Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.10.2009, Blaðsíða 22

Y’all know him, y’all love him. Here’s your
chance to win a four-day date Reykjavík’s
premier scenester, the hipster y’all love to
love, the one, the only, the incomparable
FRÍMANN FRÍMANNSSON!
Not only will you get a chance to party
down with a local, you’ll get to do it in such
a grand fashion that you can pretty much
guarantee that your friends will hate you
for years to come. But that doesn’t matter.
You’ll have Frímann. And the memories.
Think of the memories.
“What are those luxuries you speak of?”
you ask? Well. How’s this for starters: You’ll
get VIP access passes to Iceland Airwaves.
This means that you will never, ever have to
wait in line for anything for the duration of
the festival. Ever. Want to hop in to NASA
for a quick drink, past that 50 strong queue?
Go right ahead, sir or madam.
“That sounds mighty good, Grapevine,
but isn’t there more?” you ask? Hell yeah,
there’s more. Try this on for size: Every
night of Airwaves, you can step in to the
very awesome Bakkus for free shots of
whatever you desire – and they’ll give you a
mighty fine beer discount for the duration
of the night. This is of course perfect for all
your aftershow drinking needs.
Want more? You got it. When you wake
up each day, you can skip along to Kaffi-
barinn for a free dose of their time tested,
alcoholic-tried, 100% guaranteed hangover
killer combos.
You will also get a Reykjavík City Pass,
courtesy of the City of Reykjavík. This al-
lows free admittance to all the city’s fine
pools, free bus rides, free museum admit-
tance and discounts at select stores and ven-
ues. Hell yeah.
Not only that, but you will have the in-
famous partymonster Frímann Frímanns-
son to guide you through the wastelands of
101 nightlife and partying. For the whole
weekend, Frímann will be at your service,
ready to escort you around to the hottest
gigs, parties and debauched after hour
hot-tubbing sessions around. And that guy
knows how to party.
Who’s Frímann Frímannsson? Well,
Frímann Frímannsson has without any
doubt whatsoever been 101 Reykjavík’s
kingpin of hard-partyin’, designer-gear
wearin’, part-time modellin’ neo-hipsters
throughout 2009. Also, he’s just plain nice,
that guy, so following him around should
greatly enhance your weekend.
Oh, and you get to bring a friend, too.
This prize is good for two. So you’ll have
one friend that won’t abandon you out of
resentful envy. Which is comforting.
So here’s how you win this grand prize
to end all grand prizes (oh yes, the run-
ner up will win an exclusive Kimi Records
goodie bag!): you must send us a paragraph
detailing your most awesome experience,
ever (only a paragraph. Anything over 100
words will go directly to the trashbin).
You must send it via e-mail, with the sub-
ject: “I <3 Frímann Frímannsson.”
The address is: editor@grapevine.is
You must include your name, age and a tele-
phone number where you can be reached.
Lastly, this competition is only open to
Airwaves wristband holders that do not per-
manently reside in Iceland. That is – if you
live in Iceland, or if you haven’t bought an
Airwaves-ticket, we cannot help you. This
competition’s not for you. Sorry. Stop look-
ing. But good luck.
The contest is open until Thursday, Oc-
tober 15 at 14:00. We will contact the win-
ner that same day, at 16:00, and give him all
those cool goodies. If you won, but cannot
be reached – we reserve the right to select
another winner.
Winners will be expected to document
their festival weekend via a digital camera,
phone camera or other such nifty device.
Winners agree to being interviewed by a
representative of the Reykjavík Grapevine
on Airwaves Sunday.
This excellent contest is brought to you
by The Reykjavík Grapevine, in cooperation
with the following, awesome parties:
Mr. Destiny
The Iceland Airwaves Festival
Kaffibarinn
Bakkus
The City of Reykjavík
Kimi Records
All your submissions are belong to us. And PepsiCo Internation-
al. Although neither entity will want to use them for anything,
probably. By submitting to this contest, you forfeit all your intel-
lectual rights. Period.
Grab a free copy at your hotel or nearest tourist info.
www.designdistrict.is
Réttir Music Reviews
Wednesday 23.09.09
Jacobsen
Wednesday 23.09.09
NASA
Wednesday 23.09.09
Rósenberg
Wednesday 23.09.09
Sódóma
Upstairs, Tonik started the night off to an unfortunately small
and laid back crowd. The duo composed of one programmer
and one bassist still gave it their all, delivering trippy, hypnotic
drum’n’bass with tinges of early 90s electro. The pair bobbed
and shimmied the whole time, so at least they were having
fun, even if the crowd was too timid.
Yagia then hit the decks next with dark, spacey weird-
tech that seriously called for a big vial of ketamine. A few
bodies started gravitating to the dancefloor but overall,
the soft, psychedelic tracks were still a bit too low key for a
second-billed DJ. At this point, someone really had to bring it.
Luckily, Oculus showed up in his fancy trademark Sgt.
Pepper jacket and cranked shit up to 11. Suddenly the
dancefloor was packed with flailing arms and gyrating hips.
