Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.02.2007, Blaðsíða 19

REYKJAVÍK_GRAPEVINE_ISSUE 0_007_REVIEWS/MUSIC/CDS_10_REYKJAVÍK_GRAPEVINE_ISSUE 0_007_REVIEWS/MUSIC/LIVE
No matter what anyone tells you, the 101
Reykjavík nightlife scene is druggy, and it is a
cousin of both tears and regrets. People who
frequent clubs and bars during the weekend
are most likely found in the city’s movie thea-
tres on Sunday nights, as those give a great
excuse to not talk at all for two hours or so.
Preferably more.
What we have here is a city filled with
unhappy, traffic-jammed, annoyed folk, that
magically transform into party-hat wearing,
breast-flashing Vikings come Friday night.
And these are chemicals at work, the peo-
ple and the alcohol and the nicotine (I don’t
have a valid source for this, but it is often
suggested that Iceland has the highest ratio
of weekend-only smokers in the world).
So, this is not a clean-living, healthy city,
and its inhabitants are anything but bal-
anced. And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
It makes for some decent nights out, as vapid
vacantness and desperation are bound to
breed decadence; what those out after the
hours of 1am on a Saturday are surely look-
ing for. So I was surprised when told by a
veteran of the 101 dance music scene, at the
site of a show by recently revered techno-
hipsters Booka Shade, that he could “hardly
spot any drugs on anyone.” I had just as-
sumed otherwise, going by what I thought I
knew.
See, I am naïve. I am from the country-
side, and I have no idea how to tell if anyone
is sorted for E’s and whizz. Where I come
from, we stick to beer and glue-sniffing. Add
to that the fact that I decided on reviewing
the Booka Shade show in question out of cu-
riosity; because I hadn’t really attended such
an event up until then and thought it would
provide ample opportunity to acquaint my-
self with Reykjavík’s dance music culture,
and dance music in general. How can you
tell, I asked, and he answered that he usually
just could. “You learn to notice. Tonight is
marked by a notable absence of some of the
drug crowd that I’m used to seeing at these
happenings.”
What he was perhaps insinuating was
that Booka Shade, surprise techno superstars
and the night’s headliners, were appealing
to a much wider crowd than these dance-
offs usually do. And that seemed obvious to
me upon further inspection. Among those
present was an unusually high (I’m told)
percentage of people rarely seen outside
of Reykjavík’s rock clubs. People wearing
Motörhead T-shirts. This is clearly techno for
the masses, as was made abundantly clear as
the night progressed.
As I entered Gaukurinn, a crowd pulsat-
ed. It cheered as it flung its arms into the
air. Some lights blinked, and blinked. All this
commotion was in order to prove that said
crowd was in fact “ready for Booka Shade!”
as had been repeatedly asked by a blonde
woman standing on a stage more accus-
tomed to hosting shitty Icelandic pop-rock
outfits than Teutonic techno giants. After
untold hours of well-received warm-ups
from popular local artists such as FM Belfast,
Hairdoctor and Jack Schidt, Booka Shade’s
appearance was finally imminent.
I was drawn from where I stood at the
short-stocked bar, conversing with some
rocker types whom I hadn’t expected meet-
ing here, by a pulsating melody I couldn’t
recognise but made for a sort of siren song
through my g&t induced haze. In an interview
with Polish web-zine Juju, Booka Shade’s
Arno Kammermeier cited British new-wave
and electronic music from the eighties as
a prime inspiration. The Smiths, Tears for
Fears, Soft Cell. “That’s probably where our
love for melancholic melodies comes from.”
And that may explain some of their appeal
to rock audiences weaned on the legendary
club ‘22’, where those bands were played
non-stop, and the people did indeed dance.
And so, my face turned to the stage, I was
entranced. Booka Shade somehow managed
to procure music that appealed at once to my
booty and my brain, bringing to mind some
exotic blend of the finest pop I’ve heard to-
gether with the heaviest metal. I was lost in
music, as were my compatriots out on the
dance floor. I thought some thoughts: “Why
would the crowd in a dance-music event be
facing the stage? Shouldn’t they be grinding
against one another? Or dancing? Why are
the girls here prettier than at rock shows?
