Okay, time for the Sigur Ros story! Sorry it took so long, today has been a very busy day.
It took ages to get to the concert, we got so lost. The problems were A) mapquest, B) construction, and C), DC’s notorious itty-bitty, ill-positioned, impossible to read street signs. We got so turned around in Georgetown that we accidentally went over a bridge, ended up back on the George Washington Memorial Parkway and had to go all the way past the CIA building in Virginia before we could turn around! That road has *no* exits and the few that were there were blocked off for some reason. I was really worried that we’d get there late and not be allowed in, but it worked out okay. Once we got turned around Steven took over navigational jobs, I let go of Mapquest’s directions, and we finally made it there.
The concert was at the Lincoln Theatre on U Street in DC. It wasn’t a very charming place to be at night, but honestly, there aren’t any nice places to be in DC when it’s dark out. The whole city just looks so dirty to me (physically, not morally.) But anyway, that’s beside the point. There were tons of people hanging around outside the theatre, smoking that final cigarette before going in the theatre. The theatre itself was very nice inside, very cute and art-deco-y. I took lots of pictures inside, even though I wasn’t supposed to have the camera. I was so worried when I went through the little security checkpoint. I hadn’t realized cameras wouldn’t be allowed, I just didn’t think about it. They made Steven throw out his stupid bottle of gatorade, even though we knew we’d need it. But thank heavens I had a black leather rucksack, it was impossible to see anything in it. The camera itself – thank heavens that was black too – was buried under tissues. So I made it by with my little illegal camera. 🙂
There were *tons* of guys there (I spotted a couple nice looking ones, tee hee), but the vast majority of them were either with another guy or had that “I just rolled out of bed look.” The unkempt hair, the wrinkled ‘alternative’ clothes, and funny pants. I was okay with that, just an observation. I don’t particularly like that look, but to each his own I guess. At least they weren’t the type that wear their pants around their knees with their boxers hanging out. That’s just… stupid.
Geeze, there I go again, getting off the point.
Before I get to the actual content of the concert, I should point out that I’m really naive about this stuff. I’ve only ever been to one concert in my entire life, and it was really sad. Literally. I won tickets to a Four Tops/Temptations concert about six years ago and I went to Mesa, Arizona to see them. Those poor men were way too old to be doing that. It was just sad to watch, so that has really skewed my perception of concerts. All I knew was that they’re either old person concerts or really really loud. That said, on to my opinion of the entertainment.
I felt so bad for the opening act. I couldn’t understand his name, the entire crowd just wanted to get to Sigur Ros, and… he wasn’t very good. One man, his guitar, and a really thick accent. The songs were repetitive, and I couldn’t understand a word he said except for little snippets that in unto themselves made no sense whatsoever. He actually missed bridges but instead of smoothing over them – cause we never would have noticed – he’d stop and say, “oopsies!” and then start up again from where he messed up. I felt so bad for him. He was probably so incredibly nervous, or completely oblivious. I’m not sure which would be worse, but they both sound pretty bad.
Once the opening act finished, we actually had to wait for 20 minutes until Sigur Ros came on. I *really* didn’t like that, but apparently Kevin said that happens at most concerts. Why? That just boggles my mind. The opening act warms you up, not gets you all hyped up and then disappoints you and makes the waiting that much more painful. I was so ready for Sigur Ros, I got so tired of waiting.
But once they finally came on, I was thrilled. I *loved* it! The only things I didn’t like I was pretty much expecting – they made some of the songs a bit longer than they should have been, and at times they got a little too loud. But that’s a concert for you, I usually just don’t like really loud music. I did enjoy some of the loud music, though. I could feel it reverberate inside my chest, something I don’t think I’ve ever really felt like that. The music was just beautiful. I didn’t want it to end. Once they finally reached the finale I was really disappointed and wanted it to keep going. I had only heard two songs by them before the concert and I left wanting to buy all of their stuff. I ended up spending $20 on one of their CDs only available in Iceland. I haven’t listened to all of it yet, and I almost don’t want to. I like savoring it, knowing I have new songs to look forward to.
Jen, on the other hand, hated the concert. I’m okay with that. You can’t please everyone, and while I am sorry she didn’t enjoy it, there was no way to tell whether or not she’d enjoy it. Kevin decided to get the ticket for her as a sweet gesture, and she appreciated that. But this was an experiment, and not all experiments work out.
Kevin said he really liked it, and Steven said he would have liked it more had he felt better. I had a wonderful time, though, and enjoyed every minute of the actual music. I’ve since downloaded a few songs to hold me over until I can make it to Best Buy to get two of their albums. Every other song or so I’d think it was my new favorite song, but of course had no idea what song it was or what album it was fun. I’ve been listening to some stuff from their Agaetis Byrjun album and I’ve recognized one of them that I really loved at the concert. ‘Olsen Olsen’, I love the piano parts. It’s just such a cheerful and pretty song.
The lead singer played his guitar alone for a while, which I’m sure some people probably didn’t like, but I was really glad when he did that. He plays it with a cello bow, and I’d always had a hard time trying to pick out that distinct sound in the songs. He played it straight and now I know what exactly what it sounds like! It’s strange watching him play it, though. Especially because he was backlit, projecting this huge shadow on the left wall. I tried to get a picture of it but I’m not sure if it will turn out at all. It looked *so* creepy! His arm looked thin and it kept going back and forth and back and forth… All I could think of was those ghosts at the end of Fantasia that come in and out of the mountain and they look all thin. Ickies. But it made a great noise, and I better understand how it adds to the overall sound they create.
Behind the band they had this huge projection screen where they projected some artsy home movies of children and other people. I loved that, it just added a whole other aspect to what was going on. They were somewhat out of focus, almost as if the film had been aged. It reminded me of how photos from the 60s and 70s lose tinting and slowly turn red and orange. Some of them seemed to have some of that affect, but it was a little more washed out. I think it fit the music well, and it was interesting to watch. Those little kids were cute. 🙂
After the concert was over the crowd stood up and cheered forever trying to get the band back on the stage for the concert. We even started clapping and cheering in unison for what felt like ages, but after two bows there was no encore at all. I thought that sucked, and everyone else did as well as made evident by the overwhelming “awwwww” that echoed around the room immediately after the lights turned on. At least the “awwww” was funny. 🙂
Big surprise, we got really lost on the way back home as well. Ended up on the wrong highway heading in the wrong direction. We thought we were doing okay until we saw the “Welcome to Maryland” sign and we all went, “WHAT?” We finally made it home some time between 1:00 and 1:30, not sure exactly when. But I was really wiped out.
It was a great evening, though. I’m convinced I need to go to several other concerts as well since I enjoyed this one so much. I’d really love to see Moby in concert, and Lyle Lovett, Harry Connick Jr, and lots of other people but I forgot who I had on my list. I’m extremely tired. (You can tell when I’m tired because I think I say ‘really’ too much when I can’t think straight.)
Holy crap I love this song. I had to replay ‘Olsen Olsen’, it’s just too cool.
Not much to report on today. I went on a little youth group outing with my church, but beyond that I didn’t do much. Ended up spending four hours in the car getting lost yet again, this time on the way to Maryland. At least I ended up in a car with entertaining people – Kelsey’s family. But now I’m dead tired and need to crawl into bed before I fall asleep on my keyboard.