Capitalism has spawned some peculiar allies: AC/DC & wine, Kiss & coffee... and now in addition to the bandana and the necklace, Sigur Rós has candles for sale. The Varðeldur candle claims to have “The smell of Sigur Rós’s studio, while they go about the quasi-mystical business of making the magic happen.” The news of this merchandise piqued a rather disenchanting memory. On the second day of November of 2012, the Iceland Airwaves press tour bus was scheduled to drive out of Reykjavik and visit the country’s musical royal highnesses’ studio, but the body-hurling wind influenced the law enforcers to stop all traffic in and out of the city. Had Superstorm Sandy’s claws been clipped short of clawing on the Nordic island on that fateful day, I would be able to verify whether this “instant Iceland” truly recreates the aroma of Sigur Rós’s audio factory. I could order this candle as a small token of consolation but does one ever visit a recording studio with a salivating olfactory gland? And will I enjoy their music more if I “listen and burn”? Well, I spent all my dough on Icelandic beer and tickets for their San Francisco show (that’ll be the third time catching them in less than a year) so won’t be able to afford that $23.50 merch. Perhaps someone will think it’ll make a nice gift for my birthday or something...
Sigur Rós kicks off their 2013 world tour today in Portugal and will dock into the States on March 24. The San Francisco show is sold out but several dates are waiting for your credit card numbers. Check the schedule below:
02-13 Porto, Portugal - Coliseum !
02-14 Lisbon, Portugal - Campo Pequeno!
02-16 Barcelona, Spain - Sant Jordi Club !
02-18 Jesolo, Italy - Palazzo Del Turismo !
02-19 Milan, Italy - Mediolanum Forum !
02-21 Amsterdam, Netherlands - HMH !
02-22 Berlin, Germany - Tempodrom !
02-23 Munich, Germany - Zenith !
02-24 Basel, Switzerland - St. Jakobshalle !
02-26 Brussels, Belgium - Forest National !
02-27 Paris, France - Zenith !
02-28 Lille, France - Zénith !
03-02 Glasgow, Scotland - SECC !
03-03 Manchester, England - Apollo !
03-04 Manchester, England - Apollo !
03-05 Wolverhampton, England - Civic !
03-07 London, England - Brixton Academy !
03-08 London, England - Brixton Academy !
03-09 London, England - Brixton Academy !
03-24 Washington, DC - Patriot Center *
03-25 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden *
03-26 Boston, MA - Agganis Arena *
03-27 Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre *
03-29 Ottawa, Ontario - Scotia Bank Place *
03-30 Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Theatre Bowl ^
04-01 Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre ^
04-02 Chicago, IL - UIC Pavilion ^
04-03 St. Paul, MN - Roy Wilkins Auditorium ^
04-04 Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre ^
04-06 Denver, CO - 1st Bank ^
04-08 Dallas, TX - Verizon Theatre ^
04-09 Houston, TX - Bayou Music Center ^
04-10 Austin, TX - Cedar Park Center ^
04-12 Phoenix, AZ - Comerica ^
04-13 Indio, CA - Coachella
04-17 San Francisco, CA - Bill Graham Civic ^
04-19 Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl ^
04-20 Indio, CA - Coachella
05-10 Jakarta, Indonesia - Istora Senayan
05-14 Tokyo, Japan - Nippon Budokan
05-15 Nagoya, Japan - Zepp Nagoya
05-16 Fukuoka, Japan - Zepp Fukuoka
05-17 Osaka, Japan - Kobe World Memorial Hall
05-19 Seoul, South Korea - Olympic Gymnastics Arena
05-21 Hong Kong, China - Asia World Arena
05-25 George, WA - Sasquatch Music Festival
06-19 Dresden, Germany - Junge Garde
06-23 Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands - Best Kept Secret Festival
06-25 Warsaw, Poland - Sowinskiego Ampitheatre
06-28 St. Gallen, Switzerland - Openair
06-30 Cornwall, England - Eden Project
07-04 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter
07-06 Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde Festival
07-14 Joensuu, Finland - Ilosaarirock Festival
07-18 Ostrava, Czech Republic - Colours of Ostrava
07-20 Salacgriva, Latvia - Positivus Festival
07-26 Ferrara, Italy - Piazza Castello
07-27 Lucca, Italy - City Square
07-28 Rome, Italy - Ippodromo delle Capannelle
08-30 Cheshire, England - Jodrell Bank
08-31 North Dorset, England - End of the Road Festival
* with Tim Hecker
^ with Oneohtrix Point Never
! with Blanck Mass