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| Info | Setlist | ||||||||||
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01. Intro - Brennið Þið Vitar 02. Earth Intruders 03. Hunter 04. Unravel 05. Hope 06. The Pleasure Is All Mine 07. Dull Flame Of Desire 08. Jóga 09. Vertebrae By Vertebrae 10. Desired Constellation 11. Army Of Me 12. Innocence 13. Who Is It 14. Vökuró 15. Wanderlust 16. Hyperballad 17. Pluto encore 18. Anchor Song 19. Declare Independence |
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| Pictures (email) Observe that there usually is a NO camera policy at these concerts. | |||||||||||
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| Reviews |
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| FAO- Utakata (again) ALSO- WHY would she shout "Free Tibet!" at a gig in London? She done it in China to make a point to the Chinese people! If you read up about her gigs you would realise that she tries to relate the song to the crowd she is playing to... example- at Connect in Scotland, she shouted "Here is a song you can all relate to" before blaring into it, which really appealed to all the SNP voters in the audience! I suppose if she was going to shout anything in London it would be - Let go of Wales and Scotland, and while you're at it, Australia, Gilbraltar, Bermuda, The Falklands, The Cayman Islands, etc, but it would have probably taken a while for her to get through them all. Finally- Bjork doesnt really communicate with the crowd or get involved with general banter- she likes to keep her mystique. Even if she wanted to get involved in banter, i dont think she would have been put off by the "mixed crowd", i think she would have been more put off by people like you standing still and getting annoyed at people who were clearly enjoying themselves. /untitled81 - 3870 |
| FAO - Utakata I happened to be at this gig, and i also happen to be a gay man (of 27, i dont know if thats what you consider to be young), and i SERIOUSLY hope you are not talking about me when you said you want to hit me. Gigs are about going and listening to music and letting yourself go, not standing about like a corpse with a face like you just ate a bag of lemons. I was going crazy when Bjork was on, singing along, mimicking her dancing, jumping up and down- basically, letting myself go and having a great time! I noticed that more than half the crowd were stading still like mannequins. At some points i felt like the only person enjoying myself. I saw Bjork last year at Connect Festival in Scotland and it was insane, the 15,000 strong crowd were going mental, dancing, screaming, singing along (and NOT just to Hypberballad) and it was a phenomenal experience. The gig at Hammersmith left me with a rather bitter taste in my mouth. Its a sweeping generalisation, but a lot of artitsts/bands have expressed their fondness of crowds up north (or outside London) as they know how to let themselves go and really lose themselves in the moment. It seems to me that most people at gigs in London (from my experiences) are there to be seen or care too much about what other people think of them to actually have fun. Do you honestly think Bjork wants to look out into a crowd of statues? She WANTS the crowds energy and enthusiasm, especially through such an electric tour, her most energetic yet (her own words). If you want to stand still and moan about people dancing then i suggest next time you get a ticket for the seating area, or wait at home for the DVD. I HOWEVER WILL CONTINUE TO GO TO BJORKS GIGS, I WILL SING AND DANCE AND GIVE HER ALL THE ENERGY I CAN MUSTER. THE MORE THE CROWD GIVE BJORK, THE MORE THEY WILL GET BACK FROM HER!!! /untitled81 - 3869 |
| http://it-illiterate.blogspot.com/2008/04/review-bjork-live-in-hammersmith-apollo.html A bit off the topic of technology here, but Bjork is a legend nonetheless. First, I'll start with my expectations. Bjork has a history of extravagant shows, like the Olympics closing ceremony in Athens in 2004, so I was hoping to see a very interesting show. This, coupled with the fact that the last time I was at this venue in Hammersmith Apollo, The Flaming Lips were playing, and boy, did they have a good show. Anyway, she came out with Earth Intruders, as expected from her setlist, full of energy, in a metallic pink layered dress with very colourful pom poms on her head. Then the pace slowed, and remained so for more than half the night. She sang Hunter, and then my all-time favourite, Unravel. Lovely rendition and worth my money alone. I took a video of this song and you can see it here. |
| http://www.lastfm.com.br/user/CvaldaVessalis/journal/2008/04/15/701725/ The Journey Itself Is Home... Live @ Hammersmith Apollo, April 14 2008 Abr 15 2008, 13h22 Live @ Hammersmith Apollo, London: Björk with Special Guests Toumani Diabaté and Antony with opening support by Leila April 14 -------- Please bear in mind that this is in fact the first concert I have ever been to, never mind written a journal entry for, so the whole standing for six hours (including queues and support, obviously!) and jumping maniacally whilst screaming lyrics back at the performer on-stage is certainly a new experience for me! I've also been hyping this concert up since I booked the tickets last November(!) as a Christmas present for a close friend, so expectations were high. Yes, maybe my last visit to the Hammersmith Apollo did bear witness to an uncomfortable mix of racist stereotypes and misogyny sandwiched between fits of uncontrollable giggles (the highlight of that show? Paul Putner received an ovation when he first walked on), but I was prepared for something truly spectacular from Björk