From Iceland — Milkywhale-Watching Tour, Day 2

Words by

Photo by

John Rogers

Today’s sighting of the ever-lovely Milkywhale was as majestic as ever. Yesterday, she managed to turn Laundromat Café into a dance party, and while that clearly stems from her seemingly infinite reserves of energy, I couldn’t help but wonder if it also had to do with the availability of alcohol there. It turns out that it really is just her explosive performance (to say nothing of those ruthlessly catchy beats) that gets us moving.

So as it poured rain outside Geysir today, she managed to get another packed shop-full of damp people dancing and jumping and waving their arms. And yet again, someone even waved their baby up in the air. I don’t know if this is the same baby from yesterday or if her music just really speaks to parents but there are few things that bring more life to an audience than a happy baby bouncing about with dancing adults, so all are welcome in the animal kingdom of Milkywhale.

Due to the difference in setup between the venues, I was able to watch the performance over the shoulder of her musical collaborator and producer Árni. I couldn’t help but feel privileged to see what he gets to see. I still have no idea what all those buttons and knobs on that production equipment do, but boy does this guy know how and when to push and turn them. I struggled not to creepily pat him on the back and give two him giant thumbs up (but I managed).

While Milkywhale is admittedly a persona that is being performed by the artist(s), there is variance in her outfits and banter between songs. (Today she had a ponytail! She drank water!) Always looking good and always making us laugh, I feel like there must still be at least a little truth to Milkywhale in her performer and more than a little genius. The next stop on this tour is her only official show and I cannot even imagine what sort of brilliance she’ll break out for it. Or maybe even just a trampoline.