Words by

Sigurður Kjartan Kristinsson

Photo by

GAS

Shabby, boozy, rugged and mucky are good candidates to describe the mood at Kaffibarinn when I arrived on this Friday night. Æla decided to offer the audience vast amounts of free beer, which the crowd had obviously utilised to the max judging by the state of the guests. Kaffibarinn isn’t exactly a conventional concert venue for there is no detectable stage, nor any trace of anything that could pass as a decent bandstand. And so Æla decided to perform in front the inner bar which in my opinion was an inapt choice, mainly because there were only a dozen who could actually see the band members during their set, and their forte is definitely their stage performance. They all seem to suffer from an extreme costume fetish, which explains why the band was dressed in slutty nurse or hooker costumes, with the exception of the lead singer who was tastefully dressed in a shiny tuxedo.
     They started out their set with a few energetic songs, immediately igniting the crowd. The lead singer, whose guitar plug was wireless allowing him to run freely around the bar, went berserk as soon he realised that the baffling crowd encircling him would be an obstacle to his intended rampage. His clever solution to this problem was ripping his tux to shreds which revealed his true nature – a ladyboy dressed in a delicate Cinderella dress. The crowd’s amazement was probably in accordance with his longings, for after this surprising act no spectators had it in them to curb their enthusiasm.
     Now when the coast was clear they began taking advantage of the audience’s unlimited attention and basically jerked off each other with raging tunes and wild solos. And when you saw how eager they were to amuse the attendants (as well as themselves) you kind of had to play along. And it was a blast, really. Everyone was grinning at the stage, and whether it was because of the clownishly dressed dimwits making fools of themselves on-stage or because they found their act actually crisp, everybody was at least having a good time. 

• WHO: Æla
• WHERE: Kaffibarinn
• WHEN: Friday, August 15
• THE VERDICT: The five ladyboys in Æla manifested that they sure can entertain.