Last night's Sigur Ros concert at the 930 Club in
DC was a display of awesome talent. For those
who don't know, SR are a band of Icelandic
dream-pop merchants. Their music references all
of the atmospheric greats--Eno, Pink Floyd,
Cocteau Twins, Radiohead, Aphex Twin,
Slowdive--while remaining wholly original. Like
many "ethereal" bands, SR's vocalist expresses
himself in a private language; it's a unique
technique, as he is the only male singer who does
that. His voice is a tenor that keens into a
swooping falsetto--very Jeff Buckleyesque. It's
amazing to watch this powerful voice come out of
such a wisp of a man. When he sings, he looks
anguished. There were several times where I
thought he was crying. He also plays an e-bowed
guitar. At one point, he actually *sang* into
the guitar, distorting his voice. The aesthetic
of the concert was like a classical
recital--nearly 2 hours, no breaks, the songs
blending into each other. Which is appropriate,
given the symphonic sounds the 4 piece conjured.
A screen behind the band showed projections,
mostly fuzzy, cyclic images of faces, children,
birds and animals. The lighting was subdued,
mostly purples, with the singer's face
illuminated. Other words: oceanic, trancey,
glacial. Though I was standing up--after being
up since 5 in the morning, I hardly noticed the
nagging pain in my leg. It was an utterly
bewitching experience.

--Craig

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"Tired moons ask higher tides."--Zelda Fitzgerald

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