Reykjavík Grapevine - 18.05.2012, Page 26

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 6 — 2012
Music | Live review
As Nasa is closing its doors on June
1, it was with great grief that I walked
through the lobby of the soon to be
demolished concert venue to see
GusGus perform one last time. More
than any other Icelandic band, Gus-
Gus has made the place their home
base for the past six years, one where
I’ve experienced countless hours of
their bombastic bliss.
SOUL MECHANICS
As I made my way inside, Margeir—argu-
ably the slickest looking DJ in the coun-
try—was warming up the crowd. He left
his turntables around 11 o’clock and the
familiar sound of GusGus’s pumping tech
house began to throb its way through
the speakers while the band’s logo was
projected onto the curtain. Then the logo
gave way to real time video footage of the
men hidden behind it: the group’s soul
mechanics, Biggi Veira and President
Bongo. They were knob twisting hard be-
hind an array of computers, synthesizers
and other gadgets, and the footage was
drenched in multi-coloured psychedelic
filters. The spectacle was very trippy and
visually impressive to say the least.
The curtain fell and the group’s three
singers, Daníel Águst, Högni and Earth,
came on the stage. Greeted by a massive
applause from the sold out house, they
began performing the title song from
their latest release, ‘Arabian Horse.’ With
“Disappear into the dust,” Daníel Ágúst
mournfully sang in elongated notes and I
couldn’t help wondering if he was singing
about the imminent closing of the venue.
Dandy as always, he waved his arms and
floated around the stage like a peacock
during mating season.
SHE’S THINKING OF ME
The show’s set list consisted mainly of
material from their latest album and
among the highlights were Högni’s pas-
sionate performances of “Within You”
and “Deep Inside.” He expressed himself
mostly with his hands as his face was
often hidden behind his long blond hair
as if he were Cousin Itt from the Addams
Family.
Earth is the de facto house diva of Ice-
land and she absolutely nailed “David,”
which has got to be one of the sexiest
songs in the history of Icelandic music.
Just the stuttering synth line that opens
it sent a tingle through my spine and her
sultry vocals cooing “I am thinking of you”
made me feel like she was singing direct-
ly to me (full disclosure: I have never met
Earth, though for obvious name-related
reasons I sometimes like to fantasize that
the song is about my humble self).
BLITzKRIEG ON THE SENSES
By this point the feeling of grief I had
upon arriving had turned into one of
celebration. The beginning of “Add This
Song” was a full on Blitzkrieg on the
senses. The bass drum kicked you in the
stomach with each beat and strobe lights
on steroids bombarded your pupils. If
anybody in the audience had a faint hint
of epilepsy they probably would have had
a seizure. You could feel the wobbly bass
and trance-y synth lines on your skin and
then Daníel’s soulful voice cut through it
all and added the emotional core at the
heart of the song.
After a stretched out version of
“Over” where all three singers shined,
the whole group left the stage for the all
too predictable encore. They came back
for an extended version of the downright
dirty and aptly titled instrumental “Lust”
from their 2007 album ‘Forever.’ President
Bongo came to the front of the stage and
declared proudly “We are GusGus. You
are wonderful. Together we are invin-
cible!” as he lifted up his muscular arms
and just stood there like a statue in the
middle of the stage while the lighting guy
went berserk on his rig and the porno-
fied pulsating bass line blared away. We,
the audience, had witnessed a visual and
sonic extravaganza and though I’m still
sad about the death of Nasa, it couldn’t
have had a better wake.
GusGus bid farewell to Nasa
Requiem For A Scene
dAVÍð ROACH GUNNARSSON
ALÍSA KALYANOVA
B O O K I N G S : T E L . : + 3 5 4 5 6 2 2 3 0 0 W W W . L I F E O F W H A L E S . I S
Whale-Watching Tour Duration: 3 hours
The tour includes a stop by Puffin Island 15th May - 20th August
APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEPT OCT NOV-MAR
08:55 08.55 08:55 08:55 08:55
12:55 12:55 12:55 12:55 12:55 12:55 12:55 12:55
16:55 16:55 16:55
ADULTS: 47€ / 7.500 ISK
CHILDREN: 7-15 22€ / 3.500 ISK
CHILDREN: 0-6 FREE

Other Tours
Puffin Island Tours Duration:1-1,5 hours
15th May - 20th August Every day
10:00 | 12:00 | 14:00
ADULTS: 3.800 ISK• CHILDREN: 1.900 ISK • CHILDREN: 0-6 FREE
Sea Angling and Grill Duration: 3 hours
May - September Every day
17:00
ADULTS: 10.500 ISK • CHILDREN: 5.000 ISK • CHILDREN: 0-6 FREE
“He expressed himself mostly with his hands as his face
was often hidden behind his long blond hair as if he were
Cousin Itt from the Addams Family.”