bjork.com | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001

04 oct thursday USA New York Radio City Music Hall Presale started on Friday, August 17 at 1:00pm ET / 10:00am PT. Regular tickets go on sale Monday, August 20 at 10:00am ET. Gig at 8pm.

Tracklist Part 1 01. Frosti 02. Overture 03. All is full if love 04. Unravel 05. Harm Of Will 06. Generous Palmstroke 07. It's Not up to you 08. I've seen it all 09. Hidden Place 10. Cocoon 11. Unison Part 2 12. You've Been Flirting Again 13. Isobel 14. Venus As A Boy 15. Pagan Poetry 16. Possibly Maybe 17. Hyperballad 18. Army of me 19. Bachelorette Encore 20. Anchor Song 21. In Our Hands Pictures photo: jessica jones Photo: Scott Gries/ImageDirect Reviews http://www.vh1.com/thewire/content/news/1449694.jhtml    Björk Performs Climate Control, New Song At Radio City Concert By Joe D'Angelo 10/05/2001     Björk   Photo: Scott Gries/ImageDirect     NEW YORK — Björk ran hot and cold at her performance at Radio City Music Hall Thursday evening, and both climates were ideal. What began as a sophisticated recital of Björk's most chilling songs — a good number of which stemmed from her quiet, introspective new album, Vespertine — heated up during the second set, where she elevated the audience along with the tempo. She burned brightest during "It's in Our Hands," a new song she premiered in the encore. With a 54-piece orchestra before her, an 11-woman choir behind, and flanked by avant-garde harpist/accordionist Zeena Parkins and electronic experimental duo Matmos (who earlier served as opening act), Björk alternately cooed and belted through the Vespertine tracks "Harm of Will," "It's Not Up to You" and "Hidden Place," as well as the solemn "I've Seen It All" from last year's "Dancer in the Dark" companion album, Selmasongs. Icy, blue-hued images of snow drifts and stalactites were projected on a backdrop, further emphasizing the mood. Her powerful voice filled the legendary venue's cavernous interior, often drowning out her onstage constituents. In a ruffled white dress that absorbed the cool lighting, Björk came to life as the show progressed. During the opening song, "Frosti," her only movement was cranking a music box beneath two lone spotlights. By the end of the 45-minute first set, she was as animated as anyone familiar with her videos knows she can be. Pacing the length of Radio City's grand stage in stocking feet, her mannerisms reflected the sentiment of the songs, from withered pleas to empowering struts. Following an intermission, Björk and company reemerged in much warmer surroundings. Blue lights gave way to red, and wintry images were replaced by bizarre illustrations of what could have been microscopic sea life. The pace of the second half, along with that of its songs, also quickened. The fervor built on "You've Been Flirting Again" and "Isobel," both from 1995's Post, and by the time she launched into "Hyper-Ballad," the crowd could no longer obey Radio City's "no standing" rule, much to the dismay of ushers who stormed the aisles insisting everyone sit down. The crowd couldn't be blamed for their enthusiasm when the object of it was more riled up than they were. Clad now in a fluffy red skirt made of huge feathers, Björk — still shoeless — was enraptured by her upbeat anthems, prancing, shimmying and shuffling her feet between fits of violent head shaking during the second-set closers "Army of Me" and "Bachelorette." The fever pitch peaked during the final number of the two-song encore, a new tune "It's in Our Hands." In line with its title, the song began with the choir, composed of Greenland Eskimos, playing the child's game patty-cake. The tandem handclaps soon gave rise to a stuttering rhythm that the crowd was quick to adopt. The song, meanwhile, was signature Björk, with soaring and cascading vocals atop Matmos' house beats. For their opening set, San Francisco's Matmos performed while most of the audience was still filtering in, delayed by stricter security measures implemented by Radio City. Those who caught the pair were mostly perplexed by their performance of songs seemingly devoid of melody, with rhythms that took some time to materialize. Using metal spokes and oversized balloons, among other things, as instruments, Martin C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel floated strange sounds atop their electronic beats, though their adventurousness wasn't totally lost on those who "got it," or at least pretended they did. http://www.nydailynews.com/2001-10-06/New_York_Now/Music/a-127524.asp     From: Arts and Lifestyle | Music | Saturday, October 06, 2001 Shhh ... Bjork's Thinking Casting a spell of quiet reflection — at Radio City By JIM FARBER Daily News Music Critic ost popular music acts aim to