Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.10.2014, Blaðsíða 56

T H E R E Y K J A V Í K G R A P E V I N E I C E L A N D A I R W A V E S S P E C I A L4
“General rule: If you're too cold during
Airwaves, it means you're not partying
hard enough. Take extra vacation for
recuperation, plan out everything in ad-
vance including how far apart venues are
from each other, and don't forget to fac-
tor in the off-venues. If you want to make
sure you get to see all of your favorite
bands, I find it helps to make a multi-page
spreadsheet and treat it as an optimiza-
tion problem. Or you could not compete
with me to be Queen of the Nerds, I guess
it's your call.”
-Karen Pease, has attended two,
soon to be three Airwaves
“Don't chase popular bands around;
you'll just get caught in a really long line.
Pick one venue for the first portion of the
night, stick around there for at least two
or three bands, then switch to another
for the second portion, and maybe switch
again even later if you feel so inclined.
Be open and receptive to new bands you
haven't heard of.”
-Sindri Eldon, has attended nine
Airwaves
“Don’t go to the Blue Lagoon and don’t
buy from 10-11. Both are expensive and
lame. Instead visit a local swimming pool
(1/10 of what you pay for the Blue Lagoon)
and shop at Bónus. Use what you save to
buy Icelandic music at 12 Tónar, Smekk-
leysa or Lucky Records!”
-Dr. Gunni, has attended the festi-
val most years
“Every once in a while I'll get really into
a band, and I'll be kicking myself because
I'll realize that they'd played Airwaves a
year or two earlier and I'd missed it be-
cause I hadn't realized at the time how
amazing they were (or would become).
So I recommend giving yourself *plenty*
of time to go through and get acquainted
with the festival line-up. Your future self
will thank you.
Get out early to the shows. Many of
the best bands are playing 7, 8, and 9 pm
slots. As the hours wear on and your fel-
low festivalgoers get sloppy drunk, the
atmosphere can get pretty lame. They
will shove you instead of walking around
you. (Don't take it personally, welcome to
Iceland, we don't have manners.) They
will converse at the top of their lungs over
your favorite bands. It will be crowded,
hot, and sweaty, and you'll probably get
stuck in a long queue out in the cold and
rain trying to get in.”
-Þórir Bogason, has attended four
Airwaves
“Don't drink the Opal and Topas shots
unless you want to be sick or lame.”
- Lóa Hlín Hjálmtýsdóttir, has at-
tended nine Airwaves
“Lose all your friends and go rogue. Make
new friends and support the local artists
performing at the off-venues. Leave your
hipster attitude at home and go naked in
the Blue Lagoon ;)”
-Krummi, has been there every
year except one (he was there when
it wasn’t even called Airwaves)
“Don't stand in the same line for too long.
Explore and experiment. And don't listen
to any of the bands online beforehand, it's
a lot more fun to be surprised!!”
-Bowen Staines, has attended nine
Airwaves
“Dress in easily convertible layers that
don't require coat-check. You will be
freezing outside and boiling inside and
there will be few places to stash your
jackets. And for the love of crumb cake do
not bring big backpacks and purses into
venues! Not cool. Fannypacks and pock-
ets = VERY COOL.”
-RX Beckett, has attended five Air-
waves
Tips & Tricks
From Veterans
Meet
In lieu of writing our annual
“Guide To Not Losing Your
Shit At Iceland Airwaves,” we
decided to solicit advice from
some of our Airwaves savvy
friends. Best of luck out there!
COMPILED BY ANNA ANDERSEN
Frederiksen
This place used to be called Amsterdam
and was long known for basically only
attracting anything remotely fun or cool
over Airwaves. Otherwise it was very
much a dive bar. Not faux-dive–actual
dive. Think VLT machines, recycled beer
plus a shot of JD for a scarily low price, a
secret smoking lounge in the basement,
few locks on the bathroom doors. It was
magnificent. It also had a fantastic stage.
It’s now gotten not just a facelift but a
whole new attitude, going from grunge-
drunk-pukefest shows to maybe a bit
more class and composure. We’re way
into it.