and her team... and I wasn't disappointed! First things first, Björk fans are quite regularly 6'2'', rather good looking and more often than not have big unruly hair. And it is these people who line the five-deep area after the stalls barrier, so it is important for regularly-sized folk to take a position nearer the middle. Secondly, Björk fans, myself included, are known for their geeky devotion to the star, but some tend to follow her all over Europe, so be wary of camping bags, tents, roofed bouncy castles, dirigibles and the like being strewn across the stall floor waiting for you to trip over them arse over tit. This isn't to say that these are horrible people who do this, but it may be worth checking your resilience and friendly nature is still intact after the mad rush for the front has left you with a few nudges to the shoulder and upper arms. Unless your upstairs in the Circle, in which case, you're absolutely fine... }:^( But, with all of these practicalities still surfacing throughout the night, the show must indeed go on, and the stage was already crowded with all sorts of gadgetry including an extensive percussion kit, two enshrining stands devoted to state-of-the-art programming (one for beats, the other for mixing, keyboards and "lots of other stuff", as Björk herself addresses later) and a big-ass harpsichord, all adorned with medieval-style banners of reptiles and amphibians draped across the back. But before the 10-strong brass band could be added to the fit-to-burst stage, the night was opened with the rather brilliant Leila's 45-minute DJ-set. Originally, Ricardo Villalobos was slated to open for Björk, but for reasons that for me remain in the ether, this didn't come to be. Instead, Ms Gudmundsdottir enlisted the help of her long-time friend, who had toured with her previously for Debut and Post. She has since cut two albums on Richard D. James (aka the Aphex Twin's) label, and by the promise of this set, they are well-worth checking out. Retaining a lot of Villalobos's clacky static influence at the start, mixed chillingly alongside a doom-laden public announcement and a metallic melody from Autechre to create a noise reminiscent of David Lynch's sound design, Leila would later dust off her vinyls to incorporate scores in the style of Ennio Morricone, alongside '60's girlband pop and rap interludes from Snoop Dogg and Big Boi (all I could make out!) for a truly head-turning performance. You would do well to watch her too, seeing as her focus, diligence and attention to detail was something to behold; when she first brought the break-beats in, she actually screamed at the turntable in pure joy... and there I was thinking DJing was just sticking some records on for some friends and braindead customers! In retrospect, regardless of how impressive her mix was, Leila's set was certainly of a different emotional meter than the girl who was to bound onstage in one of her most excitably joyful appearances I've yet seen. Opening with a traditional Icelandic song brought to life by the "Wonderbrass" band (the atypical group of Icelandic players that Björk seems to make a welcome customary feature in all of her shows since the Homogenic tour), all pretension was cast aside as Earth Intruders announced itself through the speakers and after her first few lines, the back of the stage was aflame via two 20-foot jets of fire, blinding the audience with pure powerhouse visual pizzaz. The brass band held court in traditional costumes with face-paint and flags adorned on their heads (for impromptu choreographed headbanging later in the evening) but they were no match for Björk's finest piece of headwear since her diamond-encrusted visage at the Fashion Rocks concert, her golden-foreheaded bonce surrounded by what could only be described as giant woolen, Technicolour baubles as she shimmied in a pink/silver dress made from what looked like plastic tarpaulin. One got the impression she stopped by friend Alexander McQueen's place before she performed asking what was the cutest, most outlandish thing she could wear... suffice to say, the blood was pumped and the show rarely lost momentum. I would do well to mention Björk's players and special guests now, as their contribution was invaluable and their energy infectious. On hand for programmed beats was the indomitable Mark Bell of LFO; for percussion there was a frighteningly impressive Chris Corsano (whose arms are now my utmost fantasy gift for Christmas!!); and Damian Taylor held fort as the "musical director" armed with a mixing deck that visualises all sequences, keyboards, percussion, everything flowing through the speaker, via touch-sensitive screens and coloured-graphics often resembling '80's video games. These screens were often captured by cameras directly above the stage as Damian's hands worked their wiles (another fantasy present!), and presented a lovely visual dynamic for the audience with three television sets based on the stage behind Björk. Also on hand was Jónas Sen on harpsichord duties, his highlight being an unplugged rendition of Vökuró from her album Medúlla, dressed humourously in formal suit'n'tie. The brass band are in receipt of fine praise too, with their constant lugging of instruments, singing back-up of several songs, constant shifting about on-stage and playing all of their arrangements WITHOUT sheet music! Now, I'm a huge fan of Zeena Parkins's work on the Vespertine tour, but these guys altogether presented her best band yet, in my opinion! Then there were her special guests, upon whose announcements when they ventured centre-stage, the audience went nuts. Toumani Diabaté had been booked for quite sometime, so