make a racket. Not Bjork. At her Radio City Music Hall concert Thursday, the arty star aimed for a profound sense of quiet. Remarkably, she managed to achieve it with 68 musicians in tow. Bjork She had a 54-piece orchestra, an 11-member choir from Greenland, two synthesizer players and a woman operating a broad range of harps. Yet for much of the almost-two-hour show, Bjork wove a reverent spell of solitude. The hushed mood mirrored her latest album, "Vespertine," which uses synthetic hisses, pops and rustles to mimic the ebbs and flows of self-reflection. While the Icelandic star always has made otherwordly sounds, this time she went for the inner-worldly kind. Her new songs ripple with a subconscious resonance, a tricky thing to re-create on the huge Radio City stage in front of 5,000 people. Bjork brought it off by delivering an anti-performance of sorts. She didn't address the crowd, except to chirp a few thank-yous. And she interacted with the other musicians only in one segment toward the end. But instead of alienating the crowd, or distancing the other players, such strategies bound us to her private world. Bjork split the show into two 55-minute segments, the first one softer, slower and filled with newer material. Here, she appeared in that swan dress again, which she really should retire. In "Cocoon," the singer explored the limits of her breath, stuttering her phrases into intimate gasps. In "Hidden Place," she made fuller use of the orchestra, achieving the exotic menace of a Bernard Herrmann score. More often, Bjork used the orchestra sparingly, confining it to fine strokes. Her synth players, collectively known as Matmos, created a beautifully textured collection of clicks, spits and shudders, while her harpist (Zeena Parkins) plucked glycerin strings and made the music twinkle. In the second half, Bjork broke things up with more aggressive, older material and appeared in a scarlet outfit made of glass and feathers. In "Army of Me," she used an aggressive dance beat without sacrificing her music's psychological depth. She held the mood in the song "Isobel," which actually critiques self-involvement. For a startling finale, Bjork unveiled a new number, "It's in Our Hands," which took its title literally by featuring waves of powerful clapping from the chorus. Bjork herself bent her hands into shapes that suggested monsters, massagists and flowers, in the process creating yet another world of self-invented wonder. E-mail: jfarber@edit.nydailynews.com http://www.newsday.com  Pogo Sticking From Pristine to Playful By Glenn Gamboa STAFF WRITER October 6, 2001 BJORK. Channeling her inner diva makes all the difference. With experimental artists Matmos. At Radio City Music Hall on Thursday and Friday. Reviewed Thursday. FOR THE FIRST two-thirds of her show, it was like watching Bjork in grade school. The flamboyant, unpredictable Icelandic siren remained mostly under wraps, serious and oh-so-quiet, allowing the techno lushness and the pristine arrangements of her music to dominate the Radio City Music Hall stage. Sure, every now and then one of those loose-limbed, not-quite- Paula Abdul dance steps would escape, but it would quickly be reined in for another stylish, yet icy track from the new, chilly "Vespertine" CD. But when the fun-loving Bjork finally arrived halfway through the second set, she seemed as though she had to make up for lost time. Wearing a red sparkling dress with feathers that seemed half hoop skirt, half hula costume, she sprinted across the Radio City stage and began jumping up and down playfully to her uptempo "Hyper-ballad." That was quickly followed by an angrier version of "Army of Me," which involved some stomping, and then the gorgeous "Bachelorette," which made the most of all the trappings that Bjork had brought with her. The orchestra and choir were major players in the first 50-minute set, along with her "Vespertine" collaborators, M.C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel of Matmos, playing a supporting role. In "Bachelorette," however, the evening fulfilled the promise that Bjork had offered, with techno dance beats bouncing off of the orchestra's spirited playing and her beautiful, distinctive voice gliding atop it all. In fact, it was a new song, "It's in Our Hands," that may show where Bjork plans to take her music. "Hands" was pure rave anthem, complete with Bjork furiously pogoing and loads of soul claps from the choir and the musicians. It was 21st century disco at its finest. Such excitement made the first half pale in comparison. Though recent songs such as "All Is Full of Love" or the single "Hidden Place" were delivered solidly, the unpredictability of Bjork's early work seemed missing. A considerable part of her charm