Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.11.2018, Blaðsíða 6

The R
eykjavík G
rapevine
Iceland A
irw
aves Special 20
18
6
1 Bryggjan Brugghús
Grandagarður 8
A bar/brewery on the edge of
the Grandi area, this venue sits
amidst huge beer tanks, making
it the only venue with the pos-
sibility of an actual, rather than
metaphorical, beer flood.
Capacity: 200
Accessibility: Good
2 Fríkirkjan
Fríkirkjuvegur 5
This beautiful, traditional wood-
en church has a warm sound and
a fantastic rarefied atmosphere.
There’s no bar though. Thanks
for nothing, god.
Capacity: 500
Accessibility: Limited. Steps to
entrances.
3 Gamla Bíó
Ingólfsstræti 2a
Picking up the slack from the
late and lamented NASA, Gam-
la Bíó is a cinema-cum-thea-
tre-cum-venue with high ceil-
ings, fancy vibes and balcony
seating.
Capacity: 800
Accessibility: Good. Balcony
with elevator.
4 Gaukurinn
Tryggvagata 22
The queen of Reykjavík’s grungy
bar scene, Gaukurinn is current-
ly the dank home of the city’s
queer and alt-culture. It oper-
ates a proactive safe space pol-
icy for LGBTQ+ gig goers. And
it has a sweet vegan diner. Go
Gaukurinn!
Capacity: 350
Accessibility: Limited. Stairs
to 2nd floor.
5 Hard Rock Café
Lækjargata 2a
Don’t worry, you won’t have to
watch music surrounded by
Lemmy’s favourite toothpick,
Slash’s boxer shorts and a sa-
chet of Tina Turner’s eyelashes.
The venue is in the basement.
Capacity: 350
Accessibility: Good
6 Harpa
Austurbakki 2
The glittering Harpa concert
hall is used to a lesser extent
this year, which might actually
be good news for the overall 101
festival party vibe. Still, Harpa is
great, and there’ll be a show or
two to check out there.
Capacity: 1000
Accessibility: Good
7 Hressingarskálinn
(Hressó)
Austurstræti 20
A diner-by-day and a bar-by-
night, Hressó is a long-lived
normcore staple in the heart of
downtown. They have a pretty
excellent sheltered and heat-
ed smoking area for when the
weather is a total shitshow.
Capacity: 200
Accessibility: Good
8 Húrra
Tryggvagata 22
Húrra won the music venue cate-
gory in our Best of Reykjavík mag
this year, and for good reason. It
has a great stage, atmosphere
and sound system; it’s fun, cool,
colourful, and always where the
party is at.
Capacity: 350
Accessibility : Limited. Two
steps into venue.
9 Iðnó
Vonarstræti 3
Iðnó is a classic 101 concert hall
which has recently become a re-
juvenated centre for Reykjavík’s
art community. Great acoustics,
great stage, great people and
spacious as heck. Certified:
fresh.
Capacity: 350
Accessibility: Good
10 National Theatre of
Iceland
Hverfisgata 19
A theatre-turned-concert hall,
this is a good place to come if
you wanna sit down in peace and
gather your energy while tak-
ing in some mellow music on a
historical Reykjavík stage. Don’t
fall asleep and miss everything
though.
Capacity: 505
Accessibility: Good. Wheel-
chair area.
11 Reykjavík Art Museum
Tryggvagata 17
The Art museum’s roofed court-
yard once again becomes the
festival’s biggest stage. It has
a certain prison-block atmos-
phere, with white multi-tiered
balconies, but it always has a
big-name lineup that attracts a
buzzing crowd.
Capacity: 1100
Accessibility: Good. Balcony
& elevator.
12 Silfursalir
Hallveigarstígur 1
This wildcard venue is a base-
ment function room beneath
Bonús. We last remember it be-
ing an Airwaves venue in 2007.
Benny Crespo’s Gang played. It
had carpets! Who knows what
it’s like now. Only one way to find
out...
Capacity: 500
Accessibility: Good. Elevator to
downstairs.
Meet The Venues
Words: John Rogers Photos: Art Bicnick
Iceland Airwaves has taken many forms over its twenty years,
from being a concert in an airport hangar, to a gritty 101 party,
to a grown-up week-long festival with Harpa as it’s clean ‘n’ tidy
hub. This year sees a slight return to the late 00s model: Valshöllin
is gone (yay!), and this year there are twelve very different venues
to explore, from an intimate 200-person capacity venue (Brygg-
jan Brugghús, Hressó) to the slightly-less-intimate-but-still-pret-
ty-intimate-tbh Reykjavík Art Museum, which accommodates
1100 concertgoers.
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