Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.10.2009, Blaðsíða 20

Cheap Eats!
Pylsur
Fast, unhealthy and delicious, Iceland’s
standard off-the-paw snack is a hot dog
in a league of its own. The sausages are
steamed, but not soggy, and the bun is
warm and soft with a satisfying crunch.
Topping options include raw onions,
fried onions (cronions! funions!), ketch-
up (a thinner and sweeter variety), remo-
laði (a funny local relish), and savoury
brown mustard—we recommend one
with everything. Available all over the
city in various stands and corner stores,
usually for 260 ISK a pop.
Bónus
Waste not want not. You might be in-
clined to hit the grocery store and pick
up a few items to stash in your pockets
while running from show to show. Look
for the big, crazy pig logo and pop in for
the cheapest prices on food in town. In
the produce section, look for the certi-
fied Icelandic label, as those are grown
locally and cheaper.
We also recommend picking up
some skyr, a yogurt-like milk curd prod-
uct with awesome fruit f lavours and su-
per low in fat.
Grocery shoppers would do well to
avoid any store that has the numbers
10, 11 or 24 (or any combination of those
numbers) in their name, as those are no-
toriously expensive.
Ali Baba
Wonder how Lebanese food holds up
with Icelandic ingredients? Damn well,
is how! Perfectly located between two
of the prime venues of the festival, on
Ingólfstorg, Ali Baba provides huge,
healthy Middle-East-meets-North-Atlan-
tic wraps and meals at nice prices. Their
massive falafel sandwich, with a curious
blend of corn, cabbage, garlic and spicy
sauce, is a challenge to finish for only
800 ISK. Full shish taouk plates with
all the classic fixings are not too much
more. Best of all, they are open way past
your bedtime.
Cheap Drinks!
Vínbúð
Pre-drinking is key in this city that
starts late and now charges four toes for
a beer. Make sure to locate the nearest
liquor store (Austurstræti 10a in down-
town Reykjavík), go there during the
awkwardly short opening hours (Mon-
day to Saturday, 11am–6pm) and supply
yourself with some hooch to grease the
wheels before going out. Hard liquor
is especially expensive in bars, so you
might want to stock up on that.
Kaffi Zimsen
This cool and cosy bar down by the har-
bour is the Mecca of boozing students
and broke foreigners alike, with pretty
good beer deals and house-party playl-
ists. Mondays boast the only 2-for-1 beer
special in town, cutting pints down to
a scant 350ISK each. On Thursdays, a
large beer goes for 490 ISK. So remem-
ber that.
Bar 11
Cashing in on the credit crash, this
wicked dive on the corner of Laugavegur
& Smíðustígur came up with Kreppa
nights, a Thursday rager where folks
can forget their financial woes! The bar
serves up beers and shots for 400 ISK
apiece in their rock’n’roll den of iniquity.
Drinks are pretty cheap there at other
times, too.
Sexy Times!
Places to hook up
Here’s what our panel of experts said
in our very own ‘BEST OF REYKJA-
VÍK’ issue this summer (for more BEST
OF REYKJAVÍK, you should log on to
Grapevine.is, where we’ve got the whole
collecti0n of Rvk’s best for your reading
pleasures):
“OK, this is kind of a sketchy cat-
egory, but our panellists did discuss the
subject at length, so we thought we’d in-
clude the results for fun and/or pleasure.
Note that our panel featured both men
and women of varied ages, and that the
findings are meant to work regardless of
gender.
Vegamót (6-10)
As one of our people remarked, Vegamót
is “the place where conventionally attrac-
tive people that put a lot of effort into
their appearance go to hook up. They’re
ready for action, but you have to look the
part, too.
Hressó (solid 5)
For your average hooker-upper, Hressó
was generally considered the best place
to find love. “At night, Hressó has a
good, honest, often surprisingly attrac-
tive clientele, and most of them are look-
ing for some good, honest hook-ups.”
Dubliners (0-4)
If you’re really determined to get some
action, why not try Dubliners. ‘The late-
late night patrons of Dubliners usually
don’t have a lot of standards, which will
pay off if you don’t either.’”
BYO Condoms
This is a key rule that applies to every-
one, everywhere, at all times, but it is
particularly important when getting
down with Icelanders. Many of them
don’t think twice about the possibility of
procreation—or contamination. Stock
up on rubbers at the pharmacy (Lyfja,
Laugavegur & Vegamótastígur) or a 10-
11 (various locations) before you go in for
the kill. They are really expensive here,
but it’s better (and cheaper) than the po-
tential alternatives.
Hangover Killers!