whilst his appearance was less of a surprise, he still displayed his phenomenal dexterity on kora duties for Hope from Björk's latest LP, Volta. After an ornate solo that saw the Icelander kneel on-stage in touching reverence, the band kicked off a spirited rendition of what has been described as Volta's bugbear composition. Then, after hinting at his arrival earlier (which was NOT signposted officially but significantly-rumoured enough on this site and various other forums), Antony took the stage to sing The Dull Flame Of Desire. Upon his announcement a tiny Spanish woman behind me burst into tears, though I have to say, he appeared off-his-footing here. Björk was pitch-perfect throughout, but Antony, often hiding his mouth in his scarf and generally being a bit all-over-the-place, didn't match her. By the end of the song, he was going for it, and the mic did catch his resplendently beautiful voice more often than not, but his rushed shuffle offstage before the song's finale was the gracenote of a disconcertingly odd performance. None of which can be said of the star of the show, who shone brighter than ever with a surprisingly generous mix of audience interaction than on previous tours. All of the soul-searching balladry, rambunctiously cute energy and teary-eyed solemnity reared their heads on this night, standouts for sheer vocal clairvoyance being Unravel, Desired Constellation, Vertebrae By Vertebrae and Wanderlust. But she was also immensely playful with the crowd during the roof-raisers too, highlights being Army of Me (which has NEVER sounded as good, EVER!!!), Jóga and the ever-pretty Hyperballad, in which the audience sang right along with her before jolting excitedly into LFO's underrated party-piece Freak. Once the rain of shimmering paper flew over the audience (one of many visual flourishes throughout the show) as Declare Independence rather ironically forced the crowd into a unified frenzy for the finale, there was little doubt that Björk's reputation as a performer is yet to see a dip in sublime authority. You wouldn't normally imagine a woman of 42 headbanging, jumping, dancing, singing and keeping all of that energy consistent over 90 minutes, but she did... I left the theater puzzled as to how she actually did it! (My friend made light of her touching her nose constantly throughout the performance, after which I shot him a quizzically blasphemous look!) If I were to deduce any gripes, it would be that the show focused primarily on songs from Volta, Homogenic and Medúlla, as opposed to my personal favourite Vespertine. I can easily relinquish that statement though in the fact that the Volta songs in particular never sounded better than they did in their live forms here, proving to naysayers of that album that it really is a work of pop mastery. If I were to distill how good this concert was in a single sentence, though, it would be this... I was bursting for the toilet as soon as the band marched on stage, and I stayed put for the whole performance in pure awe. Thank you Björk for a truly enchanting evening and well done everyone who has seen her already... and for those yet to see her, you are in for one brilliant show! /CvaldaVessalis - 3860 |
| http://uk.popsugar.com/1548195 I had a busy evening yesterday – not only did I watch the Skins series finale, but I also ventured out to Hammersmith Apollo to see the amazing Bjork play live. It was a magical gig, full of crazy outfits, gorgeous songs, lasers, confetti and an all women brass band she called "The Wonder Brass" - nice! The show was spectacular, with each song changing the pace and vibe of the gig to a degree I'd never felt before. But it wasn't just the music – Bjork came out on stage in a fabulously eccentric wig made up of multicoloured spheres, her brass band had flags on their heads which they shook in time to the music and there were two guests performing on stage with her. The first was world musician Toumani Diabate, who joined Bjork to play a gorgeous introduction to "Hope" on his 21-string kora. It was magical. Next was Antony Hegarty from Antony & The Johnsons, and his bird-like voice, who duetted with the pocket-sized Icelandic princess on "The Dull Flame Of Desire". Also magical. We all felt like we'd witnessed a rare treat! Bjork's unique and beautiful vocals were even more stunning in person than they are on record, I can't get over that voice. She transformed it from frantic and broken to smooth and gentle so easily between songs. One of my many highlights was the beautiful "Jóga", during which I was completely transfixed by her (and her musicians') performance (check out a clip under the cut). I loved "Hyperballad" too, her energy was second to none... she was like a teenager up there, I forget she's 42(!). /popsugaruk - 3859 |
| http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/gig-23378244-details/Bjork/gigReview.do?reviewId=23478459 Björk is not the only person to have spoken out about Tibet in recent weeks, but she is certainly the most colourful. Having dedicated her stirring song Declare Independence to Tibet, Kosovo and Scotland in the past, at her first London show since 2003 there was no suggestion that the people of Hammersmith should also consider going it alone. Nevertheless, a nation ruled by Iceland’s biggest star is a tempting thought. Marching onto a stage decked in banners with animal motifs, it was as if Hogwarts had a new headmistress, and this one was dressed as an Easter egg. In a spirited attempt to pin down a sound that could form a suitable frame for the most unusual voice in pop, she was followed by surely the most diverse band ever to fill the Apollo’s stage. There was