While other members of Sigur Rós are using the band’s indefinite hiatus for domestic things like tending to their children, lead singer and frequent bowed guitarist Jón (“Jónsi“) Þór Birgisson teamed up with composer Nico Muhly to concoct a lush and surprisingly upbeat solo album. To coincide with the release of Go, he partnered with Fifty Nine Productions (who previously designed sets for the Metropolitan Opera Company and English National Opera) to create a a dramatic stage production to take on the road. The tour concluded its two-night stint in Seattle last night at the Showbox SoDo.
On his own record, Jónsi sounds regularly happy. Performed mostly in English (instead of the usual Icelandic), the songs trade just a little bit of Sigur Rós mysterious grandeur for a touch of pop accessibility. Wearing a fitted patchwork costume draped with multicolored fabric streamers and sprouting feathers, he led the band through most of the album without much chatter and a whole lot of enchanting otherworldly falsetto.
All the while, the set sprang to life in various ways: walls of greenhouse windows became animated with hummingbirds, prowling wolves, and timelapse vegetation; decaying taxidermy boxes sprang to life with fluttering butterflies and searing flames; trees and creepy owls appeared amid strobes on ragged burlap. (The Wall Street Journal, of all publications, has an excellent interactive article about it). My only minor complaint is that the whole spectacle might have been better served by a venue without a flat floor and more generous sightlines, yet it was nevertheless thrilling to behold.
With the close of the second encore, Jónsi donned a feathered headdress and used the set design to its fullest. Dancing wildly and occasionally crawling with projected fireflies, he seemed to summon the rainbow apocalypse with a swirling hailstorms, rolling clouds, and a thunderous wall of sound. Despite continuing applause, the show closed without another song. Instead, he and the band returned to endearingly clap back at the audience and take their bows.
What a great show it was, and I agree – would have been even more fantastic in a better venue. But any time shared with Jonsi is to be appreciated for sure!
Just a quick correction – Sigur Ros typically sings their “language” called Hopelandic (Vonlenska in Icelandic). It’s invented and serves as another instrument in the band. Just a little known fact… ;)
I wouldn’t claim to be able to sort out the Icelandic from Volenska, but Wikipedia tells me that quite a few of their songs are in an actual language and not the nonsense one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigur_Rós