is her ability to seem playful and pixieish while delivering grandiose tales of drama and danger. Though she has definitely taken a more serious turn, as the extraordinary yet dark performance in her heralded acting debut, last year's "Dancer in the Dark," showed, her music works best when more of her is allowed to escape. Perhaps all the staidness of schooling is getting out of Bjork's system and she remembers recess a little bit more. Her collaborators Matmos opened the evening with the unusual combination of techno and, well, surgery. Featuring songs from "A Chance to Cut Is a Chance to Cure," which merges surgical sounds - incisions and drills and such - to dance beats. It's really not that interesting, especially when combined with the extreme closeups of body hair and various orifices on the big video screen. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/features/bjork.html  Björk: Radio City Music Hall New York, NY October 4, 2001 A convalescent New York finds 120 minutes of succor from "Björk-with-Orchestra-and-Choir-and-Special-Guest-Matmos." It seems that New York's icy facade may have been cracked along with the World Trade Center's foundation. In the days following September 11th the muted chaos was alluring and the silence was surreal. The game of taxi-versus-pedestrian had been suspended; the streets were empty yet people kept loyally to sidewalks, treading their familiar paths to work and school. It became clear that New Yorkers do not run away and this truth was further evident during Björk's opening night at Radio City Music Hall on October 4th, 2001. The kinky singer, who gushingly thanks her "gorgeous Manhattaners" on her latest album, Vespertine, plainly enunciated the final lyrics of "The Anchor Song" for the wounded crowd: "This is where I'm staying/This is my home." Her fans' piercing cheers resounded with recognition. Though she was later armed with a small choir (11 Inuit girls courtesy of Greenland), a 40-piece orchestra and experimental electronic duo Matmos, Björk initially took the stage rather unceremoniously in her now-infamous Swan Dress (which, by the way, has seen its 15 minutes) for the instrumental music box number, "Frosti." Aside from the sonically-apt "All Is Full of Love" and "Unravel," the show's first half was largely culled from Vespertine and last year's Selmasongs. Björk was decidedly reserved, forsaking the expected spectacle for a minimalist backdrop of changing arctic images which accompanied mostly downtempo tracks like the stunning "Cocoon" and the Academy Award-nominated "I've Seen It All" from Dancer In the Dark. A more intimate setting, though, may have done the first set due justice as several modest performances were nearly swallowed by the theater's size. By-the-numbers renditions of Vespertine's homegrown lullabies attest to the album's domestic sensibility and affirm that the disc's songs, perhaps, belong at home. While she resembled a futuristic Liza Minnelli during the first portion of the evening, Björk's over-the-top performance of "Bachelorette" during the second set will forever hold a flame to the dramatic showstoppers Ms. Minnelli had once performed on the very same stage. Dressed in what seemed like a giant red feather duster (a frock that truly took wing during the crowd-pleasing "Hyberballad"), Björk dug into "classics" like "Venus As A Boy" and an extra-gritty version of "Army of Me." The singer hesitantly approached her microphone like a hungry predator or lover and discretely toiled over each syllable; she is, without a doubt, one of this generation's most riveting performers of both record and stage. Martin Schmidt and Andrew Daniel of Matmos, who contributed to three tracks on the glorious Vespertine and opened the evening's show, had their way with Björk's "Possibly Maybe," adding layers of their unique sticatto programming to the original production. Perhaps we've become accustomed to spectacle (the lighting often left much to be dazzled by and the anticipated army of cherub back-up Eskimos was a no-show), but the orchestra was divine and the choir-that-was truly sparkled during "Hidden Place" (both were conducted by Simon Lee). Likewise, Björk's childlike abandon throughout the frenetic second half of the show was beyond palatable eye-candy. The theatrical tone of the evening (due, in part, to Radio City) begged for the "It's Oh So Quiet," which was thankfully omitted. Instead, she closed the show with the B-side "Our Hands," reminding New Yorkers of the fragile state of their city and leaving them both empowered and thought-provoked: "Aren't we scaring ourselves unnecessarily?...It's in our hands, it always was." Sal Cinquemani © slant magazine, 2001. Bjorks' performance will definitely be one I will never forget.  