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review: It's pretty awesome that a band as esoteric as Iceland's Sigur Rós can fill large theatres on tour, but it also means that the tickets are kind of expensive. That's why, even though we love their music, we had never seen them until Janice was given free tickets to their current tour, for their album Takk..., from her radio station internship.
The Paramount Theatre is a beautiful setting for any concert, and the lofty space reverberated beautifully with the band's expansive sound. They create their signature sound mostly with bowed electric guitar, bass, drums, electronics, of course those androgynous and haunting vocals, and sometimes a string quartet (which doubled as the opening act, Amina). On a large screen behind the band a video backdrop for each song was projected, ranging from abstract to creepy (giant closeup baby face red-lit from below) to creepy (giant closeup antique doll faces) to minimal and surprisingly moving (birds on a telephone wire, which made Janice tear up). Toward the end of the concert, a large sheer curtain came down in front of the stage and the backlighting came on and we watched the band's shadows performing.
The music of Sigur Rós is so mysterious and otherworldly that it was strange watching it being performed by a bunch of guys in jeans and t-shirts—it would have seemed more fitting if the band came out in hooded robes or something. And while it was a beautiful performance, watching it in a crowded theatre didn't feel quite right either. Not that there was really anything wrong with the audience itself, which was extremely appreciative; it's just that for me the abstract and hypnotic music of Sigur Rós is more of an interior experience, not really a communal one. If we could have had the theatre all to ourselves, just us and the band, it would have been perfect. (mike 10.05)
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