Treo
These little fizzy tablets look and taste
just like old school Alka-Seltzer, but they
are made up of aspirin, caffeine and
magic. They come in a handy plastic cy-
lindrical tube, protecting them from get-
ting crushed in your bag. It’s also use-
ful to bonk someone over the head with
if they pass out. Just drop one of these
babies into the beverage of your choice
(two if you’re still drunk), and drink your
hangover away.
Vesturbæjarlaug
Of all the pools in the central Reykja-
vík area, the one located in Vesturbær,
just off of Hofsvallagata, is probably
the cutest and most relaxing. Removed
from the bustling downtown brouhaha,
it has four wonderful hot tubs to sit in
and soak up vitamin D rich rays (mostly
absent in October. Go figure). Go sit in
the mystical, glass-walled steam room or
one of the rare saunas in the city. Easily
accessible by foot or bus line 15. Entry is
360 ISK per adult.
More Booze
When in doubt, follow the hair of the dog
rule. Icelanders swear by it and many of
us foreigners have come around to it as
well. If you were drinking steadily for
hours on end the night before, and all
else fails, the only way to power through
is to start hammering back beer ASAFP.
Actually, fuck that. Drink water. The
cold tap water is better than anywhere
else in the world! - Rebecca Louder
It’s been a long journey,
but here you are! You got
through the treacherous
Leif Eiríksson Air
Terminal and braved the
FlyBus into Reykjavík
and made it in one
piece. Congratulations!
Now what? Oh, it’s your
first time in the country
and you’re freaking the
fuck out? Relax. This list
should get you started
on a good time over
the next few days. Now,
good luck!
Iceland AIrwaves 2009 Venues
Batteríið Fríkirkjan Grand Rokk Hressó
Even during the day it can be dark
inside Batteríið, but this can be a
good thing because the space looks
larger than it actually is. The bar itself
is short, which sometime leads to
annoying waiting times, but around
600 ISK a pop, you can afford at least
a few beers. The stage is centrally
located, which means there are plenty
of vantage points from which to catch
the act. MZ
What’s not great about experiencing
music in the midst of majestic arches,
mighty gold crosses, candelabras
and paintings of Jesus with arms
outstretched and whatnot? Concerts
in Fríkirkjan can be heavenly; the
acoustics are truly amazing as is the
beauty of the church. Just be prepared
for some low key, laid back action.
Beware of the narrow benches on the
balcony, even though this happens to
be the best location for viewing. LP
Something about Grand Rokk elicits
the traditional feel of a haphazard
neighborhood pub. Upstairs is a nice
contrast to the homeliness of below—
there’s a solid stage and enough room
to fit a crowd of nearly a hundred.
As for the bathrooms—quantity beats
quality but that’s good enough for us.
MZ
This daytime diner turns into a
nighttime hotspot for unplugged acts.
The long bar and show-space at the
back of the room make it okay to get
a beer, but kind of hard to get to the
bathroom. Beer is reasonably priced,
but not particularly cheap. Get there
early if you have any desire for seating.
RL
Hafnarstræti 1-3 Fríkirkjuvegur 5 Smiðjustígur 6 Austurstræti 20
Wednesday 23.09.09
Batteríið
Wednesday 23.09.09
Grand Rokk
One thing never changes: concerts in Iceland ALWAYS start
late. This was pretty convenient for the first artist, AMFJ,
since there were about 10 people present when he took the
stage. AMFJ is a one-man band of a genre I know nothing
about, if it even exists. His act involves a lot of screaming.
Eerie and gloomy screaming, very un-human, technically
manipulated screaming, bringing to mind Bob from Twin
Peaks. This all, over a pretty hip, danceable playback. I have
a feeling that he’s actually reciting some kind of apocalyptic
poem, but as technology/art will have it, there is no way for
me to tell. Definitely interesting music that is probably better
suited in to a smaller, more crowded space.
DLX ATX take the stage, and the place fills up pretty
quickly. This is one act that I’m excited to witness, a previous
sighting leaving me hungry for more. It soon becomes
apparent that DLX ATX is a pretty cool band, very happening
and 2009. You can also hear some flirting with old school
rawk. This seems strange for an act comprising only of a
drummer and a bassist (along with some techy effects), but
somehow the seventies keep coming to mind, flare trousers
and all. The singing compliments this image nicely, and gives
the band a very unique sound. Groovy. DLX ATX are very
groovy. A real pleasure for both ears and eyes.
The young, suburban Kid Twist are next up. Their music
reeks of psychedelic stoner fury; it’s simple and to-the-point.
Finding the right words to do their excellent music justice is
hard; a single car driving through a quiet desert might be the
best mental image. All out through their set there is a tone, a
sense of eerie melancholy. In a way, it’s pretty dreamy,
Feldberg. Now, this is bewildering to me. I don’t really
know what’s going on here. What I do know, though, is that
this band is really fucking pro. They play very loud which,
again, is puzzling, because they are very... cute. This REALLY
doesn’t add up in my books. Their singer is excellent,
professional, no fuss. The whole band is, very tight, very
casual, like this is all they do, ever. Again, this is baffling
since they announced at the start of their set that this was
their first show. They are obviously up to something else in
their separate musical corners. They have a lot of equipment,
a whole lot. Yet their sound is very natural, clean and pure.