Why do the audience participate more than
at regular concerts, instead of bouts of head
nodding and foot-tapping?”
And it slowly dawned on me that those
questions were all wrong. For what I was
witnessing was no techno dance spectacle, I
was witnessing a rock show. And this is why
most of the crowd, especially those who had
been exposed to the band’s songs during
visits to non-musically segregated clubs like
Kaffifbarinn, loved it, while techno purists
were intrigued and, in some cases, put off.
See, Booka Shade’s show is highly
marked by… showmanship. Something that
seems to be sneaking through the back door
of dance music once again, after The Prodigy
all but killed it with their silly haircuts and
sub-par albums. One of techno’s trademarks
for a long time has been relative anonymity
for its artists. They will release countless al-
bums under countless monikers, slowly mak-
ing names for themselves within small circles
of informed hipsters. It is pointedly anti-ce-
lebrity.
So what am I to make of the two deut-
schmen standing on stage before me? One
of them is playing ‘E-drums’, triggering sam-
ples by hitting plastic shields. The other is
singing into a microphone. No audible lyr-
ics, but he’s still singing. It’s actually pretty
corny. And their melodies are reminiscent of
The Cure. So this is a hybrid of sorts, and
this is why they seem to be reaching out to
a greater audience. And this is why the pur-
ists were confused, while those out of vogue
loved it.
Booka Shade’s command of their audi-
ence was all but revelatory. Although for-
ward-facing, and noticeably drug free, they
managed to shake them like no rock band
I’ve ever seen (with the exception of Black
Sabbath feat, Ronnie James Dio and my
mom, in ’92). Their big hits, Mandarine Girl
and Body Language, set the room afire and
even got my chubby legs shakin’. And it was
a notably sweaty, happy crowd that left
Gaukurinn that Friday night.
In conclusion, Booka Shade are more like
a rock or pop act than a techno one. This is
why I really enjoyed myself. I like rock, and I
like pop, and I know how to read those gen-
res. The fact also made this less of a learning
experience for me than I had thought. It was
kinda like Sebadoh at GrandRokk in 2003,
in a way. Some things I did learn, however,
were that you can supposedly tell if some-
one’s on E if they’re dancing with arms inter-
locked, speed or coke if their jaws are grind-
ing, and just plain drunk if they’re stupidly
dancing, facing the stage. That’s what I did.
Those Crazy Kids, What Will They Think of Next?
Text by Haukur S. Magnússon Photo by Skari
Who: Booka Shade
Where: Gaukurinn
When: January 19, 2007
Melancholic and dark. Shadow Parade follows bands like
Coldplay or Radiohead. In fact, the singer’s voice is almost a
carbon-copy of Thom Yorke on some tracks. This isn’t neces-
sarily bad and in this case it isn’t... most of the time. This is
a fine album. It is well played, haunting and eerie. It is radio
friendly. It sounds international. It has the potential to be very
popular, possibly all over the world. And it would be great
if only Radiohead wasn’t looming in the background like a
white elephant. But sometimes Shadow Parade makes you
forget and then it really clicks. Then it’s simply good song
writing and playing. But then Mr. Yorke steps back into the
room and I don’t like having him around. Shadow Parade
have made a good, but not so original, album.
This is a live CD, accompanied by a DVD, recorded in Sep-
tember 2006 at Laugardalshöll. Björgvin has been one of the
nation’s most popular performers for decades, graduating
from sexy teenage idol to seasoned, pudgey crooner. This
concert was a big one. The booklet states that 300 people
took part in organizing it but the biggest part is played by
Björgvin, singing some twenty songs, sometimes solo and
sometimes with others. His son Krummi, of rock band Mínus,
sings with him and his daughter Svala who is in Steed Lord.
Björgvin proves that he’s popular and if you like him then
this is excellent stuff. It is big and bold and a little bit tacky.
The symphony orchestra is excellent and the arrangements
fit most of the time. Check this out if you dream of going to
Vegas to see Frank Sinatra but would settle for an Icelandic
singer backed by a symphony orchestra in a sweaty sports
hall.
