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| Info | Setlist | ||||||||||
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01. Musicbox intro 02. Overture 03. All Is Full Of Love 04. Unravel 05. Harm Of Will 06. It's Not Up To You 07. I've Seen It All 08. Cocoon 09. Pagan Poetry 10. Unison 11. Hidden Place 12. Generous Palmstroke 13. You've Been Flirting Again 14. Isobel 15. Play Dead 16. Hyperballad 17. Bachelorette first encore 18. Anchor Song 19. Human Behaviour second encore 20. It's In Our Hands |
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| Björk concert review, Amsterdam Björk concert review 28-9-2001, Musictheater, Amsterdam by PerditaX & B-sting We arrive a little into the first song by Matmos. Our seats were third row on the right, but practically front row, since there were no seats in front of us. Tip: always sit right side, because Björk has a tendency to spend most of her time of the concert on the left side and the middle of the stage (for our viewing audience: the right side). Matmos. Hmmm, close-ups of needles pricking into one of the guys’ nose, skull, tongue, etc. Hmmm, okay? We didn’t know you could get that much sound out of a birdcage. It was actually quite funny sometimes, but we were waiting for the punch line, but it didn’t come. When they used guitars on a song it was slightly recognisable. (B-sting: I actually quite liked the bluesy-looped stuff! (PerditaX: Yeah! Nice images of roadmaps!) Most of it seemed digital noise and stuff with out a tune or rhythm. Oh yeah and there was something with blowing up balloons and playing on them. And at the end they let up a balloon with a small speaker attached to it. A girl was singing from it: Björk? -first break- The music box was already playing when people came in again. The lights went off and everybody applauded especially when they saw someone sneaking onto the centre stage. Lights went on and Björk was sitting in the middle playing with the music box (Frosti). She wore her white pearly swan dress, with a hint of blue underneath (B-sting: erm actually, on her left hip it showed a lot of leg o.O). Both our first thought when we saw her on stage: “Wow! She really exists.” (Having only seen her on tv and pictures, it was kinda odd to actually see her moving for real up this close). And … she was a lot shorter than expected. Then came the Overture from Dancer in the Dark (B-sting: And like a Pavlov response I cried on the first note, haha). She didn’t sing in it though. We notice that the first half she played a lot of introvert songs, mostly from Vespertine and Selmasongs. She’s very obviously in love. This choice was right, because where she was very quiet said very little and didn’t look much at the audience, apart from glances, she seemed quite content and happy during the second set. She said a lot of “Dank je wel”’s (Thank you). And danced! Actually the first “Dank je wel” only came after Pagan Poetry, but it showered thank you’s in the second set. PerditaX: During one very intimate song in the first set (Cocoon?) she went off-stage very quickly. I think it was cause she felt she had shown too much of herself. You’ve been flirting again was Icelandic. Yay! Zeena Parkins had a lot of instruments around her. And gosh, she could play them all! Well not at the same time, though she did play the harp, while holding her accordion. We still haven’t figured out how that triangular electric harp worked. And what kind of sound it made. The Matmos boys changed their outfits after every break. During their solo set they wore t-shirts (PerditaX: I think the Misfits!), during the first Björk set white suits. And the third, they had changed into more colourful suits. And during the Björk set, they mostly sat with their backs towards the audience, playing on their laptops and things. But then they were only the live-band, right? The orchestra was great, sometimes even better than the music on the older songs. And they seemed to enjoy watching the show during the songs they didn’t play in. -second break- In the second half, Björk wore her red-crystal-bell-shaped-feather-dress. (PerditaX: wow we invented a new word!) On the one hand it was too bad the dress kept making jingly noises whenever she walked around, but on the other hand, whenever she danced around on the beat, it blended in nicely. And, contrary to what we’d heared from Brussels, she had not painted her face black. (B-sting: I’m not sure, but did she paint her forehead white? It was hidden under her hair.) In the second half she was clearly more comfortable with the songs and maybe because they were the more extrovert songs and also the ‘older stuff’ (Only