Sigur Rós helped soothe my jangled nerves. Enjoying a lovely meal with friends at Solera (next door to the venue) before the show helped a great deal as well. Later, on the drive home, I was thinking about the evening. And Chuck posted my very thoughts, about music and Spirituality, before my sleepy brain could fully articulate them:
Bands like Sigur Ros, The Polyphonic Spree and The Flaming Lips are the closest many of us disillusioned youths will come to finding God. Church and religion have way too much baggage, and have done far too much harm. Sigur Ros makes it safe to feel exaltation, to experience something like transcendence. Call it what you will… the terrain of the heart, the soul, or just — good epic music?
Music has always been my religion. From the time I was a little kid, when my Dad shared his favorites with me on our reel-to-reel player, to those Sunday night all ages shows in the 7th Street Entry. From an early age I would withdraw, opting for escapism from the unpleasant aspects of daily reality, most often by reading. But music has always offered something more. Not so private. Not entirely internal. Live music shows have given me the most satisfying and memorable communal experiences I’ve ever known.
Bonus: I forgot to mention…Paddy from Dillinger Four was selling merch for Sigur Rós. It was surreal, to say the least.
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That’s exactly how I felt when I first saw Dean Can Dance in concert at the Orpheum in Minneapolis . . . the sense of exaltation, the freedom to deeply feel the music in a personal way but also within the larger group sense of the audience gathering into one humming, concentrated mass.
I’ve never seen them, but I can totally see where it would be that sort of show. Sigh. You know, the husband actually listens to them quite a bit…which almost seems out of character, for him.
I’m going through a heavy Sigur Rós phase right now. I just saw them for the first time this weekend in SLC and was blown away despite high expectations. My favorite Sigur Rós-as-religion quote is:
“You could say that in sceptical, self-conscious times, Sigur Rós offers reverence without religion and grandeur without guilt.”
Can’t find the source right now, but that sums up my feelings perfectly.
Excellent that you were able to see them too. And, wow, that quote is so very spot on.
Also forgot to mention…when one of the women from Amiina was speaking, with her lilting Icelandic accent, it made me want to hop on a plane and go right back to Reykjavik.
wow. that’s cool. sorry I missed them. darn my own artistic pursuits. on a related note — when I first met lolife he took me to lunch and asked me if I believed in god (he asked me a bunch of excellent and inappropriate questions) and I told him music was my religion and when I was carried away by song it was the closest I could come to god and praying. He totally got it. and the beat goes on, I guess.
Hearing Peter Murphy live in Denver was that kind of transcendent experience for me. Dead on descriptions. Cool photos on Flickr from the concert, too.
The Sigur Rós show was indeed awesome… and nice pictures, too! I was happy to be there.
I’m glad you enjoyed it Matt, despite the blasted beeping noises my camera makes! Heidi - I’ve never seen Peter Murphy solo, but I did go a little overboard and see Bauhaus three times (in L.A. and Chicago) when they first reunited in 1998. And it was also the same sort of experience…especially since so many of us in the audience had been waiting a decade or longer to see them. And mopsa, I can totally see lolife doing that - and I’m glad that we’ve all managed to find each other. It makes for one hell of an interesting and comfortable work environment :-)
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