The choir and musicians that accompanied her were also impressive.  The set and the lighting was impressive too!  The contrasting colors and pictures from biology illustrations and icescapes were a great visual effect coupled with the artists on the stage.  It all sent my senses into overload!!  I too have been a fan of Bjork for about 10 years and absolutely adore her and her work.  It's been about 2 days since the concert and I'm still on cloud nine.  Words just can't express the high she's put me on.  She was just amazing!!  I also hope that she returns to NYC. Now in response to Ryan M.  who says that people in the states don't understand the concept of second encore.  That simply is not true.  I've been to other concerts here that have had more than one sometimes even more than two encores.  But like Bud said, when the house lights go on it literally means show's over.  Besides I had e-mailed RCMH and asked them before the show how long they estimated the show would be.  This is what they e-mailed me: "Feedback, RCMH" wrote:Hi Melissa, The length of concerts vary from artist to artist.  I can tell you that shows aren't allowed to go past 11:00pm.  I would imagine the show would end between 10:15 and 11:00pm but that is just a guess. Thank you for visiting RadioCity.com and enjoy the show! So the reason that the concert didn't have the second encore, was because  the house doesn't allow shows to go past 11:00 pm.  I hope this clears up any misunderstandings.  I'm sure if this rule wasn't there that Bjork would have been thrilled to come back out again and give us a second encore. Thank you Bjork, for giving me a night I'll never forget!! - Melissa I woke up at 8am in the morning in Alexandria, Virginia.  After a four hour bus ride, I got to New York.  It was the first time I'd been there.  I got my ticket from ebay for $187.50.  I have never been to a concert even close to as good as the show that Bjork put on.  Her voice, which I have loved to listen to for years, is even more striking and powerful in person.  She danced around the stage with a silky sensuality that most women could only dream of.  Everything was perfectly blended, the choir, the orchestra and the electronic stylings of Matmos, all contributed to make the evening complete.  But it is her voice, haunting and dynamic that still resonates in my mind a day later.  I hope it stays in my mind forever. J. Adam Pierce I must say the concert was a special treat. Luckily, with my quick artist direct fingers I managed to pick up 4 tickets. Prime location - in the first row of the first mezzanine. True artistry. The boys with their electronic boxes. Zeena with those fast moving strong fingers. The orchestra was an overwellming plus I could never have dreamed of. And the miss - Bjork's voice has become much stronger since her Post tour. I must say any audience which gets to see Bjork and the Vespertine tour is blessed. This tour has already gone down in the record books as the highest level of intimate sexuality. And just remember it sparkles down there. Seri Westerbeck -serisuekoishi@excite.com  she played our hands!! she played unison!! she played generous palmstroke!!! she played HYPERBALLAD!!!!! and good lord, it was the most amazing night of my life!!!!!!! matmos was fantastic.. the balloons? how beautiful...i had the chance to meet them after the show and martin is amazingly NICE!! and Drew is too! but anyway, the acoustics in the venue was amazing... however, i am not used to sitting down at concerts and so far away (i much prefer the intimacy of bowery ballroom or irving plaza...) so it felt like i was watching a big bjork concert movie. during isobel, my friend and i tried to sneak up front and catch a closer look but the security guards were NAZIS!!!!!! we tried to be all smooth and kneel down near where the press was sitting but the press people were telling the security guards that we weren't with them! oh well, so we were sent back to our center P seats in the back of the orchestra section. And when Hyperballad broke out, i couldnt contain myelf! my favourite song in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD WAS BEING PERFORMED LIVE AND I WASNT JUST GOING TO SIT THERE!!! so i ran down with all my heart and soul to as close as i could get to the stage, which was about 15 rows back, and i danced and twirled and bathed my soul in all of bjorks glory!!!! for about 20 seconds, i was in heaven!!!!! then the security guards were pushing me back, breaking my moment of pure ecstacy. i returned to my seat but only to remain standing for the ovation!!! seriously, that song was such an amazing experience for me!!!!!! then she did our hands as the encore, which i was completely ecstatic about and bjork