Words by

Emily Babb

Welcome to the eleventh annual Innipúkinn festival, a musical event held at the Iðnó theatre aimed at all those Icelanders who wish to avoid sleeping in stuffy, airless tents in the countryside where there are no showers (which is what a lot of people enjoy doing during this holiday, for some ridiculous and unfathomable reason).
The Iðnó theatre is beautifully situated next to the town pond, Tjörnin, and is quite spectacular in the dusky light of the early evening. The atmosphere was incredibly relaxed, almost like a friend’s garden party, with a few small bars to get a beer and a snack.
The evening started off with Dr. Gunni at around 21:00. The venue was upsettingly barren for such a punk legend, but the space began to fill up the more he played, which was gratifying to witness.
Dr. Gunni was followed by Kiriyama Family, the self-proclaimed princes of indie-electro-pop. Although still early in the show, these guys were a personal highlight of the night. The expanding crowd was warmed up with electric drums, funky guitar solos and a generally well put together band.
Somewhere nearing the middle of the set, a Hawaiian-shirted man in shorts and glasses began running amok the crowd, desperately trying to persuade the audience to dance, clap or begin any form of enthusiastic movement to show the band that they were enjoying themselves. He was promptly ignored, mostly because the scene kids that were there don’t do moving at a gig, but also because everyone seemed to think the man had taken too much of something or other and needn’t be encouraged.
This all changed, however, when the man mounted the stage and had somehow stumbled across a saxophone and a pair of shades. He played incredibly well and with enormous gusto. After a rendition of ‘Careless Whisper,’ the audience were in the palm of his hands.
Borko followed at 23:00 and ordered everyone to move forward to fill up the unused space. With the venue’s setting programmed to ‘intimate,’ the intricate guitar playing and soulful melodies could begin.
After Borko, Auxpan played a quick fifteen-minute set, followed by the bluesy, soul-inspired tones of Jónas Sigurðsson.
The night was concluded with an hour set from Prinspóló and then Mammút, the sole female-fronted band of the evening. Overall, a fantastic opening night for Innipúkinn.

The Grapevine also reviewed Innipúkinn’s festivities on Saturday and Sunday.