musical director Damian Taylor, playing a succession of touch-screen electronic devices apparently modelled on Asteroids and Tetris. Malian special guest Toumani Diabaté coaxed marvels from a traditional kora on Hope. Jónas Sen, in suit and tie, played church organ and harpsichord. Meanwhile, a 10-piece, all female brass band, The Icelandic Wonderbrass, blew and danced and waved flags while togged up for a psychedelic version of the Battle of Agincourt. Björk does not really go in for crowd-pleasing, but a set that omitted most of her best-known songs still managed to be fantastically uplifting as silver confetti exploded, green lasers pinged around and flames burst from behind the tuba player. The high spirits of latest album Volta dominated, from the tribal R&B of Earth Intruders to the frantic, driving synths of Wanderlust. The latter’s repetition of the phrase “relentlessly restless” was a neat summary of the whole show. The odd calmer moment offered pauses for breath, including a stunningly beautiful Jóga and The Anchor Song, just her voice and the muted horns in a semi-circle around her. Another ballad, The Dull Flame Of Desire, featured guest Antony Hegarty of Antony And The Johnsons, perhaps over-doing the exoticism by introducing a second voice almost as otherworldly as her own. The colour, the spectacle, the futuristic pageantry of it all was frequently overwhelming. Bjork has never seemed quite human, and here it appeared she really could do magic. During Hunter she shot long bursts of string from her fingers, leaving everyone gladly entangled in her wondrous web. /David Smyth - 3858 |
| http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/live_reviews/article3748107.ece It is still an event when the Björk roadshow rolls into town. Fifteen years since she emerged as a solo star, the Icelandic singer remains one of the most original and theatrical performers that the pop world has ever known. Arriving in London last night for the first of three shows at the Hammersmith Apollo, she marched on stage with her head encased in a cluster of multi-coloured puffballs. She had brought a bit of a band with her – two or three keyboard players and a drummer – but as usual there were strictly no guitars, not even a bass. However she did have a 12-piece, all-female, Icelandic brass section on hand to lend that certain je ne sais quoi to both the look and sound of the show. The stage was decorated with heraldic flags and large plasma computer screens, a visual complement to the mixture of traditional horns, and futuristic electronica which defined the music. This was taken mostly from Björk’s current album, Volta, which she has been touring to promote since it was released, almost a year ago. Beginning with Earth Intruders, she took off at a spectacular gallop, her high, ululating voice vaulting the bar lines with its usual idiosyncratic metre and melody. During Hunter a set of streamers exploded from her hands, like giant party poppers, trailing behind her like a jet stream. The headdress was discarded once the photographers had gone and she marched around the stage in a crushed satin pink and gold dress with huge ruffles trailing down the back and front while a latticework of green lasers sliced through the air during Joga. There were hugs and kisses for Toumani Diabaté, the kora player from Mali, who arrived resplendent in flowing robes to play his part on the song Hope. Then came Antony Hegarty to lend his velvet vocal tone to the The Dull Flame of Desire, a duet which seemed to take place as two parallel performances rather than as an emotionally engaged whole. With its marching drum rhythm and discordant harmonies from the brass band, Vertebrae by Vertebrae possessed a dark, malevolent tone. “Same old cloud claustrophobic in me,” she sang in a distressed tone. A magnificent rendition of Army of Me with its subterranean bass line and bouncing laser beams gave way to a contrastingly delicate Innocence as a pile of confetti fell on to the musicians from above. She finished with Declare Independence, the song which caused such a fuss when she played it in China and dedicated it to the Tibetans. Tonight, at the end of a show which spoke for itself, in a gloriously strange and colourful tongue, she offered the song without comment. /David Sinclair - 3857 |
| http://thelineofbestfit.com/2008/04/15/bjork-hammersmith-apollo-london-140408/ There is a feeling of anticipation in the air following a less than awe inspiring DJ set from Leila (while it must be quite a daunting task taking to the stage before someone like Bjork, spinning a mixture of old time records distorted beyond recognition and some Snoop just doesn’t cut it I’m afraid. If you’re going to do noise, do noise, don’t just play a distorted version of an Aphex twin record). Would there be comments on Tibet, and the Olympic Torch protests, would there be a dedication during ‘Declare Independence’? Who, if anyone, would be guesting with her? One hopeful gig-goer standing next to me assured me excitedly he had seen the bass player from 90s hair rockers Reef just moments before I arrived. The possibilities were endless. Suddenly, from either side of the stage red flares blazed, heralding the arrival of her 15 strong female horn section, who she would later introduce as ‘The Wonder Brass’. Mark Bell (of LFO) and Chris Corsano struck up the beat to ‘Earth Intruders’ and the woman herself, clad in what looked like a sweet wrapper with a headdress of multi coloured pom-poms bounded onto the stage. So far so good. And then she opened her mouth. Sadly, it was at this point that one of several sound problems hit the show- the first lyrics of the show “We