grasp the fact that for one song
organ-player Siggi sang, instead of
guitarist Kiddi? Why didn’t someone
rush on stage and replace the faulty
microphone, if that was the case?
Why did Hjálmar have to fall victim
to such a horrendous sound system?
Why did the audience have to put up
with this shit?
Rap group Hæsta hendin were
the last of the supporting acts
C
harlie S
trand
SNOOP
DOGG
SNOOP DOGG,
HÆSTA HENDIN,
HJÁLMAR,
FORGOTTEN LORES
EGILSHÖLL STADIUM,
JULY 17
PIMP MY COUNTRY
LIVE MUSIC REVIEWS
G
úndi
Snoop Dogg delighted to hear his name
chanted. Over and over.
“Alright, who threw that 40?”
42