DJ Trava

Posts Tagged ‘5 star New York hotels’

A few years ago I traveled to Manhattan to see one of my favorite groups of musicians.  Sigur Rós is a band from Iceland, and their debut album was Ágætis Byrjun.  This is one of those albums that at the time, the music stores just could not keep in stock.  Something about the sound they make, just moves people, and that was incredibly obvious a their New York show in 2001.  I was lucky enough to have found a room at one of the 5 star New York hotels, which was located within walking distance of Irving Plaza, the venue for their one and only New York show on their tour schedule.

They were originally booked to play at the Angel Orensanz Center, but the show sold out in under fifteen minutes, and was moved to Irving so as to accommodate a larger audience.  When I got to the Plaza, an hour before the showtime, the line to get into the show wrapped around the block.  It took so long for the fans to file in that the went up a half an hour past the scheduled start time, but no one minded one bit.  It was one of the calmest concert experiences I have ever had.  And it’s no wonder, when they took the stage it was more akin to a performance by a symphony, than that of a pop band.  The lead singer and guitar player is Jon ThorBirgisson.  The drummer is Orri Pall Dyrason, bass-player is Georg Holm and the keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist is Kjartan Sveinsson.

They took the stage quietly and as the audience held a collective breath, they began to play.  The beginning of their songs starts, and gradually they add layer upon layer, and when the song is finished, the layers slowly disappear.  Again, the audience held their breath, and the applause was given only when it was completely silent once more.  This was the first time I actually saw people faint from inspiration at a rock show/symphony.  The sounds that filled Irving Plaza that night have literally haunted me, with the emotion and the sweetness of this incredible music.  I anxiously await a time when I will see them again.