Inspired By Hobbits

A little house in Reykjavík is offering visitors a chance at catching Airwaves’ best in an intimate environment.

By Thomas L. Moir

So you’re sitting at the pub, sinking beers, with the boys, eyeing the potential. Talk turns to the best live music experiences you’ve ever had. You tell your mates about the time you saw the Pixies play as the Debasers in an off-venue carpark in Tokyo. This gains a collective ‘duuude’ around the table.

For a second you’re the coolest guy at the table. But then that guy who you’re not really mates with, the guy that your mate Jonno brought along, his colleague, who just moved here and doesn’t know anyone, decides to share his story about the time he was in a New York café when Prince strolled in and spent three hours melting faces with his guitar to a crowd of thirty. This time it’s a collective ‘duuuuuuuuuude’ that goes around the table. Fucking Jonno.

Luckily, Airwaves have made sure Jonno’s stupid mate will never trounce your story again. They’ve thought of the most intimate, up-close, exclusive band-setting you’ll ever see. So exclusive only you and one other can experience it.

It’s called Eldhús: The Little House of Music, and sits in the middle of Ingolfstorg. It’s been labeled ‘the smallest off-venue at Airwaves 2012’ quite modestly. At approximately five square metres, about the size of a standard en-suite bathroom, it’s probably also the smallest in the galaxy.

Sveinn Birkir Björnsson, who has been working in conjunction with Inspired by Iceland to organise the concerts, says, “We’re inviting tourists to have intimate band experiences in Iceland.”

And intimate the performances will be indeed. So intimate that there’s only room in the house for two audience members as well as two or three band members at any time.

Among the bands performing at the venue are Tilbury, Ojba Rasta, Retro Stefsson, Ásgeir Trausti, Ólafur Arnalds and Sóley. Given the space restrictions the venue poses, the artists – some of whom are bands with more than 10 members—have had to scale it down for the performances.

“You’re going to see a lot of new versions of songs I suspect. It’s all going to be unplugged,” Sveinn Birkir says.

So how does one get into the most exclusive venue at Airwaves? Punters can win tickets to the shows on the Iceland Airwaves Facebook page.

Don’t worry though. If you’re not one of the lucky two, the concerts will also be streamed live on the Inspired by Iceland website. A screen and speakers have also been set up at Ingolfstorg to watch the action live.

“Everybody’s going to be able to see the concert from outside,” Sveinn Birkir says. “Or if you know it’s too cold, you can just watch it on the web,” he adds.

Suck on that Jonno’s mate!

Info: For a chance to win tickets to the performances visit the Iceland Airwaves Facebook page, or to stream the concerts visit www.inspiredbyiceland.com.