It's almost noon here and I'm due for a brunch, but let's take a moment to discuss the Sigur Ros show last night at the Ogden. The above photo is roughly what Jonsi looked like when singing the high notes in the stunning opener "Vaka". That song may have been my favorite of the whole show, even though it was just the first song. After Vaka, Sigur Ros roamed through the next two tracks off of their album "()" before playing a new song, "Salka". All of these accompanied by swirling lighting and the Anima string quartet, along with, at various points, a xylophone, glock, and impeccable drumming and keyboarding. The band careened into "Ny Batteri" and between Jonsi swatting his battered bow against his guitar and the trademark smashing cymbals from the track, Sigur Ros seemed to be all that is rock, even while rolling intense beauty and skill into a mass that left me smiling and breathless the whole 1.5+ hours that they played. "Sven-g-Englar" came and for a moment I was back when I first ordered their CD, the price hand-written on the small piece of paper that came with it in the mail. I had never heard of the group but this song kept me in the parking lot at work and made me late that day. Live, the song is incredible. They closed out the set with a stunning threesome of songs. "Olsen Olsen", a totally new and awesome version of "Haffasol", and then the climax of the show, "Popplagio", or the last track from their new CD. The drumming plus downright tense feeling of the song came to a head with swelling walls of noise, strings upon strings upon keyboards and the falsetto of Jonsi, leaving me walking towards the car at the end of the show with a feeling not unlike floating. Well worth my money. The Best Band Ever. takk, Jared