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Sigur Ros @ Splendour In The Grass

It's the second night of Splendour In The Grass, and the evening is quickly approaching its peak. People are walking quickly to the Supertop, where the murmuring crowd is growing by the minute. A deep, dreamy melody emanates from the stage, adding to the feeling of excitement in the air. It's a small miracle - for the first time all festival, Coldplay's Viva la Vida isn't being played during set-up. Something big must be happening. The light is very low and the stage is shadowed in a dark mist as instruments, both common and fascinating are brought into the space. Before the band has even approached it is clear that this is will be an exquisite performance. Large glowing spheres emerge from the very grounds of the stage, a strange yet perfect backdrop. Wonder and anticipation become thick as the audience continues to multiply. After a few minutes of stillness, Sigur Ros step out into the cold night air, prompting a seismic cheer for Icelandic glory.

The band open with Glosoli and Hoppipolla, and the crowd are immediately entranced. Dark figures in soft lighting, grand sounds, and Birgisson's seraphic voice casts a spell over the audience they will find hard to break. By the time Inní mér syngur vitleysingur is played it becomes apparent how truly sad it is that their set only lasts for an hour. The set has a distinct flavour – the songs chosen are majestic, joyful and upbeat, which although perfect for the atmosphere of the festival, left fans aching for gentle likes of Svefn-g-englar and Starálfur. It's a festival with little time and little space for a group like Sigur Ros, a fact that surely had many disappointed.

Throughout the performance each band member plays a number of different instruments, they move around the stage with a gentle ease that only exemplifies the love and pleasure this band clearly draw from the creation of music. Birgisson is seen playing his guitar with a cello bow, and Holm lightly taps the strings on his bass with a drumstick, creating a unique rhythm. A handful of songs from the new album "með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust" (With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly) are played. Gobbledigook takes the performance in a new and brighter direction, and the band sweetly encourage the audience to join in, and we do, clapping and singing "la la la" with a kind of joy and reverence rarely witnessed. As the song reaches its height the audience is showered with bursts of white ticky-tape, and there is not one person standing who is not overwhelmed. When Birgisson announces the final song a mass of people call for an encore, before he even begins to play. There is an emptiness hanging in the air when the band leave the stage. When they return to take a bow they receive applause with greater magnitude than upon their welcome an hour earlier. Those who know and love Sigur Ros were certainly not disappointed, and those who had never heard the band before left feeling as though they had discovered something very special. As the crowd slowly walk away there is a definate feeling that what we have just witnessed will be one of the finest moments of Splendour In The Grass 2008.

Written by  Gale Garcia