are the…” didn’t come out to the audience. Throughout the show microphones distorted, masking the delicate strength of Bjork’s voice, beats became swamped and reduced at times to swampy thuds. “Hyperballad” descended into this sludge problem after a moving bit of crowd vocals, Bjork reveling in the love being shown for her and her band as the audience sang every word back to her. However, when the beat kicked in this magic was lost, and the driving emotional current that normally envelopes the song was reduced to a numbing thud. Despite his frenetic movements, Chris Corsano was pretty much redundant tonight, his delicate, passionate drumming swamped in the booming mix, which also put paid to any clarity of vocal on set closer ‘Declare Independence’, whose political undertones were swamped by the booming beats, although to be fair the glitter confetti that filled the whole bottom tier of the venue and the general atmosphere of celebration had taken over by that point. It is tragic that a performer who clearly puts her heart and soul into her performances could be let down by such malfunctions, especially as this performing unit have been touring Volta for over a year now. With this in mind it was surprising to find at certain points during the set the band were more than a little wobbly, particularly when trying to integrate to the new musical gadgetry of the Tenori-on and the reactable. It was clear that the use of these gadgets was something of a showpiece within the performance, as three screens were set up to show them working. However, by placing these screens on stage level, it was difficult for most to see what was going on on the screens, and the effect was lost. Perhaps due to these problems with technology, and perhaps because of their undoubted skills, it was the moments when Bjork’s stunning voice was allowed to work with just live instrumentation that the night really came alive. On ‘Vokura’, accompanied by just a harpsichord had a rare beauty, and the encore of ‘Anchor Song’, performed surrounded by the members of her brass section was a treat indeed. The warm swell of the brass was again in evidence when Anthony (of Hercules and Love Affair and …and the Johnsons fame) took the stage for Volta’s ‘The Dull Flame of Desire’, a song which was one of the nights high points, it was a showcase for two of the most unique vocalists in contemporary music today. Whether or not you buy Anthony’s ‘shy act’ is another question. Hiding his face from the cheering crowd and scuttling off arms swinging by his sides as soon as the song finished, it is difficult to understand why, if someone really was that debilitatingly shy, they would agree to perform to a sold out show in front of thousands of people. However, it was Bjork’s other guest of the night that truly stole the show. Stepping out of the sidelines with a beaming smile and a wave to the crowd, TLOBF favourite Toumani Diabate brought his 21 stringed Kora to the centre of the stage and proceeded to weave an intricate and powerful spell over the crowd. For a moment Bjork herself sat at his feet to watch a master at work, before Diabate ripped into ‘Hope’ and the show was off again, lights blazing, lasers doodling on the roof of the Apollo, building to the thumping, glitter filled climax. Despite the problems, the show was a triumph, and Bjork’s excitement and respect for her guests transmitted itself to the audience, and saw her interact with the crowd far more freely and openly than in past shows. Despite embracing new technologies, sounds and ideas, and bringing them closer to the mainstream, tonight it was the natural, more organic side of Bjork’s music that shone. The best thing is you get the feeling that you could go and see her again tomorrow and it might be something completely different that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, takes your breath away and provides a little magic in the early evening. /Ro Cemm - 3855 |
| Björk @ Hammersmith Apollo, London, 14 April 2008 5 stars http://www.musicomh.com/music/gigs/bjork-2_0408.htm She'd irked and ired the governments of China and Serbia before arriving for the London leg of her Volta tour, dedicating Declare Independence to the peoples of Tibet and Kosovo. But even without that international news agenda item, tickets for dates on Björk's first UK tour in four years, in support of 2007 album Volta, were hotter than a geothermally heated mud bath in Reykjavik. After a couple of albums of womb-like earth-mother material, Björk would like to play at dancing. Her musical director has brought with him a mind-boggling device called a "react-table" - a pool of green light onto which blobs of what might be kryptonite are placed, turned and moved. These, somehow, make great big noises, especially when he draws lines between them with his fingers. Taking to the stage alongside the alienesque technology, a troupe of female horn players are dressed seemingly in the garb of medieval warriors from a fairytale. Their costumes are topped off with flags. Björk helpfully introduces them as 'The Wonder Brass'. Straddling these two universes, a besuited, bespectacled gentleman sits stage left, ready to render a celeste and a harpsichord useful. Björk, of course, is the only force on Earth capable of uniting such disparate elements of orga and mecha, of past and future, of outlandish and practical. As if to say so, she's dressed in a foil-like outfit of equal parts pink and silver. Atop her head is a confection of brightly coloured pom-poms. Tribal beats begin. "We are the Earth Intruders," she informs the denizens of Hammersmith. As she hop-skips across the stage, her tiny frame instantly owning