Hidden Place and Generous Palmstroke from Vespertine). We had already noticed that during the first set one of the singers in the Inuit choir was wearing a golden glitter top, instead of the traditional dress all the other women were wearing (redish pink, and two in white). (B-sting: yeah and she was dancing quite intimately with the singer next to her!) The second half started with a solo of her. Turned out she was Tagaq (B-sting: Gosh, I never realised then when people spoke of the throat-singer, it could be a girl, LOL!). Quite an impressive solo! And her voice blended in well with the songs she accompanied with her …ehm … noises. If Björk is correct in saying that Icelanders were the first hiphoppers, well then throat-singers were the world’s first beatboxers (B-sting: interesting blend!). The choir went off-stage half way through the second set (we’re not sure, but we think it was at Army of Me, simply because there was nothing left to do for them). Awwww!!!! (B-sting: Hey they were perfectly cute just dancing there! =) After Bachelorette everyone on stage left (B-sting: Aha, but the orchestra remained where they were!), so after a long standing ovation, they all came back and played two more songs. The Anchor Song (very intimate with Zeena Parkins on a small organ and Björk moving around with her jingling dress) and Human Behavior (to which the crowd spontaneously stood up and started half-dancing to). Everyone went off again (B-sting: except the orchestra haha, though some were unplugging their amplification)! And yes, she did one more song. When the crowd went all “aawwww” when she said it was the last song, she replied something like “Ooooh, Friday night hmmm? Friday night in Amsterdam, hmmm!”. Very cute and flirtatious towards the crowd. It was very obvious by now that she did enjoy being there and playing. The last song was according to her, unreleased (B-sting: as I read on the internet, someone in Brussels replied: except on the internet!) song: Our Hands. The complete setlist of the Björk part of the concert was: Frosti Overture All is full of love Unravel Harm of Will It’s not up to you I’ve seen it all Cocoon Pagan Poetry Unison -break- Hidden Place Generous Palmstroke You’ve been flirting again Isobel Play Dead Army of Me Hyperballad Bachelorette -first encore- Anchor Song Human Behaviour -Second encore- Our Hands An evening with Björk Het Muziektheater is normally the home of Het Nationale Ballet (The National Ballet), De Nederlandse Opera (The Dutch Opera) and International guest programs. The National Ballet played Swan Lake in this theatre, but this evening only one swan descended on stage, Björk.The structure of the show was, what we already know from other reviews, that the first part of the show was for Matmos. They played with all kinds of stuff, synthesisers, body parts, a hamster cage, balloons and other things you normally wouldn't see at a concert. During their performance you can recognise parts from little soundscapes on Vespertine but now you hear the whole songs. Then the second part of the show starts and a warm September evening turns slowly into a icy quiet night when Björk, dressed in her white swan dress, comes on the immense big stage. She takes her music box and starts with Frosti, with almost no light, it changes the big stage into a small room and you feel that this is an evening to remember for a long time. Snowflakes drifted down on her and it was winter in Amsterdam. Only this was a winter like you want a winter to be. From far you can see the icy landscapes, projected at the back of the stage, but you're inside by a warm fireplace with hot chocolate or something stronger and some great music. She started shy and timid, with a fragile voice but it still matches the songs. Everything falls into place, the orchestra Il Novecento, Zeena, Matmos, Tagaq, the choir and not to forget the magnificent Björk herself. Her first set is more introvert and she moves, like a swan, gracefully around the stage. At times it was so beautiful you want to close your eyes an just listen but than you missed the beauty of Björk. After the break, part three of the show and the second part of Björk's set. She wears her red feather dress, and winter turns into spring and summer. The images projected in the back changes from winter images into sea anemones, starfishes and shells. Now things are getting more and more lively on stage. It starts with a throat singing solo by Tagaq. After that she joins Björk on Hidden Place. Palmstroke was beautiful but the sound of the photographers clicking distracted me from the song. Luckily You've been flirting again was louder and after that they