Again, this is puzzling. The music is not very impressive, it has
a summer-pop feel to it and will most likely be well received,
and receive good ratings. They failed to keep my attention,
though, and about 3 songs into their set I was quite lost.
Bloodgroup were supposed to go on next, but they failed
to show up. On the upside, a guy with the head of a hippo
made a surprising entrance. This partially made up for the
lack of Bloodgroup.
Last band on is Jungle Fiction. I get the feeling this
is some high school arty-farty half-joke, half-serious act.
Seconds into their set, my suspicions are confirmed. I feel like
someone turned on their time machine and I have suddenly
arrived in the eighties. Now THIS is mind-boggling. What
is this? What is going on here? They have a huge stack of
equipment, building a fort between the three obviously
happening young fellows and the crowd, growing drunker by
the second, shake off their last bit of shyness.
I do not think this is cool. But I have a feeling that this
actually might be cool, and I’m just not in the know. There was
some dancing, so some folks liked it. Jungle Fiction certainly
seemed to enjoy their show, sadly the feeling wasn’t mutual.
- Fríða Brá Pálsdóttir
The crowd is sparse as Carpet Show take the stage. There’s
something intensely intimate about their performance and
maybe they’re better off performing to smaller groups. The
vocals plead over a basic musical landscape while the sax
adds a touch of the bizarre.
As soon as Carpet Show descends, Blóð stomp on.
Mumbling, screaming and swearing, it’s obvious they’re
angry about something, but little of the audience shares their
sentiment. One gets the uncomfortable notion that maybe
that’s what made Blóð so angry in the first place.
Létt á Bárunni pick up Blóð’s punk influences but take
a more heartfelt, soulful approach and the audience is
swooning. Throwing his oddly-shaped hair this way and that,
there’s something playful about the lead singer’s approach
and the smiling drummer in the back makes us want to give
her a hug. Old friends and soon-to-be friends gravitate
toward the stage.
As Létt á Bárunni wrap up, a whole troupe of artists
climb on stage. They’re getting ready for something big, but
instead, something small comes on stage: the petite lead
singer of Skelkur í bringu. The crowd presses in tighter and
they’re well rewarded: Skelkur i bringu brings a completely off
the wall show, with the lead singer swinging from croons to
screams to whelps, the band doing its best to catch up.
Riding high on Skelkur í bringu’s wave of energy, <3
Svanhvít! ’s collection of well cut clean boys elevate the
night into full fledged dance party. Everyone’s hopping about,
singing along, clapping their hands. Members of the band
take off their shirts and photographers swarm—what started
out as a tender underground show is now a bumping dance
club.
Suddenly, an uneasy lull hits Grand Rokk as an
unassuming, middle-aged man wearing a baby blue sweater
with the German Democratic Republic coat of arms and
sporting a matching bowling ball bag climbs on stage.
Patrons look on with curiosity as he sets up his electronic
equipment, raises his right arm, and starts rocking it back
in forth in rhythm with the electronic jams. Otherwise, DJ
Musician is motionless, staring at the audience with two
beady eyes.
The effect is surreal. With the exception of one young
woman, who rocked the dance floor from the drop of DJ
Musician’s first beat, the crowd hesitates for the better part
of 20 minutes, not quite sure what to make of the situation.
Finally, everyone gives in and pulls out their best moves on
the middle of the dance floor while. One patron looked on in
sheer awe, mumbling, “this man is a genius.”
Fifteen minutes later, a group of 30 hardcore fans are still
going strong as Me, the Slumbering Napoleon take the
stage around 1:00 AM. It’s easy to tell the crowd is full of
friends—everyone’s smiling, crowding in and cutting loose. A
driving bass and devilish screams—I couldn’t think of a better
way to end the night. - Michael Zelenko
Airwaves Survival Guide
Making it through the madness intact
We feel awful about not doing the Grapevine
Airwaves dailies this year. It sucks. What
we’ll miss most are the reviews of every
show, every band from last night. Although
we will be covering the shows to some
extent at our website, it doesn’t replace the
dailies. Lucky for us, the Réttir music festival
concert series took place a couple of weeks
ago, and they had pretty much every local
Airwaves band playing. So we just reviewed
that entire festival instead. So you can feast
your eyes on the following reviews to get a
clue on who to see during Airwaves. Their
performances last month can’t be that
different from what they’ll do now.
Enjoy.
Your Complete Réttir Reviews!