it, streamers burst from her hands to add yet another visual element to the already richly decorated set. TV screens allow sight of the band's electronic wizardry in action, while around the horn section shifting light colours, smoke and ensigns mix, match and fade. Toumani Diabate, widely acknowledged as the world's greatest living kora player, limps onto the stage in flowing African robes, sits centre stage and plays Hope as charmer to Björk's dancing snake with the beauifully crafted instrument. Each performer is in their element - Björk dancing her own inimitable rhythm, Diabate's fingers flying as though operating independently of his body. Volta contains two duets with Antony Hegarty; tonight we're given The Dull Flame Of Desire as Hegarty takes to the stage to delighted gasps from the audience, his huge frame dwarfing his host and his supernaturally unique voice contrasting with hers. As with Diabate's appearance, Björk simultaneously performs with her guest and on her own - but given the song's theme of people moving in different directions, this rendering seems entirely in keeping. For nearly all the performance, Hegarty focuses on her, as if bewitched. She follows this encounter with Homogenic track Joga, rendered a mix of old world instruments and jarring, spacious beats. Following on from this context, Vertebre By Vertebre's menacing horns seemed more menacing live than on record. Vökuro reminded the world that Björk can do yearning, epic numbers too. The Medúlla number, sung in Icelandic, was a notable and unexpected change of pace and atmosphere, her horn section downing tools and her besuited harpsichordist providing a memorable backing to that unique voicebox. But she didn't get all neoned up for nothing. Hints of what was to come were let out of the bag with Army Of Me's floor-shaking, all-encompassing bassline, and recent single Wanderlust ramped the beats-per-minute a little more in the direction of a drum'n'bass rave. Hyperballad ratcheted energy levels up still further. But all of these served merely as hors d'oeuvres for the sensational, speaker-exploding Pluto which, despite a rather swampy sound mix that emphasised bass and reverb more than it should have, was a treat. Wild applause pleaded for more and was obliged with the reappearance of the horn section at the front of the stage for The Anchor Song, the only track from Björk's first solo album Debut to be aired. Declare Independence was next, last and spectacular, the audience encouraged to go "higher, higher!", and delivered without dedication to province or fledgling nation. After such an extravagant, innovative and entertaining performance, Björk's audience left Hammersmith beaming from ear to ear and hoping she wouldn't take another four years to return from her spaceship. /Michael Hubbard - 3854 |
| I am coming for this live from Italy and Bjork was fantastic!! His voice is magical. Thank you Bjork! /tsingtao - 3840 |
Bjork - GENIUS First things first – we missed Leila! Discovering that it was just a 45 minute DJ set, and with knowledge of the 'blood looms and blooms' album due in the next couple of weeks (and possibly a string of live dates?) the pain was bearable. The good news is that Martina Topley-Bird, Terry Hall and thy genius Luca Santucci are all featured on the new record. Rejoice! We arrived in time to get a quick pint and then, quickly went to find our seats. Sal was on a different row to me, so I spent the entire gig on my own. This didn't bother me one bit. Back when I was a kid, I felt like the only person on earth who enjoyed Bjorks music anyway, so it was rather fitting. It was roughly 9:30pm when the wonder brass marched on stage inducing a shaking fit of pure joy and excitement. Then out came Bjork, in funky coloured Mogwai head gear and glistening pink garb. The beat of opener Earth Intruders took off and I started to feel my eyes watering. I couldn't help but recall back to when I was 15 years old. The very first time I saw her perform and being able to appreciate her amazing vocal and visual splendour during her performance of Army of Me on Top Of the Pops. I thought about how much she changed my life. How she's the main reason I listen to what I listen to now. She introduced me to so many amazing musicians and performers. I admit, I was a very impressionable teenager, but Bjork's various collaborators and musical loves over the years have almost always been right up my alley. I feel like we're on the same wave length musically. It might sound pretentious to some people, but I still get excited about hearing and seeing something new and different. All my favourite musicians link back to Bjork in some way - From Michael Jackson to Nine Inch Nails to IAMX. Apart from that, music that defies categorisation has always appealed to me, and Bjork is the master of that genre. She is the ultimate pop star, in the true sense of the word. Hunter was as pounding as ever! Mark Bell was really grinding those 'volcano' beats all night. It was banging! I felt like I was erupting from the seat and was about to shoot off down to the stage, especially later during Pluto. Unravel began, a soothing and beautiful experience. This was one of the highlights for me, her voice soaring through the theatre and once again causing me to shed a tear or two. Toumani Diabaté joined Bjork on stage to perform the gorgeous Hope from her latest album Volta followed effortlessly by the first of four tracks from Medulla, The Pleasure Is All Mine. This was a nice surprise. To be honest, the Medulla tracks sounded better than they did on the album. Desired Constellation was dreamy; the little static effects sounding like thousands