Sigur Rós were great last night. That's an understatement, but I'm not sure if there's much left to say about where this band stands right now, in relation to themselves or any other musical act. The show was held as part of MoMA's PopRally series, in conjunction with the exhibition Take your time: Olafur Eliasson. The bar was open, attendees received custom made commemorative posters, and it was Icelandic independence day (we got the national anthem -- "sing along if you know the words!"). At Bonnaroo the rear half of the tent chanted "sit down," but those up front had no choice given the height of the stage. Last night, though, taking a seat have been perfect: The stage was low, and with the poshly minimalistic space, the free Grolsch, and the floor-to-ceiling glass panes as a backdrop overlooking MoMA's courtyard and Sigur Rós's big bright balls, it felt like a party at your rich friend's SoHo loft with the greatest house band in existence. People stood throughout, unfortunately, so the sightlines weren't great if you weren't up front. In service to those who weren't there (and, even those who were), here are some photos to set the scene. Let's all pray they'll come back this fall.
SETLIST
01 "svefn-g-englar"
02 "glosoli"
03 "se lest"
04 "ny batteri"
05 "vid spilum endalaust"
06 "hoppipolla"
07 "med blodnasir"
08 "vidrar vel til loftarasa"
09 "saeglopur"
10 "inni mer syngur vitleysingur"
11 "olsen olsen"
12 "hafsol"
13 "gobbledigook"
----
14 iceland national anthem
15 "popplagid"
By way of postscript, I should say Avey Tare was there and taking it all in. It would've been fun to ask for his thoughts on all the "Gobbledigook"/Animal Collective comparisons floating around, but by the time I had that thought he had vanished. No bigs. There's always the next time I spot a member of Animal Collective at a Sigur Rós show in a museum.
