Icelandic band Lockerbie looking very young at Airwaves 2012. I loved their debut album, and this delightful video that came from it. I should see what they’ve been up to lately.
ByGD
Two of the Coolest People in Iceland
One of the cool things about Reykjavik is that it is both a sophisticated European capitol and a small town. It is possible to walk down the street and run into members of two of your favorite bands, as basically happened here during Airwaves 2012 when Gyða, the guitar player for Angist, and Gummi, the founding drummer of Sólstafir, posed for this picture.
ByGD
Edda of Angist
Angist is one of my favorite death metal bands, in large part due to Edda’s inhuman growl that sometimes give way to an eerie black metal wail. Although they don’t play live terribly often (the local scene just isn’t big enough to support a ton of heavy metal shows) I have had the good luck to see them perform each of the three times I’ve been to Iceland. This photo is from the first time – an official Airwaves show at a bar called Amsterdam in 2012.
ByGD
Asgeir Trausti in a Pub
My most popular post ever was about watching too many Asgeir Trausti sets at Iceland Airwaves in 2012. One of those shows was in a German pub so packed I couldn’t get close enough to take a good picture. In fact, I could only see the stage by standing on a bench. Even then, for part of the show a man standing directly in front of me blocked my view. Welcome to the Nordic countries, shorty!
Over the weekend I saw Asgeir four more times, and I saw two other shows in the same venue. One of them was a father/son duo playing chillwave; there was lots of room to spread out. The other was the band Reykjavik! That show was even more crowded than Asgeir, but I made it to the front anyway, had a blast, and left with torn clothes soaked through with other peoples’ sweat.
When I search that street on Google maps, I can’t find that German pub anymore. It looks like it has been replaced by a joint called The Dubliner.
ByGD
Rocking the Pylsur
For many years, I opted out of rock concerts. Then I went to Airwaves in 2012, where I fell off the vegetarian wagon in the wee hours of morning at the famous Baejarins Beztu hot dog stand. The hot dog was only a momentary lapse, but the concert-going stuck. A few weeks after I got home I saw Rose Windows, Pollens, and Cave Singers at the Showbox, and passed by this late night hot dog stand without the slightest temptation.