The man is reliable for delivering super deep, twisted, sexy
grooves to make everyone move. Shouting, hand claps, snaps
and clicks and general weirdness, it was pretty hard to stand
still.
Meanwhile, down in the basement, Futuregrapher
started the night off at a steady pace with trancey, chillout
beats. A few people standing against the wall suddenly
moved onto the floor and the tracks started getting harder
and trippier, with bordeline 8-bit overtones. The man behind
the music was clapping and shouting and the eight of us
dancing went nuts.
Suddenly Ruxpin took over in a fairly smooth transition,
but quickly brought down the pace and energy that
Futuregrapher had established. With the music rapidly losing
cadence, people started sitting down and going upstairs to
smoke, missing out on his funky, booty-bass with seriously
messed up time signatures.
The real bummer was for Biogen, who got slotted at the
same time as Oculus. This was no easy task and he sort of
got the shaft by the crowd. Only a few people hung around
downstairs, mostly sitting or just standing around, while he
played swervy, pulsating, dream-tech. Tough crowd!
- Rebecca Louder
people here tonight,” results in a somewhat awkward spread
of laughter as Mysterious Marta takes the stage with her
calm, yet strong presence. Marta is one of those girls with a
unique, childlike voice that gives you goose bumps when she
sings about moons and mountains and stars and skirts and
dresses while plucking her acoustic guitar. Both music and
appearance is bubbly, sparkly and sweet. She is cuteness
personified—in the best possible sense.
20:40: Headcount: around twenty-ish. We move from doll
face Marta to polar opposite tomboy Elín Ey. Rolling up her
sleeves, curly hair covering her eyes she plays somewhat
depressing, slow country tunes. That little something that
makes an artist stand out seems missing, and it might as well
be background music rather than a live act. It’s never a good
sign when conversations louden and people start going out
for smokes during a set.
21:04: Headcount: slowly but surely improving. Sigga
Eyþórs is sort of a continuation of Elín. Sigga does bring a
tad bit more presence, but her acoustic folk songs aren’t all
that impressive to myself and my fellow concertgoer, who
starts flipping through a magazine. To be fair, the rest of the
audience seem to be of a totally different opinion.
21:25: The worst imaginable scenario takes place—or so
I think... Elín Ey joins Sigga on stage, and they start playing
a bluegrass number together. I soon realise I was very
mistaken, and find myself quite liking it. Do two wrongs really
make a right?
21:30: Headcount: Every seat in the house is taken. The
audience consists of an extremely high percentage of women.
Like, freakishly many ladies. It’s refreshing in a way, and
it adds to the sisterhood feel of the event. The increasing
amount of people certainly contributes to the atmosphere,
but the main reason the evening progresses is because the
best acts are saved for last.
21:38: Next up: Songbird. A sweetheart in braces, singing
happy, cheerful, shoe-tapping tunes. Her xylophone adds to
the niceness of it all. Makes you feel all bubbly inside.
22:15: The absolute highlight of the evening. Lára Rúnars
stands out like no other with her personality, charisma and
contagious, silly songs. She simply shines and is of a whole
other calibre than the earlier artists. Lára plays songs that
give you the urge for some crazy table dancing, rather than
sitting nicely by a candlelit table. She’s just kinda amazing at
what she does.
23:00: Headcount: crowded and elbow shoving. Time for
Norwegian Hanne Hukkelberg. Her tender, marvellous voice
goes straight to your heart but the performance itself lacks
personality. Although obviously a fantastic talent, I imagine
her being better on CD than in a live setting. All in all, the
Trúbatrix evening is a pleasant one with highlights that make
it, at times, magic. - Louise Petersson
I arrive just as For A Minor Reflection are getting ready to
start. There is a guy with a big white canvas at the end of the
stage who apparently is there to “capture the sounds and
portray them as colours and form on the canvas.“ I seeeeee.
Starting their set with their headline song, Kastljós, they
plough a well furrowed line in melodic post-rock. Indeed, I
wouldn’t be shocked if I found out the band had been cloned
from a skin scraping from Explosions in the Sky. But it’s
pleasant enough, if rather meandering. At the end of their
set, I can see the painter has made a composition heavy in
red and black. Personally, I would have used light blue and
corn yellow.
Ólafur Arnalds is a sick, sick man. No seriously, he
doesn’t look that good when he takes the stage. Apparently
suffering from a fever, he looks like he may vomit onto his
keyboard at any moment. But the man is nothing if not a
trooper and he and his string quartet bring the mood and
pace right down with his sparse, melodic compositions. But
my enjoyment was slightly marred by the fact that, despite
asking to the audience be a little quieter, the quieter moments
in the set was rather spoilt by constant yakking at the back of
the venue. Bloody proles!
Now I’ve come to the conclusion that there are two
Hjaltalíns out there. The first one, which features on record,
is full of twee, irrelevant nonsense that annoys the fuck out
of me. And then there is the second Hjaltalín, the live one. It’s
amazing what happens when you beef up the rhythm section,
as it lends Hjaltalín a more muscular sound. Indeed, their
opening tracks Suitcase Man and Goodbye July – Margt að
ugga are suffused with an immediacy that I certainly wouldn’t
expect from them. The crowd certainly seemed to be enjoying
it almost as much as singer Högni, who sported a massive shit
eating grin during the entire set.