of intergalactic insects had taken over the stage, each plugging away on their little insectruments. Vokuro, with just a harpsichord to accompany Bjork's vocal sounded beautiful. Antony Hegarty was introduced and warbled his way through the Dull Flame of Desire. It was amazing, and their voices really compliment each other. I admit, it perhaps wasn't quite as magical as the album version, Antony's voice not quite ejaculating as effortlessly but it was still a highlight. Antony and Bjork, together on stage! Genius! After Homogenic fave Joga, Bjork kicked into Vertebrae by Vertebrae. This is one of the highlights on Volta, and I was surprised to see so many people getting up to go to the bar or the toilet. It's a dark and lumbering classic and I wouldn't have missed a second of it. I would have happily sat there and pissed my pants. Classic Army of Me, a new version which sounded far more current than the Graham Massey masterpiece of old was followed by Volta single Innocence. As cute as always and the lyrics continue to make me smile. Post has always been a classic album. It skips from style to style effortlessly and Hyper-ballad, probably the highlight of the evening, followed that code. Bjork stopped singing at one point, and the crowd took over vocal duty. It was heart warming! By the end, the track morphed into a complete techno, rave extravaganza in a far more extreme way than that heard on the Post version. Sublime! The encore included the only Debut track of the evening, Anchor song (the first verse sung in English and the second in Icelandic). A nice breather before the final track Declare Independence. The crowd went crazy and the people seated had to stand to see what was going on. This was possibly the only moment I wished I was right at the front of the stage. I wanted to get down there and raise my flag with all the Hammersmith girls and boyos! It was a perfect show. I have no qualms in saying that this was the greatest show i've witnessed. That is quite a feat indeed. http://www.last.fm/user/gazgod Gaz x /surfed2long - 3837 |
| vERY fANTASTIC wONDERFUL nIGHT dANCING wITH tHE wONDERBRASS x /JOHNNYHYPER - 3836 |
| really really great show, very vivid, very rough, the 'volta concept' worked 100 % i missed screens displaying her face though, apart from that everything was great, very big, huge /maatonka - 3835 |
| Our Vegvisur to show us the way! What can one say about an artist like Bjork? There just aren't enough words to describe her visionary musical world. I'm totally in awe and I've been lucky enough to have been to five gigs now. I've given up trying to pre guess what I might be treated to in the way of old and new songs, It's contstanly being mixed up and re-worked. I went to the Volta show in Amsterdam and although some of the songs were the same they have all evolved as the tour has gone round the world. There in lies the magic of Bjork. We as fans never quite know what we are going to get and she never fails to inspire. I just wish we could have more. If Bjork ever makes an album of stumming a pencil on a table top I'm going to rush out and buy it and I'll be in the front row at the concert too. Love light and peace to Bjork and the Volta crew and thanks for a right good knees up. /Funky Jellyfish - 3834 |
| http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/live_reviews/article3748107.ece Bjork at Hammersmith Apollo Bjork performs on stage at the Hammersmith Apollo in west London. by David Sinclair It is still an event when the Björk roadshow rolls into town. Fifteen years since she emerged as a solo star, the Icelandic singer remains one of the most original and theatrical performers that the pop world has ever known. Arriving in London last night for the first of three shows at the Hammersmith Apollo, she marched on stage with her head encased in a cluster of multi-coloured puffballs. She had brought a bit of a band with her – two or three keyboard players and a drummer – but as usual there were strictly no guitars, not even a bass. However she did have a 12-piece, all-female, Icelandic brass section on hand to lend that certain je ne sais quoi to both the look and sound of the show. The stage was decorated with heraldic flags and large plasma computer screens, a visual complement to the mixture of traditional horns, and futuristic electronica which defined the music. This was taken mostly from Björk’s current album, Volta, which she has been touring to promote since it was released, almost a year ago. Beginning with Earth Intruders, she took off at a spectacular gallop, her high, ululating voice vaulting the bar lines with its usual idiosyncratic metre and melody. During Hunter a set of streamers exploded from her hands, like giant party poppers, trailing behind her like a jet stream. The headdress was discarded once the photographers had gone and she marched around the stage in a crushed satin pink and gold dress with huge ruffles trailing down the back and front while a latticework of green lasers sliced through the air during Joga. There were hugs and kisses for Toumani Diabaté, the kora player from Mali, who arrived resplendent in flowing robes to play his part on the song Hope. Then came Antony Hegarty to lend his velvet vocal tone to the The Dull Flame of Desire, a duet which seemed to take place as two parallel performances rather than as an emotionally engaged whole. With its marching drum rhythm and discordant harmonies from the brass band, Vertebrae by Vertebrae possessed a dark, malevolent tone. “Same old cloud claustrophobic in me,” she sang in a distressed tone. A magnificent rendition of Army of Me with its subterranean bass line and bouncing laser beams gave way to a contrastingly delicate Innocence as a pile of confetti fell on to the musicians from above. She finished with Declare Independence, the song which caused such a fuss when she played it in China and dedicated it to the Tibetans. Tonight, at the end of a show which spoke for itself, in a gloriously strange and colourful tongue, she offered the song without comment. /The Times Online - 3833 |
