Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.09.2007, Side 7

1_RVK_GV_15_007_MUSIC
Opening hours see www.handknit.is
www.listasafnreykjavikur.is Tel +354 590 1200 listasafn@reykjavik.is Fax +354 590 1201
Listasafn Reykjavíkur
Reykjavik Art Museum
Open daily 10–17.
Free entrance on Thursdays.
One admission ticket is valid for three days
in Hafnarhús, Kjarvalsstaðir and Ásmundur
Sveinsson Sculpture Museum.
The Icelandic Love Corporation
Hafnarhús
31 August – 21 October
Gjörningaklúbburinn
Kjarvalsstaðir
8 September – 4 November
Eggert Pétursson
As you are reading this, the last dozen of this year’s
Iceland Airwaves participants are being announced. All
in all, over 190 bands and solo artists will perform at
the festival, which is way more than ever before. Iceland
Airwaves will take place in just over three weeks, which
means that none of us will have time to properly acquaint
ourselves with the many, many masterful acts we’ll be
able to feast our eyes upon come that long, lager-soaked
weekend in October. A great task is at hand.
The Iceland Airwaves web site, at www.icelandairwaves.
com, is a great resource in this respect, as it lists all of
the performers, links to their MySpaces and even doles
out free mp3s of most of them. Ticket holders and
music enthusiasts – now is your cue to plop yourselves
down in front of a computer, note-pad and alcoholic
beverage in hand. Have a ball making your schedule,
and enjoy the anticipation build-up, when you discover
yet another great track from some oddly named fucks
you’ve never heard of. And if you discover something you
loathe on the bill, you can use your advantage to stock
up on rotten eggs and snappy comments for heckling.
Be creative: personalise! Those shiny promo pics and
blatantly boastful bios are more useful than you think.
But do not throw anything at the Airwaves-newcomers
listed below, for they are all awesome. See:
Bertel
These kids from Seltjarnarnes have been getting it on for
a while now, and they’ve been getting considerably better
with every passing month. Reminiscent of old Icelandic
punk circa “Rokk í Reykjavík” (the hugely influential
1982 documentary, now mostly known for featuring
a very young Björk freaking out), mixed with Emiliana
Torrini’s pronunciation and some very early-21st Gang
of Four-isms. Also: rowdy fun concert stuff.
FM Belfast
FM Belfast’s show at last year’s Iceland Airwaves was
truly the stuff of legends, as those in attendance will
attest to. They raised hell at Pravda, so much in fact
that the place literally burned down (give or take a few
months) and frankly isn’t there anymore. They have
long been staples of the 101 Reykjavík music scene,
but unlike many of their contenders actually have the
tunes and showmanship to back up their infamy. Expect
a great homecoming show at Airwaves, since 2/3rds of
the band is currently residing in New York, attending
art school. What else.
Hraun
Hraun will surprise you at Airwaves. Even though they
only released their début this spring, Hraun is indeed one
of Iceland’s veteran bands. Since Hraun’s inception, they
have played an untold number of shows (that usually
drag to an untold amount of hours in length) around
the country, usually leaving behind a trail of satisfied,
tired and drunk folks. Describing their performances
as “party concerts” – they have mastered the art of
sneaking up on you from behind, usually starting with
low-key versions of their folksy original material and
climaxing a couple of hours later in a frenzy of joyous
Falco covers.
Grizzly Bear
Don’t believe the hype! Take a listen for yourself and
take in the wisdom that Grizzly Bear are truly one of
the most pleasurable things to happen in to the whole
of left-field music in a long time. And if the left field
doesn’t appeal to you, you should still check ‘em out, as
they have tunes by the bucket load and aren’t afraid to
use them either. As much as their recorded output has
been raved about for the past months, their live shows
are receiving even uppier thumbs from those who’ve
had the pleasure of witnessing. As far as I’m concerned,
Grizzly Bear are this year’s “Airwaves must”, and I’ll wait
in line for a long time to see them.
Smoosh
The first thing you will learn about Smoosh is that the
band is comprised of a pair of sisters in their early teens
(13 and 15 years old, respectively) who have been writ-
ing and recording songs under the guidance of Death
Cab for Cutie drummer Jason McGerr for the last seven
years. This is truly interesting, but there’s so much more
to it than that. Like a younger Jakobínarína, minus the
abundance of arrogance and Y-chromosomes, Smoosh
play perfect pop tunes filtered through some rocking
influences and the joyous innocence that accompanies
their young age. Currently touring the US with Bloc
Party, Smoosh will whip Airwaves crowds into a frenzy
come October. Just you see.
Ra Ra Riot
This unfortunate band gained their biggest surge of
publicity for all the wrong reasons. Ra Ra Riot’s music
is of the infectious variety, tuneful popage rammed
through a blender of American indie-influences, so
they were already making waves (and booked to play
Airwaves) when tragedy struck the band last June.
Songwriter, founding member and excellent drummer
John Pike drowned while apparently on the way home
after an aftershow party. After some speculation, the
band announced they would keep going, not the least
to honour Pike’s vision and memory. A truly sad story,
but what’s important is that Ra Ra Riot is an amazing
live band (as I witnessed at SXSW), and their music is
genuinely good.
Countdown to Airwaves: 4 Weeks
Text by Haukur S. Magnússon Photo by Leó Stefánsson
Ticket holders and music en-
thusiasts – now is your cue to
plop yourselves down in front
of a computer, note-pad and
alcoholic beverage in hand.
Fast, reliable, worldwide money transfer.
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