just got all into it, running to and fro, with her red ruffled feather dress echoing her every movement... matmos really pounded out some powerful sounds, let me tell you!!! again i tried to defy the laws of security, and i even got on my knee to beg, even when there was 30 seconds left in the song (you know the part when all the sounds are swirling around and around!! how gorgeous!!!!) but the security guard was not going to let me stay down there. luckily two girls grabbed my friend and i and let us enjoy the rest of the show next to them. the orchestra... the choir... matmos.. zeena.... man, if that performance was a cake, and all performers an ingredient, i swear to GOD the taste would be the most irrisistble and delicious thing ever. shes going to play undo tonight. i know it. she has to. i can only wish to the lovely people on this list the overwhelming feeling i felt last night. oh man, i love music. bye arley rose I can't tell you how excited I was to see Bjork live for the first time, and I left even more excited than I came in.  From the first moment she appeared with the music box til she walked offstage after the AMAZING performance of "In Our Hands" (what an incredible song!) I was spellbound.  The sound in RCMH was perfect and Matmos, Zena Perkins, the orchestra, & the girls choir were the perfect accompaniments for Bjork's incomparable voice and presence.  I should also add that Bjork looked wonderful in her swan dress & flamingo dress! I loved hearing her do the songs from "Vespertine" during the first set, but I was kind of disappointed that she didn't perform "Aurora" (small complaint to wage from such an incredible show, though), and "Pagan Poetry" is bound to go down as a Bjork classic.  I was also thrilled when she launched into some of her older classics--most notably her incredible performances of "Hyperballad" & "Bachelorette", both of which sounded better than ever with the orchestral accompaniment & Matmos. Lastly, the highlight of the show had to be "In Our Hands"--what a remarkable song!  When the synth kicked in at the climax Bjork started hopping up and down throwing her arm in the air in time with the rhythm and the lights went all strobed out--WHAT AN IMAGE TO HAVE LOCKED IN MY HEAD!  The crowd went crazy. =) I have to thank Bjork for giving one of the best concerts I've ever been to--I just hope we get to see her live in NYC again soon. Also, kudos for this wonderful site--Bjork.com has to be one of the best artist sites on the web! --Chris Grose NYC Bjork's show was wonderful and the sound quality was better than I've ever heard at a concert. Unfortunately, some people don't know how behave in a concert hall. I happened to sit directly in front of a girl whose main objective was not to listen to Bjork, but scream as loud as humanly possible into my ear. I asked her to please not scream in my ear several times and she simply refused to control herself. As a huge Bjork fan for at least 10 years I was very excited to see her myself, but I did not feel the need to infringe on others enjoyment of the concert. At one point, she actually stood up and yelled "fuck these people, fuck em all, I want to stand up and dance and scream." I can't believe that people act this way. If I want to dance to Bjork and get crazy, I'll do it at a club or at home. My memory of the Bjork show will always be a slightly less than perfect because of that person's inconsiderate impulses. A guy a few seats down echoed my sentiments. He sai! d "It just can't be perfect, can it?" I am writing this so that someone might read it and refrain from doing the same at another opera house or concert hall. I am all for clapping and yelling a "whoo" now and then but please consider others' eardrums. Thank you. Tracey Long traceymariel@hotmail.com I have a slightly different take on Ryan M.'s view of the encore at Radio City last night. I recall the house lights coming up rather quickly after the first (and only) encore, which is always a sure sign that the gig is over. I was hoping we'd get Human Behavior in encore 2, but it wasn't to be. Stunning show overall. Bjork sings from the depth of her soul, and it shows. And for all you foot fetishists out there, I'm sure the sight of 26 naked female feet for 2 plus hours was enough to drive you batty.   