Shug Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Has anybody seen Sigur Ros live lately? They are coming to Phoenix in April, I've never seen them. I was way into them about 10 years ago, never got the chance. Its not a cool venue like the Fox in Oakland or anything like that and AZ crowds are not exactly hip. I want to see them, just need a little encouragement from someone who has. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Has anybody seen Sigur Ros live lately? They are coming to Phoenix in April, I've never seen them. I was way into them about 10 years ago, never got the chance. Its not a cool venue like the Fox in Oakland or anything like that and AZ crowds are not exactly hip. I want to see them, just need a little encouragement from someone who has.Seen them probably 6 times since 2002. I saw them last July in Phili..there shows are unlike any other band! GO! Hearing song 8 (They usually always close with this) from () will blow your socks off! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shug Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Thanks, remphish, just what I needed. I'm going! And please pass the 'shrooms Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Thanks, remphish, just what I needed. I'm going! And please pass the 'shrooms oye..don't need anything to enjoy the concert...its not really that type of crowd...but whatever floats your boat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scribex6 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I'll second what remphish1 said. I've seen them a bunch of times and they're amazing live. I'm looking forward to seeing them at Coachella this year. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 I've seen them once... maybe 2010, they were touring on that "med sud" album with the guys running across a highway naked on the cover. That high energy material, and the "hits" from Takk, and (), were great. They did some pretty redundant noise jams from their back catalog that didn't really work for me, but well worth the ticket. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shug Posted April 13, 2013 Author Share Posted April 13, 2013 Sigur Ros last night was a pretty deep experience, really different from most concerts I've seen. As people who are familiar with their music know, the music is more orchestral than rock, but they use guitars and drums, along with lots of keyboards, strings, and horns to get their trademark ethereal spaciness. And the vocals are not in English, they just sound like sounds. Its hard to describe the experience in words and that's part of what makes it so intriguing and powerful. The music seems to really bring out a lot of emotions in people, but because its just abstract sound (and images when you are watching their stage show), it forces the listener to put their own meaning on it. I think even people who are not all that inclined to be philosophical are guided towards that kind of experience and that speaks to the mastery of sound that Sigur Ros holds. They know how to use sound to create an environment conducive to getting past a lot of psychologic barriers that most of us walk around with everyday. I found it very therapeutic. My wife is a tough cookie, a Midwestern farm girl without a lot of patience for stuff that is arty or indirect. She likes things that get right to the point and she's got a pretty strong wall of defenses up for stuff she thinks is bullshit. It can be hard to get through to her soft inner core. Let me tell you that within the first song, the tears were flowing and she was weeping almost all the way through the show. Afterwards she described an incredibly cathartic experience of reliving almost her entire life, hopes, dreams, hurts, triumphs, loss, love, in short, the whole human experience. The music seems to deal with things that are common to all humans, regardless of what culture or what point in time you are from. Everyone is born, everyone dies, everyone breathes, eats, sleeps, dreams, etc. They seem to get right to the fundamental elements of being human. I wonder if coming from such a desolate and isolated place where there is mostly air, water, rock and fire has given them the kind of culture that allows them to do this with their music. Human relations must be really valued in a place like that and perhaps they take more joy and pleasure in simple human interactions than people who live in cosmopolitan places do? remphish, you said it wasn't really a crowd that takes psychedelics and you are probably correct. I was only joking when I talked about taking mushrooms at the show (although I still think that has the potential to be a great experience), but for me, a Sigur Ros concert is extremely psychedelic. I didn't take any psychedelics (and its been years since I have) but I sure felt like I had. At times I felt completely connected to something bigger than myself and at other times I felt completely alone in the universe. That kind of existential dichotomy is exactly what my experiences taking psychedelics have been like, deeply spiritual, sometimes disturbing, sometimes euphoric, always cathartic. I never took psychedelics to entertain myself, I always took them in order to have a transformative experience which is something else that I believe all humans crave, no matter what methods they use to alter their consciousness. A Sigur Ros show is so far beyond mere entertainment. Joseph Campbell would have loved seeing them as much as he loved seeing the Grateful Dead. This is art music of the highest caliber. For me, Sigur Ros are achieving the highest purpose of art, to create an atmosphere and a sensory experience that is conducive to the audience having an opportunity to reflect on their own humanity and the nature of existence. It was fucking awesome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Now that's a concert review!!! Glad you and the wife enjoyed it! Thanks for the recap!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 My son saw them in Denver last week. He has been to hundreds of live shows and ranks this Sigur Ros show as tied for the best show he has ever seen. Sorry now I missed them in KC. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alison the wilca Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 I remember seeing them in 2001 or 2002 at the Wiltern in LA. I was in the second to last row reeeeeally high up which was already slightly dizzying. Mixed with the incredible euphoria their music creates made for a really memorable night... I felt like I was levitating. If you haven't seen Heima, please do. It is an intensely beautiful concert doc of a tour they did in small towns in Iceland. The scene of their show in an old whaling warehouse is stunning and the cinematography is top notch. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Shug, that was an outstanding post. Cheers! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shug Posted April 14, 2013 Author Share Posted April 14, 2013 Thanks! Glad y'all enjoyed my attempt to describe the experience. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NoJ Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Great review! Somehow I missed the fact that they were playing here in Chicago on 4/2. Dang it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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