Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.08.2014, Qupperneq 39

sushisamba
Þingholtsstræti 5 • 101 Reykjavík
Tel 568 6600 • sushisamba.is
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Our kitchen is open
17.00–23.00 sun.–thu.
17.00–24.00 fri.–sat.
Amazing
6 course menu
Starts with a shot of the Icelandic
national spirit “Brennivín“
Arctic char
with cucumber andcoriander
Smoked puffin
with yuzu mayo
Minke whale
with celeriac purée
Reindeer burger
with portobello mushroom
Icelandic free range lamb fillet
with cinnamon potato
And to end on a high note ....
“Skyr“ panna cotta with white chocolate
and raspberry sorbet
6.990 kr.

A unique Icelandic Feast
MADE IN ICELAND www.jswatch.com
With his legendary concentration and 45 years of experience our Master
Watchmaker ensures that we take our waterproofing rather seriously.
Gilbert O. Gudjonsson, our Master Watchmaker and renowned craftsman,
inspects every single timepiece before it leaves our workshop.
39The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 11 — 2014 MUSIC
bands. Gemma D. Alexander from the
U.S. says that Eistnaflug offers the
best opportunity for foreigners to see
Icelandic rock and metal bands in one
go. Johanna Persson from Sweden says
that the road trip from Reykjavík also
makes the festival unique.
It’s More Than Metal
One commonly heard complaint from
the more “serious” metalheads was
that there were too many pop and indie
bands playing, and that “noted Euro-
disco stalwarts” Retro Stefson had no
business being the final act on Saturday.
The fact of the matter, however,
is that such bands actually helped
smooth out the schedule. If the elegant,
boisterous and hip Reykjavíkurdætur
feminist rap group hadn’t stepped up
after the loud Pink Street Boys and
death metal band Morð, the crowd
would have burned up. Without the
brilliant math-rockers Agent Fresco,
I couldn’t have appreciated the fine
instrumental genius of Bölzer. Same
goes for Skelkur í bringu’s haunting
set, Mammút’s touching experience
and Grísalappalísa’s explosive show
(which was hands down the most rock
and roll performance of the festival),
they helped pace the whole festival.
And Retro Stefson? They were
absolutely smashing! They went on
stage after legendary local rockers
HAM had played for a full hour, and
provided the perfect transition from
head-banging to dancing. Their set had
a distinctly more industrial vibe to it
than usual, with heavier synths, spectral
howls and a guitar solo thrown in for
good measure. The band then put all the
other performers to shame by creating
the festival’s sole wall of death.
Despite most festivalgoers,
bands, locals and the police all leaving
Eistnaflug with smiles on their faces,
head of festival Stefán Magnússon has
expressed doubts about the festival’s
continuation in Neskaupstaður. “The
festival is just too expensive,” he says,
“and there are too many companies
freeloading off of Eistnaflug’s success.”
In addition, he says getting there is
difficult with the steep fuel prices and
Air Iceland’s monopoly on domestic
flights. He assures me that Eistnaflug
will be back next year, but if things don’t
change in the meantime it will have to be
held somewhere else.