Okay, they were famous in Iceland from the day their first album came out, but when I took this picture of Skalmold’s Airwaves set in Gamli Gaukurinn in 2012, few people outside of Iceland had heard of them.
ByGD
Hip Hop Heart Garden
Just a random DJ performing outdoors in November in the park known as Heart Garden in downtown Reykjavik. In a complete misunderstanding of what tourists (and residents) want, developers have torn up this guerilla cultural center in the heart of the city to make another corporate hotel.
ByGD
D. Randall Blythe at Showbox SoDo
In 2012, I excitedly bought tickets to see Lamb of God and Gojira play Showbox SoDo. What a lineup! But LoG was unable to play that show, as Blythe was indisposed. When they finally came through about six months later, there was no way I was going to miss it. But I wasn’t the only one stoked, and this was as close to the stage as I got. A decent zoom lens could have handled it, but Showbox doesn’t allow detachable lenses. Boo!
ByGD
Nutcracker
I’m working on an article about Pacific Northwest Ballet’s new production of the Nutcracker right now. They are hard at work rehearsing George Ballanchine’s choreography and putting together new sets designed by children’s author Ian Falconer, of Olivia fame. I’m excited to see what they come up with. But I’m also going to miss this.
ByGD
Rose Windows
In January of 2013, I saw the brilliant, short-lived Rose Windows at Showbox. Poor Moon and the Cave Singers also played that night. I had recently returned from a solo trip to Iceland for the Airwaves Festival where I saw over 40 shows. But I was already on the bus downtown before I realized that this was the first show I had ever attended by myself in the United States.