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My Airwaves, My Winnipeg
It was a weird fate that I wound up in Iceland this year. In dramatics that could rival a Woody Allen film, tickets were purchased in April with the intention of having a “lover’s vacation.” The premises for such a vacation spectacularly…
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Known Unknowns: Mortal Orchestra Part II
After watching the Unknown Mortal Orchestra off-venue show on Friday, I internally told myself I would watch the off-venue feature gig at Harpa Norðurljós on Saturday so I could compare and contrast the two with a scrutinizing eye, like any good Doctor…
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Known Unknowns: Mortal Orchestra Part I
Unknown Mortal Orchestra can go ahead and change their name to Known Mortal Orchestra now, because their off-venue gig at the Straumur showcase in Bíó Paradís was filled to the tits of mightily receptive listeners. I’m sure you all made your way…
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Losing Your Shit At Airwaves
A bone of contention that often appears between me and my younger friends, particularly female ones, is that I “don’t dance.” Someone floating the idea of going out to dance, as if the dancing itself were the pleasurable activity rather than hearing…
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Last Night, I Wanted To Join Reykjavíkurdætur
It’s not some bullshit hipster pose that leads me to skip out of the Big Name Band that plays on the final evening of Airwaves. It’s more a phobia of massive stadiums and hatred of the cold, coupled with the fact that…
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GO HOME YOU’RE DRUNK, PINK STREET BOY
Axel Björnsson pushes into the Grapevine office at 2:00am and chomps the triangle tip off of a slice of pizza out of our editor’s palm. His body swirls as he tries to stand still. The smile on his face suggests his beard…
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LOOK: It’s Lord Pusswhip!
Lord Pusswhip performed two shows this Airwaves, and is absolutely beaming after them. “It’s been awesome. All the shows I played were super turnt, and I had an amazing time at Nguzunguzu and Kelela. My highpoint was probably giving Björk and Kelela…
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LOOK: It’s Útidúr!
Chamber-pop band Útidúr just finished their fifth Airwaves festival, and guitarist Úlfur Alexander Einarsson says the crowd was fantastic. “The atmosphere was good and we really enjoyed playing at the Art Museum.” Úlfur missed the band’s first Airwaves venture as he wasn’t a…
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LOOK: It’s Rökkurró!
It’s been a busy week for six-piece Icelandic pop ensamble Rökkurró who still have one more show to go this Airwaves, which happens tonight at Gaukurinn at midnight, where they promise to close the festival in style. Rökkurró just released their third album, ‘INNRA,’ through…
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LOOK: It’s Reykjavíkurdætur!
The 22-member collective Reykjavíkurdætur has made headlines in Reykjavík over the past year, and shows no signs of slowing down. Indeed, when three members come in for a photo shoot, they tell me they have two new songs coming up, and a video, too.…
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Performing Heartbreak
Baltimore’s Future Islands have had an interesting trajectory. Formed in 2006, they seemed a band with a strong but somewhat marginal appeal, melding together arch, retro synth-pop backing with unhinged performances from frontman Samuel Herring. But something about the combination, especially seen…
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Future Islands Fucked Me Up
I have a confession to make: I had only heard that one song Future Islands played on Letterman before I went to see them play Reykjavík Art Museum yesterday. For all intents and purposes, I expected a synth-driven indie pop band with…
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LOOK: It’s Bastardgeist!
Joel Midden, aka Bastardgeist, is a Baltimore-born, NYC-based solo artist playing his second Airwaves. He described his music as “kalimba/sampler/keyboard/laptop ambient electronic music.” He already played two shows, at Bar 11 and Bío Paradís, and is playing Kaffibarinn tonight at 18:00, as…
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LOOK: It’s VAR!
Having just released their self-titled EP through a German label in May, multi-instrumental band VAR are here and they’re playing a show at Gaukurinn tonight at 21:00. Defining the genre of this five-piece band is problematic, but one of the band members…
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La La La Luz You, La Luz! <3
If you have any brain floating around inside that skull of yours, on the hour of 22:30 you were probably seeking refuge at Iðnó from the frigid gales to warm up to La Luz and their infectious concoction of surfy garage rock…
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LOOK: It’s Lily The Kid!
Lilja K. Jónsdóttir is one half of the brother-sister duo Lily the Kid, who played their very first show last night at Airwaves. Lilja was previously a part of the electro-pop outfit Bloodgroup, and she says that she hopes people have a…
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Talkin’ ’bout my generation
I used to joke, privately, that there are two kinds of poets in the world: on the one hand, mathematicians, and on the other, magicians. While such simplifications obviously trivialise a craft that is really quite multifarious—I am large, I contain multitudes—I’ve recently come…
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LOOK: It’s M-Band!
M-Band is Hörður Már Bjarnason, also sometimes seen performing with Tonik Ensemble and Nolo. He is one of the chosen Eurosonic acts announced by IMX today – read about that here. “I’m playing five shows with Tonik and as M-Band. The Eurosonic…
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LOOK: It’s Bergur Anderson
This friendly fellow is a bass player in the bands Oyama and Grísalappalísa. He was also in Sudden Weather Change, remember them? They were a cool screamy Icelandic rock band that have split up now. And he’s a visual artist! And he…
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Temporary War Zone
Two men, disrobed from the waist up, walk on stage. Actually that’s a lie. They aren’t naked: their heads are wrapped in black masks, Abu Ghraib style. Not a note has been played but things are already getting scary. One, drummer Daniel…
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One Can Always Be Bothered To Dream
Although the presence (and wobbly bass) of local reggae darlings Ojba Rasta is strongly felt at Airwaves this year, the only appearance by frontman Teitur Magnússon’s solo project is an off venue performance at the no-more-than-50 capacity bar Bravó. This is despite…
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In The Company Of Cocks Are Pink Street Boys’ Enemy Band
Pink Street Boys have been tearing Reykjavík a new one with their extremely loud and dirty brand of garage rock. The name, they say, comes from the street their practice space is on, “Pink Street.” Although the band has existed in other…
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LOOK: It’s Just Another Snake Cult!
Just another Snake Cult are a local indie rock band who will be playing this Saturday in Harpa Kaldalón at 20:00. Formed by Thor Bogason in 2010 the band now features his cousin Helga Jónsdottir and drummer Pétur Eggertsson. Their music is dreamy,…