left. Björk became more the Björk we've seen on other tours, swinging her arms and hips, with a naughty smile, playing with her lips and tongue, and bright sparkling eyes (I had a seat on row one, lucky me).The songs in the second part of her set were also perfectly arranged, from a swinging Hyperballad to a small Anchor Song. She ended her show with a great new song It's in your hands. As far as you can speak of highlights when a concert is this amazing, for me it was Pagan Poetry. The end of the song when she sings "I love him" is so pure, so emotional, what more it there to say when you put this on a record, it reminds me of a song by Patti Smith called Wave. Björk proved once again that she is one of the true original artist in the music industry, who combines pop, dance, experimental and classical music with performing and visual arts. She amazes with every new tour, and I can't think of what will be next. One thing I know for sure I'll be there, if I'm lucky enough to get tickets. Dirk mt5 29-09-2001 - 10:53 GMT concert Amsterdam : Bjorks Swanlake WOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!! She is so amazing! I've seen basicly every show of Bjork in the Netherlands and Belgium, and everytime I think: wow, this must be the best performance I ever saw...but everytime she just seem to get over that. Yesterday she performed in the "Muziektheater" in Amsterdam. Normally the National Ballet is performing there. This time it wasn't their swanlake to be performed, although Bjork's dress really suited the venue, but it surely was a night full of magical fairytales. The supporting act wasn't really enjoying my ears but their way of approacing music is interesting and actually really Bjork-ish. But it's hard anyway to be a supporting act...everyone is waiting for the real thing to come... And yes it came! Truely the way music should be: out of the heart and soul. I have to admid I had to cry a little bit in the beginning of the first part of her show, it was so beautiful and delicatly intemate in a way. It's amazing how everytime she can transform a big venue into something very intemate. The first part she did mainly her new stuff and the second part more of her old stuff /"hits". I thought "I had seen it all" but... You, know, it's kinda hard to tell about something that impressed you so much........I can actually just say one thing: I wish everyone in the world could have seen this concert.......it will problably change their life and experiencing music forever. Maybe then the world would be "full of love"... Bjork: you will problably never read this but...DANK JE WEL! PS: does anyone know if this show was recorded (there was a videocamera)? This would be the right performance for a live record release. Don't you think? eisbaer 29-09-2001 - 10:42 GMT Re: Impression of Amsterdam Concert Yeah! I was there yesterday and it was great. The first part, she seemed a bit shy a times, looking more in the orchestra that at the audience (it looked that way anyway), really concentrating on her singing. At the second part, Björk really seemed to enjoy herself, with the last songs she really got wild, I think it was on hyperballad, shaking her hair around and sticking her tongue at to the audience. Songs she did (that I can remember, maybe not in the right order): intro, ouverture, All Is Full Of Love, Cocoon, Unravel, It's Not Up To You, Pagan Poetry, I've Seen It All, Harm of Will, Unison, You've Been Flirting Again (icelandic), Isobel, Generous Palmstroke, Hidden Place, Bachelorette, Army Of Me, Play Dead, Anchor song Encores: Human behaviour, Hyperballad, our hands That's 19 songs! It's a shame that she didn't do Joga and Venus as a Boy (two of my favourites), but she did do Hidden Place, Isobel and Hyperballad, so I'm satisfied. Tagaq sang a solo and did her thing on a few songs in the second part, in the first part she was singing with the choir. Man, she's cool! The audience was really enthousiastic, Tagaq got a big applause. The choir was sweet, but they were not heard always. Zeena was cool, but could have been turned (volume) up a lot more. I thought it was a pity that they had to amplify everything so much, the music wasn't too loud, but it was a bit overwhelming sometimes. It was really a contrast with Vespertine, I expected a very intimate sound, but it was blowing away at times. The accoustics were so good, it didn't need that much amplification. I would have really liked it if the beats were a little toned down, and the choir, Zeena and the orchestra were a bit louder, because that was what made it so special. I really liked the simple stage set up and the dresses she wore (first white