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Why Sigur Ros Have Nothing to Apologise For: Bestival Review
Indie | Wednesday 12th September 2012 | Osh
The Icelandic quartet issued an apology to fans following their performance at last weekend’s Bestival.
The festival, held on the Isle Of Wight, boasted an exceptional line up with pedigree headline performances from Stevie Wonder, New Order and Florence and the Machine.
The band shortly released a statement criticising the organisers stating ‘Sigur Rós would like to apologise to anyone disappointed not to see the band's Bestival performance live online last night. Early in the day a decision had been made to delay broadcast ‘til after the show to give the band a chance to review the footage ahead of webcast, since they were dismayed that their guaranteed 'darkness' slot had been pushed into daylight by the expansive demands of the headliner.’
However for this listener the bands apology was beyond baffling. The ambient, emotion filled set continually touched me, moving me close to tears as it proved the perfect backing track for my own tormented thought process, attempting to deal with the realisation that my extended weekend was just a few acts away from ending.
The set was undoubtedly one of the standout performances. The mix of classical and experimental tones collided perfectly with the unbelievable vocal prowess of Birgisson, a voice who’s studio quality I was sure would be untransferable to a live performance. Never have I been gladder to be proved wrong.
The technicality of the bands musical experimentation saw the unique sound of the bow played guitar, a drum stick used to play bass and vocals sung through the pick-ups on the guitar. All this added to possibly the most atmospheric set I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing.
The performance, similar to this article was full of paradoxes, both haunting and intense. At times the subtlety of the music meant you were forced to strain to pick up the briefest of notes whilst at other points you were overwhelmed by a wall of sound rich and solid in depth. At points I found myself singing along to words I didn’t know or understand, so enveloped in the music that only after the band had left the stage did the realisation of my lyrical ignorance strike me.
Whilst the band may feel their impressive visuals were not properly showcased due to the expediential sunlight preventing their performance from displaying its poetic entirety I can’t help but feel Sigur Rós are looking at this as a glass half empty situation, but if this performance truly warranted an apology then a display the band themselves are happy with will indisputably be something to witness.
Info taken from: http://guestlist.net/article/4732/disappointment-over-bestival-scheduling-for-sigur-ros/
By Joe Longhurst
