Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.08.2008, Blaðsíða 30

30 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 11—2008
DESTINATION By hauKur s Magnússon — photos By JuLia stapLes
Two weeks after the fact, I still have problems
determining whether the “Kimi Records Summer
Fun Tour!” of 2008 was the decidedly most rock
‘n’ roll venture embarked upon by a twenty-strong
group of young men in a sweaty bus – or the least
rock ‘n’ roll one ever. The enduring presence of
children and pregnant women on the tour bus,
doubled with the trip’s complete lack of illegal
substances and pre-marital fornication (and, all
things considered, a rather responsible level of
alcohol consumption), would seem to make the
latter an obvious option. The fact that the tour’s
first show was at a Reykjavík kindergarten sup-
ports that.
Then again, that whole Mötley Crüe shtick
of snorting and fucking everything in sight in be-
tween bouts of breaking shit is such a clichéd part
of rock mythology that it’s become an established
and boring, part of rock’s rules. Since true rock
‘n’ roll is reportedly all about “breaking rules”
and “stretching boundaries”, it could be argued
that soberly playing cards with pregnant women
and children on a tour bus is the most rock ‘n’ roll
thing imaginable. You decide: The following is
a real-time diary of that entire tour, interspersed
with bracketed, after the fact wisdoms that only
hindsight can provide.
MONDAY – REYKjAvíK & STOKKSEYRI
Arriving at the BSÍ bus terminal this afternoon,
we had expected a crazy party bus, suitable for
all our rockin’ needs. Instead we were faced with
an ultra-normal, perversely clean coach. We soon
learned that the “rockin’ bus” we expected had
been ransacked that weekend, and was missing
parts vital for the rocking of buses.
Whatever. We got comfortable. The first stop
of our journey was a mere 300 metres away, at
the Hlíðaborg kindergarten, whence [Reykjavík!
drummer] Kristján’s son Stefán was graduating
that very day. Most kids bring cake or ice cream
when they graduate Kindergarten – Stefán invited
rock bands. And thus it was that the tour’s first
show was performed in front of several dozen five-
year olds.
Stokkseyri’s “Draugabarinn” hosted the first
official show of the tour. Its barroom is not a suit-
able concert venue, with horrible acoustics and
an awkward stage set up. The staff was nice, how-
ever, and the turnout was surprisingly good. We
also had awesome lobster soup. A good start.
TUESDAY – íSAfjöRðUR
Two hours into our trip to Ísafjörður, just outside of
Borgarnes, the group has already started intermin-
gling quite nicely. There is however a division to
be found. I can at present identify three “cliques”
and have given them appropriate monikers: The
Classical dept., mostly populated by members
of Borko and Benni Hemm Hemm, the Pop &
Funk dept., comprised mostly of Reykjavík! and
Morðingjarnir members, and the Chillout Zone,
headed by pregnant guitarwife (of Borko’s Örvar)
Birgitta Birgisdóttir, where various free-agents of
the aforementioned groups drop by.
Arriving in Ísafjörður five hours later, we
immediately started sound-checking the luxuri-
ous venue. We then enjoyed some very luxurious
food, courtesy of my parents. Lucky for us, the
show was luxurious too! The packed house gave a
great response to every act but I am worried about
our tour manager, Baldvin Esra, however. He has
some kind of translating job that he has to finish
ASAP and wants to stay up all night working on.
He sounds nervous.
WEDNESDAY – AKUREYRI
So, our tour manager did not finish his translating
chores, and has grown increasingly frustrated.
He growled earlier, when asked if we could hurry
dinner. Akureyri is beautiful as always, and the
show’s attendance so far sucks, as always. It has
long since been determined that Akureyri people
aren’t big on the idea of concerts, and they seem
determined on proving it this evening. As I write
this, Borko is finishing an awesome set. I look
forward to seeing all the bands play four more
times.
[Noteworthy is the fact that we were joined
by BHH/Borko guitarist Róbert’s daughter Júlía
Agla, and her mother Judith. They spent the rest of
the tour with us and greatly enhanced the general
atmosphere with their smiles. We also finally got
our rockin’ tour bus that morning, swapping ve-
hicles at legendary rest stop Staðarskáli. While the
new bus was indeed more rockin’ in appearance
(it’s faux booths made for better conversation),
there was clearly something wrong with its shock
absorbers. I inferred this from the way it sporadi-
cally swung from side to side, making several of us
seasick].
THURSDAY – HúSAvíK
“Soup is good food,” sang the Dead Kennedys.
That is a blatant lie, and the “dinner” we just “ate”
in “Húsavík” is proof. Tasty as that mushroom
soup was, there is a whole range of musicians’
left: SmellS lIke team SpIrIt! rIght: borko poSeS wIth a ghoSt In StokkSeyrI
rock ‘n’ responsibilities
Four left-field bands – Benni Hemm
Hemm, Reykjavík!, Morðingjarnir
and Borko – circled the whole of
Iceland in a rickety bus along with
their work-laden label manager,
playing a bunch of shows in the
process. The Grapevine was repre-
sented in the form of staff jour-
nalist-slash-Reykjavík! guitarist
Haukur S Magnússon, who relates
some of the journey’s many peaks
and valleys below.
Some of Kimi Records’ Roster Travelled the Country in Style
GROUND COvERED
Reykjavík – Stokkseyri – Reykjavík: 118 km
Reykjavík – Ísafjörður: 456 km
Ísafjörður – Akureyri: 567 km
Akureyri – Húsavík: 91 km
Húsavík – Seyðisfjörður: 248 km
Seyðisfjörður – Höfn: 274 km
Höfn – Reykjavík: 458 km
Total distance travelled: 2212 Km