glittering swandress, then red (flamigo) dress). The songs all sounded good, especially the songs she did with only Zeena. The set by Matmos was not as weird as I expected, it was actually quite nice to dance to at times. However, I saw some people leave the hall when they were busy. They weren't that bizarre! The audience was really into it, when Björk began songs like Pagan Poetry or Play Dead, people clapped and shouted when the recconised the songs. Behind me were some very excited girls, I think I heard one of then cry for the first two songs. After that, she just screamed a lot :) At one point a other girl shouted "Hey Bjork" but she said bjoark in stead of bjeurk, so everyone wispered "it's bjeurk". I guess she was really embarrassed. So it was a good night, can't wait for the pictures in the papers and magazines! Love, Meta victor 29-09-2001 - 09:43 GMT Impression of Amsterdam Concert It's now "the morning after", and I'm still a bit dazed..couldn't sleep last night AT ALL because of the excitement of the concert. At a quarter to eight I arrived at the "Muziektheater", or Stopera as it is also called in Holland. A big, modern, round building with a lot of glass, alongside a typical Amsterdam canal. Outside the entrance were quite a few people hanging around, waiting and chatting. There were also some desperate people with cardboard signs asking for tickets for any price...it was sad, but MAN did it make me feel good for having a TICKET! Heehee. There was, to my big surprise, rather tight security. Everybody was checked for cameras and recording devices...well, there went my chances for taking pictures! Inside the building it was getting nice and busy, and you could buy T-shirts, cd's, the Volumen DVD and the BJORK BOOK (which I bought after the show). Finally the doors of the concert-hall were opened and the evening starded with a performance of Matmos. They played about five numbers, while people were slowly getting to their seats. These Matmos guys were pretty cool, making music with balloons, a metal hamster-cage and producing weird noises. Some things really reminded me of the Chemical Brothers. Then the stage was prepared for Bjork!!! It was so cool to see her in real life! She started with a FROSTI-type of instrumental intro wearing an adapted swan-dress, softly lit by yellowy spotlights while paper snowflakes were falling on her. Very poetical. After that, the orchestra played the DITD-overture, and the best show ever followed! She played a lot of songs from Vespertine and Post (with "You've been flirting again" in Icelandic). I was really struck by the way she moves. She dances very nice I think. Sometimes very hectic hand and arm movements, other times gently swaying and jumping. After the break she had changed in a wonderful red dress, with feathers around Bjork's waist and a top with red pieces of plastic, which made a sweet tingling noise when she moved. After each song was a big applause, which Bjork sometimes replied to with a nice "dank je wel", or "thank you". She played some more songs from Post and Homogenic, and only one song not from an album: "Generous Palmstroke". Near the end "The Anchor song" and "Human Behaviour" were sung, to make everything complete. Bjork had a surprisingly strong, even voice and she was really in to it the whole time and by the time the concert was nearing it's conclusing everybody was really swinging. Man, the applause she was getting! The concert was concluded with a song not yet released: "our hands" or something...very good song. Can't wait to get it. There weren't any bad things about the show. Only two things I found a bit disappointing: She sung "I've Seen It All" by herself, but to me it will always be a duet. And at times it was impossible to hear Zeena Perkins playing, which I found sad for her. All in all, it was a superb night. I clapped my hands sore. And so did everybody. Victor Dear MWC's, Yesterday's gig in Amsterdam was one of the most incredible musical experiences I've ever had. It actually was my first Bjork gig (shame on me!), and that made it extra special. The start was overwhelming (overture), and All is full of love, the first actual song certainly had an emotional effect on me. Wow! This was the first time I saw her perform, and she started with one of my absolute favorites! The rest of the show was perfect, with breathtaking performances of Pagan Poetry, Palmstroke, You've been flirting again, Play Dead, Hyperballad and Anchor Song. I, as everybody else in the audience, was stunned by this gig and I was so sorry it had to end... DanielG from Amsterdam /reviews - 3460 |
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