Cat from THEESatisfaction playing KEX at Iceland Airwaves in 2012
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Lockerbie at Airwaves 12
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.
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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.
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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 It looks like it has been replaced by a joint called The Dubliner.
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Airwaves in August
Younger Than Karin
This used to be my favorite season, but the past couple years, I’ve found myself getting a little blue in early November. No matter what wonderful things may be going on in my life, a part of me is wishing I was in Reykjavik, attending Iceland Airwaves again. Fortunately, this year there have been a couple of chances to see some favorite Icelandic bands and discover others here in Seattle. I’ve already written about Reykjavik Calling.
There was also a curatorial exchange between Bumbershoot and Iceland Airwaves that resulted in some of the most painful scheduling conflicts of my festival, pitting local rockers against Icelandic electronica. Of course you know how the story ends. Read More