None sucked: Airwaves Day 2

Alex Elliott reviews Airwaves Thursday night: I didn't set out to see every band at Airwaves. In fact, I have been very organised and highlighted all of my choices in the booklet for ease of viewing on-the-go. But still it is not easy: last night I saw a bit of Helgi Valur(‚s show), plus Egill Sæbjörnsson, Metric, My Summer as a Salvation Soldier, Eberg and The Whitest Boy Alive.

But despite this long list, I still managed to completely miss The Klaxons, Mugison, Bela, Seabear, Valgeir Sigurðsson, Lay Low, Skakkamange, Koja and Idir.

Ah well: who said life was fair anyway? Of the bands/artists I saw last night, I am pleased to report that none of them sucked - which is a very good start in my opinion.

Now to analyse a tad further - my highlights were as follows:

Helgi Valur sounds very similar onstage to how he sounds on CD - which is no bad thing, because his sincere, mournful voice is one of the most distinctive about his music. One thing I wasn't expecting was his foot-stamping, infectious enthusiasm.

Egill Sæbjörnsson's show was quite a spectacle. His only light source was a projector, showing a carefully constructed and well-choreographed multimedia presentation. Shapes and images would dance around on the performer as well as the screen behind. This was very entertaining. Dressed all in white, like the long-lost hard rock member of ABBA, Egill's music also made heavy use of pre-recorded material. This allowed for some complex and interesting sounds that one man cannot usually create at a live show. While highly-accomplished, I felt that his sound was maybe lacking something - but he's only a young man and will surely find it soon enough.

The Canadian band, Metric, were simply superb. The powerful voice and even stronger stage-presence of their female lead singer left the crowd exhausted but smiling. Already big in Canada, I'd tip Metric for major international success with their loud brand of hard rock attitude and radio-friendly melodies.

Finally, The Whitest Boy Alive - not technically the best band alive, but boy did they get the crowd going! Their own tunes have strong jazz and reggae influences, with perhaps a nod to ska thrown in, but they also played some major dance anthems. Bizarre, but very well-received. A bit of rôle swapping towards the end of the show, saw the guitarist taking on the drums and managing to play both at the same time - we were all in awe. Some bands are better live and others are better on CD. I strongly suspect that this band fall into the former group. I'm still smiling now!

My personal choices for tonight include: The Go! Team, Jakobínarína, Aparat Organ Quartet, Islands, Benni Hemm Hemm, Lára, Picknick, Högni Lisberg, Steintryggur, Dr. Spock, Our Lives, Hölt Hóra, Jan Mayen, Wolf Parade, Mammút, Lisa Lindley-Jones, Vax, Dýrðin, Coral and Call to Mind. That's less than half of what's on offer.

Have fun!