Fríkirkjan
You may have deduced that this is an ac-
tual church. You probably don’t need any
filling in on judeo-christian practices. It
shouldn’t be much of a surprise then that
it is here that Airwaves stations some of
the most highest praised and honoured
acts each year, musicians so transcendent
and transporting that experiencing them
elevates the spirit.
Gamla Bíó
Formerly Iceland’s opera house and be-
fore that a cinema, this place has also held
some of Airwaves’s more prestigious gigs
in the past. Unfortunately it has had the
unfortunate defect of fixed and pitched
seating with the narrowest aisles ever
that routinely got crammed full of people
sitting down in them, breaking every fire-
hazard law known to humankind and
just begging for an eventual trampling.
Luckily, they just ripped all that shit out
and renovated the crap out of the place
while beautifying its original art-deco in-
terior so no more trampling threats! Just
fancy stuff.
Gaukurinn
It has gone by so many names over the
years–Gaukur á Stöng, Sódóma, Gamli
Gaukurinn–but whatever the name, it is
the elder venue of the Airwaves circuit
now. Ask anyone who has attended or
played Airwaves at any point and they are
likely to have a story involving this place.
It is the röckhaus. The metal machine
station. It is dark and loud and tailored to
be grungy and it welcomes your moshpits
and kickflips.
Harpa
(Eldborg, Kaldalón, Norðurljós,
Silfurberg)
Four in one! Four in one! They say this
place was built to be the forever-home of
the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra and
the opera and stuff but come on... let’s
get real: they built this conference hall
on rock’n’roll. It caught on fire a couple
of times during construction, that’s how
hardcore it is. But it really is a great place
to have now, especially when Iceland
decides to be the windiest place ever,
you can literally just spend all day here:
off-venue shows, eats, coffee, shopping,
huge mainstage events, dancing, beauti-
ful views. Harpa’s great.
Húrra
Hip hipster Húrra! It is very hip in here,
but not so hip it hurts. That might be rela-
tive, actually. You might get hurt if you
tend to be intimidated by a lot of Cheap
Mondays jeans and vintage jackets but
trust us, it is nothing to fear. It is lovely
and warm and fun in here. It is right
downstairs from Gaukurinn and actually
used to be one-and-the-same with it, so
in a way, it is also the oldest venue in the
circuit. Come in and party!
Iðnó
On the edge of the pond, surrounded
by swans, this 117-year-old theatre is
the avant-garde jewel in the Airwaves
crown, where all the heavily technical
and high-concept performers are placed.
It is rather small but very majestic. In
short, yes there are absolutely ghosts in
here whether you believe in such things
or not! So of course this is where the
weird stuff goes.
Reykjavík Art Museum
(Hafnarhús)
During the festival, the harbourside
house of the city’s largest art museum
turns into a massive sweaty pile of danc-
ing screaming flash-photography snap-
ping revelers who wait hours upon hours
to maybe not even get in. Everyone wants
to get in and once you’re in you will never
want to leave. The lights and the sound
that fill the huge, psychiatric prison-
looking courtyard are the kind of sensory
overload we should all be so lucky to re-
ceive.
Vodafone Hall
To our knowledge this is the very first
time this place will be an Airwaves ven-
ue. It’s actually a football arena located
in a weird spot between the domestic
airport and a bunch of car rentals and
dealerships. Sports arenas are fairly self-
explanatory.
Þjóðleikhúskjallarinn
Our fine publication once fashioned FM
Belfast and GusGus as the cast of Twin
Peaks and shot a cover photo here, the
basement of the National Theatre, due to
its eerie resemblance to the Black Lodge.
Low ceilings, red curtains, a small danc-
ing man... okay we made that last one up.
But it really is a wonderfully gloomy, sexy,
lush and Lynchian space. TWIN PEAKS
2016 WOO!!!
So you’re browsing through the Airwaves schedule trying to get
a feel for your evening and while you know some of the bands
at each place you’re really thinking, “Hey, what’s the vibe like in
this place? Is this a venue I can get into?” Well we can’t tell you
if you’ll physically access them (hello lineups!) but we can try to
mentally prep you with some insight on the insides.
The Venues!
WORDS BY R X BECKET T