| Bjork, Hammersmith Apollo, London Iceland's reluctant star is just unmissable By Elisa Bray Tuesday, 15 April 2008 Bjork has never been one to embrace celebrity stardom, always skirting the perimeters of the mainstream, so we were not expecting a greatest hits set. The 42-year-old is on an extensive world tour to promote her avant-garde album Volta. It's a departure from the more insular romanticised domesticity of her previous two albums Medulla and Vespertine for which she drew from a new relationship with partner Matthew Barney and a new phase of motherhood. While focusing on Volta, she dipped into the albums across her career with the exception of her earliest album the clubby Debut from 1993. Bjork never performs a live show by halves. Last night the fantastic visual display of green lasers, and colourful confetti was a spectacle to match her inventiveness musically. No expense was spared; for this show, she had an entourage of musicians including Mark Bell of LFO on electronics and beats, free jazz drummer Chris Corsano and a 15-strong group of Icelandic women brass players whom she introduced ingeniously as the Wonder Brass, showing her sense of humour. They were the first onstage, marching across the front of the red light filled stage which was decorated with fish and frogs pictures on bunting, in costume and fanfare. But Bjork's billowing shimmering pink dress and hat of rainbow pom poms trumped the lot, as they launched into "Earth Intruders", the opener of her new album. By third song "Unravel" from Vespertine, she had revealed her raven hair, and her voice was an emotive gasp through the gorgeous song, as she moved slowly across the stage like an otherworldly elfin queen. She introduced the Malian kora player Toumani Diabate, who played a magical introduction to "Hope" on his 21-string kora. The appearance of Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons and their duet song to "The Dull Flame of Desire" from Volta drew huge cheers. The ensuing duet seemed unsurpassable – the pair's distinctive vocals brought to life against brass, transfixing the crowd. But surpass it she did, with the perfect follow up of "Joga". The performance more than lived up to its expected beauty, its strings and Bjork's tender and soaring vocals tapping into the depth of emotion which took the night to a still higher realm. Hearing the pure Icelandic folk song "Vokura" in which she was accompanied by just a harpsichord leaves you with the feeling that you have witnessed a rare treat. And it was. Bjork varies her set from one show to another, and no two sets are the same. /http://www.independent.co.uk - 3831 |
| Dull Flame Of Desire - with Antony Hegarty Jóga - http://youtube.com/watch?v=wg0FI7eWMl8 Hyperballad - http://youtube.com/watch?v=UKqkYZjm9ko Pluto - http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZGz9gS0JCW8 Declare Independence - http://youtube.com/watch?v=6MacW3cjpvc /YouTube - 3830 |
| Arggh yeah in my excitement I got confused lol.... of course it was Vokuro /nijinsky - 3828 |
| Strangely enough I forgot that she did Vertebrae by Vertebrae. In my opinion it was the highlight of the concert and probably the best live rendition of the this song so far!!! /spybou - 3827 |
| The concert was simply awesome!!! She didn't perform Visur but Vokuro. The setlist as I remember it: Brennid, Earth Intruders, Hunter, Unravel, Hope, The Pleasure Is All Mine, Joga, Dull Flame Of Desire, Who Is It, Vokuro, Army Of Me, Wanderlust, Hyperballad, Pluto and Anchor Song and Declare Independence for the encore. I may be forgetting some. Who Is It was amazing. So was Army of me, Unravel, Hope (so much different live, more powerful). The show was amazing overall, she was very warm with the crowd. We danced quite a bit. And regarding her voice she was just brilliant. She is at her very best (very confident). Thank you Bjork for all the fun and the wonderful experience!!! /spybou - 3826 |
| THANKS THANKS THANKS BJORK FOR YOUR AMAZING ENERGY AND PERFORMANCE TONIGHT Just got back... can't remember the setlist order and I expect someone else will put it up later anyway. Special treat was Visur Vatnsenda Rosu with Jonas on harpsichord... at first when it was obvious it was going to be just Bjork and Jonas I thought it was going to be My Juvenile, but Visur Vatnsenda Rosu was even better. Hope was fantastic, so was Pluto....... The crowd was a bit muted but Bjork gave absolutely 100% - SO much dancing tonight, then more dancing, then MORE dancing. In fact she actually seemed much closer to the audience than I've seen her before - a lot more relaxed and really happy with the crowd, with none of the 'distance' as a performer which I've seen in some previous concerts. Loads of interaction and a lot of activity right up on the edge of the stage. Not exactly diving into the audience, but at points nearly. The music also felt a lot more spontaneous and natural - there were some definite wobbly starts to a few songs but once everyone found the groove the band really kicked. It was also REALLY loud tonight (my diaphragm's still shaking from the bass). If you're going to any of the other concerts in Hammersmith be prepared for an incredible show! /nijinsky - 3825 |
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