By Jase Walker
I genuinely am in disbelief that I am here. I never thought I’d ever get the shot to see Sigur Rós live, let alone have the privilege to write about my experience. Amsterdam is a city with no shortage of theaters, but this particular one has a bit more of a habit of booking bands that exist in a contemporary mindset that also bring something big to the table.
Sigur Rós in this case for the Dutch shows have the Noordpool Orkest with them as their backing orchestra, in a similar way that the London shows were backed by the London Contemporary Orchestra. It’s not my first rodeo with seeing a band accompanied by an orchestra but Sigur Rós are quite something special in their own right.
After a quick drop of wine to whet my whistle, I’ve found myself with a spot on the upper rows, just shy of dead centre facing the stage. I don’t doubt that I think I may have one of the best spots in the house for the sound so let’s see what we have in store. Out of respect for the requests to not use phones during the performance, I’ve decided to not do my usual process of typing out my experience as it comes but rather go out for the half time break and gather my thoughts.
As of that halftime break, I am broken, a complete emotional wreck. I am not exaggerating that I have, quite literally, spent a full entire hour squeezing my own hands and crying at the sheer awe and beauty of this show. I was absolutely not emotionally prepared for this in any way.
The sweet, high vocals that stand alone even in the presence of the first violinist, the lights across the stage that at first resembled candles but slowly switched to a more pale white and danced across the stage in a way that appeared like slowly moving constellations on the night sky, the powerful moment of choir voices. I have never before, in my life, suddenly been thrust into such an emotional state within minutes of a show starting and kept there for the entire duration. The use of a bow on the guitar to create shrill and almost atonal noise that contrasts strongly with the beautifully rich string section from the violins to cellos is a wonderful juxtaposition of noise.
Every single song is a journey in its own right, an unearthly ballad that provokes a raw emotional response without even knowing what it’s about.
The second half finishes, Sigur Rós and the Noordpool Orkest are greeted with five straight minutes of some of the loudest standing applause that I have ever heard in my life. Rightly so, I have borne witness to two hours of the most beautiful music, played in a truly incredible way.
The second half featured more emphasis on grander songs as opposed to the more subtle ballads of the first half. Much more focus on use of the horn section to drive melodic elements alongside stronger drums to really drive it all along. The small lights dotted around the stage shifted between deep red and pale blue, often pulsing along to the music as if the conductor was directing the lighting engineer in addition to the orchestra. There’s barely a single dry eye around me, many people dabbing their eyes with tissues to ensure they can see more than just a blurry mess in their vision.
I really cannot overstate how much of a profound emotional impact this show has had on me throughout tonight. I was not even remotely prepared for the visceral response I would ensure to this, almost to the point of shocking myself. Tonight’s show had me gripped immediately and did not let me go for the entire duration of the show.
I had high expectations. Sigur Rós is not a name that is carried lightly and I knew they put on a show that many people speak highly of but finding myself choking back tears barely two minutes in and literally not stopping except for the half time breather wasn’t quite what I had in mind.
Otherworldly, ethereal, truly unbelievably phenomenal, legitimately the most beautiful show of live music I have ever seen.