By the time Fallegir menn bounce on stage, the crowd
seems to have thinned by a third (hmm... must be a lot of
early lectures at the university tomorrow). They are certainly
a sight to behold. Their live rap act strives for the Beastie
Boys, but their look (the keyboard player from Grandaddy, the
guitarist from Roxy Music, a rapper looking like he wandered
off from Boys in a Band) owes a lot more to Goldie Lookin’
Chain. But it sounds tight and funky thanks to the keyboardist
and rhythm section. And as for the rapping? Well there was
loads of Tigger-like energy, but to be honest they could have
been rapping about Icelandic Monetary Policy or the price of
milk in Bónus and I would have been none the wiser.
Overall it was a pleasant, if not spellbinding night. Here
is some advice to concert promoters: you should start these
midweek concerts at least an hour earlier. That way, I won’t
be so fucking knackered when I start work at 7 AM the next
morning. - Bob Cluness
Trúbatrix night at Rósenberg is meant to be one of those low
key, laidback evenings. Candles light the room, people are
finishing up their dinner, there are more red wine glasses
around than beer. That kind of thing isn’t necessarily a bad
thing; it’s actually kind of…nice. The Trúbatrix collective
aims to round up Iceland’s foremost female talents, so my
expectations for the evening are high.
20.00: Headcount: 9. The obligatory “nice seeing so many
First on stage are Ten Steps Away, a rock ‘n roll four piece
from Hafnarfjörður. Playing generic alternative rock that
wouldn’t seem out of place on American rock radio stations,
their high-energy performance in an attempt to connect with
the crowd is to their honour. Still, tonight was not their night.
Nögl are faced with a similar situation. Just back from a
successful tour of Florida, they use their experience and get
a more responsive crowd. Continuing where Ten Steps Away
left off, Nögl play their version of alternative rock with songs
off their debut album, I Proudly Present. Having enjoyed
modest radio success with My World and the song Don’t
Leave, currently on rotation at X-ið, they do get some crowd
interest when they’re played. Unfortunately for the band, the
crowd is still too thin for them to have any impact.
With their debut album finally seeing the light of day this
October, the crowd had high expectations from OurLives’
performance. The venue has filled up considerably by
now, and the crowd apparently expects something special.
Unfortunately for OurLives, the venue sound for their set
is awful, and in those conditions most of their atmospheric
pop rock songs sound like a bad covers outfit. Although
their radio hits do see a crowd-reaction, most present seem
disinterested, with the anticipation for Dikta growing.
It is in the live environment that Dikta really come into to
their comfort zone. Right from the first song off new single
Let Go, Dikta spell out what is to be expected from tonight’s
show, and the crowd show their approval. By the time they
play oldie Someone Somewhere midway through their set,
the band really hit their stride, inciting crowd singalongs and
whatnot. Growing in confidence they reel off numerous new
songs from their long awaited newie, and it seems they are
on to a winner. Sticking with the formula that saw their last
album do so well, the crowd don’t seem disappointed by the
new songs
Lights on the Highway, fresh from the release of a new
LP, take to the stage and unleash their take on psychedelic
alterna-rock. As one would expect from these vets, their
sound is spot on. When they band play recent single A Little
Bit Of Everything it gives the crowd exactly what they want,
but unfortunately the band fail to pick up on the momentum.
They seem oddly lacking in the live arena, which is a shame.
To their credit, Lights on the Highway still keep the crowd
on their side throughout their performance. As the concert
goes on I just feel there is something missing from their
performance. I expect more from a band of this calibre.
- Adam Wood
Iðnó Jacobsen Listasafn Reykjavíkur
Built in 1897, the historical theatre
by the pond is a small and charming
show-room with an above average
capacity. It’s like NASA’s baby sister.
Its 19th Century chic décor is well
reflected in the price of drinks.
Bathrooms can be a bit of a wait. The
place can be wonderful to experience
live music in, provided the place isn’t
too crowded and the soundperson
doesn’t suck. RL
The self-described “only club in town”
is an out of control dancerama. Drinks
are fairly average price for the city,
but they frequently have specials on
mixes. The women‘s washroom is like
a makeup bomb went off in there and
the men‘s room is often a breeding
ground for cock-measuring quarrels.
There is still no better place to hear
electronic music. RL
Once a year, The Reykjavík Art Gallery
is transformed into Airwaves’ largest
venue, hosting some of the bigger
acts Airwaves has to offer. Drinks are
fairly expensive, but hey, it’s a classy
gallery and you’re partying among
masterpieces so what the heck. Expect
some of the wildest dancing in town
and general insanity, with a taste of
posh. LP
Vonarstræti 3 Austurstræti 9 Tryggvagata 17
Iceland AIrwaves 2009 Venues
Contest | VIP Shit
Win A Date With Frímann
Frímannsson!
+ lots of festival goodies!
04 Grapevine Airwaves Mini 2009 Go to www.grapevine.is/airwaves for extensive + up to date festival coverage