Bud S. Here is a short review of the concert, two things that caught my eye. One of Matmos. What a wonderfully strange band. I really didn't know what to expect at all from them as I've never heard them before this. They do fantasticly strange things like play balloons for instruments and probe each other's exteriors with tiny cameras. Visually, I never thought I'd see ambient music come off so well in a live show enviroment. I was more then pleased. They are definately on my list of CD's to purchase. :) Bjork was, of course, wonderful. I probably don't have to remind anyone of her talents. What a voice! The orchastra was flawless. Lastly, I was very upset, because I don't think people in the states are used to the concept of a second encore. We usually just have the one and then we don't expect another, and I could see from my balcony seat that the audience was not sure if they should stay or go. I am quite certain the Bjork wanted to do another because the orchastra stayed seated while the audience tried to figure what do to. Eventually, the second encore did not come.. although we all wanted it. I just thought I'd mention this, in case Bjork is reading. :) Take care. - Ryan M., NYC Bjork gave a stunning performance at Radio City Music Hall on Thursday, 10/04/01. The set list was similar to her earlier shows around the world. She opened with 'Frosti', 'Overture', and 'All Is Full Of Love'. The latter seemed to be a new arrangement and slightly faster than earlier released versions. Bjork played a small music box on Frosti, and activated the large one during the beautiful and controversial 'Pagan Poetry'. The size of this venue made amplification necessary, and her orchestra could have been an audience itself. The orchestra was an integral part of the presentation, and they did more than their share of support. Very well done - Bravo!   The sound quality was superb all night. Maybe too good. Zena was also in top form, flailing away at the harp. She also played accordion and several other instruments. Matmos opened the show with their own - and interesting approach to music. They used balloons as percussive and melodic instruments, as well as other unusual 'instruments'. The dynamic duo helped provide the electronic elements that rode their way into public consciousness, caught in the wake of Bjork's unique vocals. They pushed and pulled buttons and tweaked away mysteriously as the sounds of Bjork filled the hall. The choir from Greenland, both heavenly and haunting, made it a completely Vespertine evening. The throat singer, Tagaq did not perform.   For the first set, she wore the white dress, now familiar to those who spend their spare time in the Gigography section of her website. The second set saw the red 'flamingo' dress. What appeared to be sequins on the dress, was actually sound-sensing hardware that flashed internal lights to the music. Amazing. Sometimes the applause was so loud that it activated the dress, sending it's light emitting circuitry into overdrive.   While the first set did faithfully reproduce Vespertine's ethereal moods, the second set was the audience's obvious favorite, as it contained the driving rhythms of her earlier works. She did 'Army Of Me', 'Bachelorette', 'Venus As A Boy' and other riveting material. She ended the evening with an unreleased song, "Our Hands'. The Inuit choir started this one off with 'Patty-cake -style' percussive hand clapping. It was very musical and very interesting. There were also several 'airplane-swooping' synthesizer sweeps that made this song their home, as did the rest of her 'out-of-nowhere' and 'who-would-think-to put-this-here' electronica elements. Bjork's complex orchestrations deserve attention as one of today's most exciting musical environments. History will show that her talents are not limited to singing and acting.   When she could, Bjork moved around the stage as the audience went wild to her prancing and gyrations. She fed off their energy and gave it right back to them, sometimes individually. Her voice was absolutely...Bjork. The casual listener might think that her seemingly spastic, bombastic and sometimes gymnastic vocal pyrotechnics from her recordings could never be reproduced. As a witness, I tell you that she can sing circles around even herself. At times she took the liberty of improvisation, feeling each one to a natural conclusion and flowing effortlessly back into familiar territory.    For their own security, the audience was scanned with metal detectors during entry. Binoculars are not allowed in the building. Surprisingly, liquor is available at Radio City and the screwdrivers they serve will melt diamond. At six bucks a pop, you get your money's worth. Also surprising was the number of people I observed in the halls between sets - calling friends and loved ones to report on how amazing the sound quality and performance was. The hall itself is a beautiful place to experience music. Bjork was both at home and in Heaven on Thursday night in Manhattan.   Thank you, Bjork.   Michael Delia www.mdelia.com  Wanna contribute? Copyright © 1995-2001 by Björk Overseas Ltd. All rights reserved. See our privacy and copyright statement for more information.