Ice Cream Man

Labor day weekend in Iceland sees most people hitting the road for some camping and festivities at festivals that take place in country side, but for those who prefer their own beds and cold beer over wet tents and warm beer there are few places better to be at then the Innipúkinn Music Festival that takes place over three nights and two venues in downtown Reykjavik. For those interested the word Innipúki is a person that prefers to stay inside rather then to venture outside and is now associated with those who stay in-town during this particular weekend. This year marked the 8th edition of the festival that has over the years been put on in many different formats everything from being a one day event headlined by Icelandic musicians to a festival attracting the likes of Cat Power, Blonde Redhead and the Raveonettes to this years installment that saw over 30 Icelandic bands and artists take the stage during the three days and a held at two venues and after a 4 year time out from the festival I was glad to be back.

Friday night rolled around and first up for me was the punk rock trio Morðingjarnir or the Murderers in English playing downstairs at Batteríið. The boys blasted through some rather good punk rock tunes but unfortunately for them most of the concert goers had either not shown up or were enjoying free G&Ts in the courtyard, to bad for them cause this band is worth seeing live. After their show I joined the crowed in the courtyard for some drinks and to catch some summer sun before heading back inside for the next band. Next up was Me The Slumbering Napoleon & Svanhvít two bands joined on stage for some good times. I can’t say their performance was my cup of tea and it looked like the guys on stage were having a much better time then most in the crowd and it felt more like a joke then the real thing. The schedule had been pushed back a bit so I made my way up to Prikið where Húsbandið jammed away with jazzy funk fusion tunes for the packed bar, so packed that the people in the front were just inches away from the band and after their last song it was time to head back down to Batteríið where Sin Fang Bous was about to go on stage. Last May I covered Sin Fang Bous first European tour for ICM and got to see them play live for the first time so I was looking forward to see what Sindri had in store for his home crowed. For some reasons Sindri´s guitar was acting up so in order to minimize the feed-back it had to be turned down almost to a none hearing level but apart from that the band played song after song from their debut album and even with the guitar glitch the crowed still enjoyed every second of it. After some walking around town I was back at Innipúkinn to catch Jeff Who, a band that bursted on to the scene a few years back with their hit song Bar Fly and if you enjoy fun music videos be sure to check out the one for Bar Fly. After a few songs it was tome to leave the festival and enjoy a warm soft bed instead of hard grassy ground in a tent.

Saturday started early and people started showing up around mid-day for a little Innipúki courtyard festival. Music, burgers, beers and Kimi Records CDs flowed and with the sun shining members of the Trúbatrix collective, a newly formed group of woman troubadours that have been touring Iceland this summer provided the early birds with music until the nights first band K-Trio took the stage at Batteríið. If there ever is a time where the Jazz gets set free it’s when the boys from K-Trio take the stage. It’s not too often you see a band like this have as much fun on stage not only feeding the crowd with music but also conveying to them how much fun it is being on staying and playing for people. Time for some CHAOS and by that I mean it was time for Swords of Chaos to overtake the stage and go nuts all over it and as if the music which I liked a lot wasn’t enough for the crowd I’m sure having a half naked drummer would seal the deal. The show went on with Björn Kristjánsson better know as Borko one of Innipúkins organizers taking the stage. I have been a fan of Borko for a long time and every time I see them live is as much fun as the first time and now with new songs on the set list its even better. Finally it was time to go upstairs to the other venue Sódóma. I managed to catch the last few songs with Dikta who were playing for a crowed that absolutely packed the venue shoulder to shoulder and at one point during their last song I caught a climps from the back of two guys crowed surfing during the whole song, what a way to end a show. Seabear was next on stage at Sódóma and after having played a sold our show earlier in the week the band was ready to give the fans more. Mixing old songs with new, I think its fair to say that the upcoming release of Seabear’s new LP and EP will flying of store shelves as soon as they hit them later this year. Next I had to choose between two powerhouses in Icelandic music. Downstairs it was FM Belfast and upstairs Gylfi Ægisson, so I made my way to Batteríð but after seeing how many people were trying to get in seeing Gylfi first was the best bet. Gylfi is not a newcomer to the music scene, he has been producing hits for more then 40 years and with the help of his synthesizer and guitar almost all of them got played that night. I was a little bit surprised when I looked over the crowd to see it was mostly made up of 20 somethings dancing away and singing along to every song, guess that goes to prove that Gylfi sure does bridge the generation gap. It was time to see if the line had gone down and if it was possible to catch FM Belfast play. After making my way through the crowed to the stage it was on, the band started with Killing In The Name their Rage Against the Machine cover and it looked like the crowd was going to storm the stage, elbows were flying along with middle fingers and at one point Arni +1 FM´s beat-maker had to tape his computer to a table so it would not take flight when the crowd was pushing their hardest. After a few songs two bouncers where in-front of the stage pushing the crowd back so I made that my Q to go and went to catch the last act of the night Stórsveit Nix Noltes playing at Sódóma. This was my first time seeing Nix play since at SXSW back in 2006 and even thought the band has seen some people changes since then, their fast paced Balkan influenced music is as good as ever and with that my night ended and in the cab my head was blasting Nix Noltes tunes all the way home and into bed.

Sunday started out by my fulfilling an agreement that I made with Björn from Borko. It stated that if I would go see his top flight team Valur play and he would instead go see my team Haukar play in the 1st division (soccer teams.) The game started out good with Valur scoring the first goal much to the delight of Bjössi and his friends but after 90minutes of play they walked to the car with a 3-1 loss on their backs and no smiles. Back to the lovely Batterí courtyard we went, made it they’re just in time for POP-Quiz where I teamed up with Sindri from Seabear and his brother Máni. By only getting 27 points our Wu Tang Clan themed team came some 8 points shy of first place and I think it might have something to do with us answering Method Man to the question who is the conductor if the Icelandic Symphony, but who knows not our day but we will do better next time for sure. More music was on the menu and now it was Amiina, Kippi and Maggi that were playing Sódóma with some help from Kjartan of Sigur Rós on bass. Much to my surprise they had managed to fit all their instruments on the small stage and like the week before when playing with Seabear they started to mesmerize they crowd with their melodic songs so much so that a good portion of the crowed opted to sit on the floor during the show. Jón Múli is a legend in the Icelandic music and radio industry and was well know both for his songs and for introducing his listeners to some of the world greatest jazz musicians. Today his music still lives on and the next band up is helping keeping it alive. Sigríður Thorlacius og Heiðurspiltar have just recorded and album with selected songs by Jón Múli and at Sódóma they gave these old standards new life for the next generation of listeners. Closing this year’s festival at Sódóma was another Icelandic music legend, Magnús Þór Jónsson or Megas as he is better know, he has been a fixture in Icelandic music since the early ’70s and influenced countless of other musicians around him over the years. This time on stage he was joined by multitalented musician and songbird Ólöf Arnalds who has been making a name for herself both in the US and Europe over the past few years. This night was special as they were mixing up their catalogs covering each other, playing together and joining their unique voices in one of the best Bonnie and Clyde covers I have ever heard, Megas as Serge Gainsburg and Ólöf as Brigitte Bardot. Down stairs Fallegir Menn were the final band on stage and it was fitting as they have one of this years summer hits played over the airwaves almost everyday and with fun lyrics and blasting beats they surely ended this years Innipúkinn on a higher then high note and sent the crowed happy into the Reyjavik night.

Big thanks to everyone who helped put this years festival on and to all the musicians that helped make it one of the best so far. Looking forward to next year!