Björgvin Halldórsson
Björgvin ásamt Sinfóníuhljómsveit...
Shadow Parade
Dubious Intentions
All reviews by Páll Hilmarsson
Metal can be great. We all know that. Almost any kind of
metal is great, with the exception of black-metal, which is
not great. It is bad. The cover of Canora’s first album hinted
at black-metal. Therefore I was moderately pleased when Kel-
vinator turned out to be a good metal album with no songs
about church burnings or members named Gormarsloth or
the like. At times Canora sounds like classic nu-metal, at
times heavy-rock and at times like metal influenced pop. It is
melodic and interesting. The lyrics, which are in English, are
very metal which is fitting but won’t win any awards. Basi-
cally it boils down to this: Kelvinator is a solid metal album
– the kind boys will like but girls won’t but all should. Why
it’s named after a refrigerator is a puzzle.
Skúli Sverrisson is a world renowned bass player. Over here
he’s probably best known for his work with the New York
group Blonde Redhead. It is mostly an instrumental album,
except for 3 tracks where Ólöf Arnalds sings. This is a tough
album to describe. It is melancholic, sad and beautiful. It’s
not an aggressive album, it is subtle and low-key without
fading to the background as sometimes occurs. It is obviously
the work of very skilled people – it sounds professional. It
has great Quality with a capital Q. The various musicians are
all known for excellent work, but it’s Skúli’s bass, guitar and
dobro playing that form the backbone of each track. It is a
mature piece of music that is very pleasing to the ears.
15 tracks of Icelandic rap. Forgotten Lores arrive with a much
anticipated follow up to their debut, Týndi hlekkurinn. Their
live shows are always fun. At the recent Airwaves festival
their performance was one of the highlights. Rap is about
words and Forgotten Lores include Iceland’s best rappers.
Their flow and rhymes are really, really good. The beats and
music fall into the same category. It is so rewarding to hear
the innovative ways these guys use language. Icelandic hip-
hop is not heard very often, so I had high hopes for this al-
bum, wanting to hear a solid and good rap record. I was not
disappointed. It is full of ideas, fun and excellence. Makes me
want to rap. Music that does that to you is great.
Jónas Sigurðsson has been making music for a long time. He
was a drummer in Trassarnir and the singer in Sólstrandargæ-
jarnir. Ask any Icelander no older than 40 to sing “Rangur
maður” by the Sólstrandargæjar and you will be treated to
a fine example of music that everyone knows and likes but
pretends to dislike. This debut album is not at all like that. It
is very personal and its Icelandic lyrics are better than aver-
age. The music is also much better than average. It’s easy-
listening pop with meaning. Jónas writes good songs but the
arrangements make this album excellent. It’s innovative and
quirky and really needs to be heard to be understood. Jónas
is obviously a talented musician. A very fine album.
Jónas Sigurðsson
Þar sem malbikið svífur mun ég dansa
Forgotten Lores
Frá heimsenda
Skúli Sverrisson
Sería
Canora
Kelvinator
í Parken í Kaupmannahöfn 22. - 24. júní
ÓTRÚLEGT VERÐ 48.500 á mann í tvíbýli
Innifalið: fl ug, gisting í 2 nætur, morgunverður og miði á tónleikana
// JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE TÓNLEIKAR
Borgartúni 29 | 105 Reykjavík | Iceland | www.exit.is | +354 562 2362

Located in the heart of Reykjavik
World Cuisine with Prime
Icelandic Ingredients
New Menu in January
SALT Lounge Bar
HAPPY HOUR
Wednesdays and Fridays 17:00-
20:00
Draught Beer (Small)................................350kr
Draught Beer (Large) ...............................500kr
Mojito ........................................................700kr
Cuba Libra ................................................700kr
Cosmopolitan...........................................700kr
Espresso Martini ........................................700kr
Sex on the Beach.....................................700kr
Long Island Iced Tea................................700kr
Whiskey Sour ............................................700kr
Apple Martini ............................................700kr
Black/White Russian.................................700kr
Becks Bucket of Beer (4 for 3) .................3800kr
What are you doing after work?