Venue:
Royal Albert Hall
Date: 02/10/2025
To say I’d been looking forward to this would be an understatement. The RAH is a lovely venue. It seems to have the very best staff – helpful, polite anf caring – of all the big venues. That always puts me in a good mood.
This was a family outing again with a pair of 17 year olds along with my wife and I. Seats were pretty good – to the side but about 8 rows back. You can see everything thats going on and the sound was terrific.
The first half of the show was made up of the new stuff from the excellent recent album and the gentler, melodic songs from previous albums. It was impressive and captivating with Fljótavík and Starálfur being highlights. The new stuff fitted in perfectly though and the hour was like a perfectly curated playlist performed live by a perfectly curated set of musicians.
A short break and then the show really kicked on. Opening with Untitled #1 – Vaka and then Untitled #3 – Samskeyti it’s hard to explain how such gentle, tuneful music can be so exciting and vital. A couple of newer songs (Ylur and Skel) sounded fantastic and perfectly in keeping with the early songs. Two more songs (All Alright and Untitled #5 – Álafoss) took us into my favourite three Sigur Ros songs.
Firstly Sé lest/. I think this is my favourite Sigur Ros song but I always assumed it was proably just me. It’s a beautiful thing, classic Sigur Ros and then, just over half way through, the melody changes in the most subtle way and slowly builds to a brass section that is positively jaunty. It gets me every time.
Next was Ára Bátur. I have expressed my love for this song in the past – I think it is genuinely perfect in every way. It reminds of my Dad (who used to be a choirboy) and I find it quite an emotional listen. Live, the song was bigger yet still personal. I may have blubbed. A lot. I was so happy. Sigur Ros, and orchestra, a choir and the RAH pipe organ at play. I very much doubt I will have a better live music experience.
I suspected the applause would never end but, canny as hell, the band allowed it to continue for about 30 seconds and then started the piano intro to Hoppípolla and everyone reverted to reverence.
These three songs, played in this venue by such a talented and creative ensemble will stick with me forever. I now have a new answer for the question “whats the best gig you’ve ever been to”.
The band left the stage and the orchestra and choir played Avalon. It seemed a very kind way to let the musicians take centre stage and it gave the audience the chance to collect ourselves.
The audience:
Mixed but a lot of heavy spectacles, beards and selvedge in attendance. Quite a lot of 20-30 year olds suggest that the attraction is broad. The audience was tremendoulsy well behaved.
It made me think..
Some things are meant to be done in a certain way. Sigur Ros, an orchestra, choir and pipe organ in the RAH is a perfect way to experience this kind of music. I don’t think it will be topped.
I’d never heard of “selvedge” before I read this OP (I had to look it up) but – minutes later – when I looked at the Braces OP, I saw it mentioned three times.
Synchronicity!
* Edit: unless, of course, a lot of Sigur Ros fans wear braces.
Beware the potentially deep subject of the various weights and finishes of selvedge. Let alone whether or how to wash a pair.
I am delighted to hear that you enjoyed the gig so much. They are a superb live band.
I saw them late at night in the enormous Arena Tent at the Roskilde festival with thousands of muddy, sweaty young Danes. There was definitely something in the air. The sweet smell of jazz tobacco. All very tribal and pagan which was perfect,
To my amazement, I’ve just found a YT clip of the whole show.
Here are Amiina who have played many times with SR.
I think an SR track would be very appropriate on Salwarpe’ s Fiddlers thread, They use strings very effectively.
The pipe organist was Anna Lapwood MBE, until recently Director of Music at Pembroke College, Cambridge.
I nearly spilled a pot of tea over her last year. In my defence, she is much shorter than me, and was standing right behind me.
I’m going to see her in – amazingly- Hull in December! Have been following her on Insta for quite a while; she’s such an engaging character, and hugely talented. She practically lives in the RAH.
I’ve never been to an organ concert, and it’s to her credit that she’s piqued so much interest in this relatively esoteric milieu. I’m inordinately excited for this!
I’m missing seeing her around town already. I wish I had her energy…
Was playing them tonight. Down here periodically but have missed the tour every time.
I need to be more diligent.
Nice review.
My youngest (now in his late 20’s) was at this one and loved it. Personally I was at Level 42 at the Liverpool Phil which I also enjoyed tremendously
You son has impeccable taste.
Great review – we saw the same show. Definitely one of the absolute best “audience watches on in reverent silence” type gigs I’ve been to, and Ára Bátur was an overwhelming highlight.
I was there too, up top in the gallery – fortunately the view was not as vertiginous as I’d feared. Amazingly it was my first visit to the RAH, and I was amused to find a little monument to Roger Daltrey in the pavement outside, for the Teenage Cancer Trust concerts.
I’m not a Sigur Ros diehard, I have a few albums and can recognize the odd track, but this was thoroughly enjoyable regardless. I have to say the sound was amazing: it was like listening to a perfectly engineered recording (I did see a note saying it was being filmed, but I imagine they might leave that there for every night). I’d say Ára Bátur with the choir was my highlight too.
The sound was nigh on perfect. I do hope it was filmed – I would happily watch it again and again.
After seeing this tour earlier in the year in Singapore, I knew that you lot were going to enjoy it when it rolled into the UK. It sounds like it exceeded expectations.
Had a quick look on setlist and it appears to be identical to what we saw, with the striking exception that you got the addition of Ara Batur, which has left me very jealous (being one of my favourite of theirs).
I can imagine that this was sublime at the RAH – as I mentioned in my earlier review was that this very much came across as more like a classical concert, with Sigur Ros assimilated into the orchestra, rather than it being Sigur Ros with orchestral accompaniment.