Bjork/Sigur Ros Live at Coney Island

I have to say I experienced the best concert in ages. The first of two sold out night by Bjork at Kepspan Park at Coney Island. I was told that this was the first concerts held at this new baseball facility.
I had seen Bjork at Radio City Music Hall in 2001 when she took "Vespertine" on the road with a full orchestra. That was an excellent show but I would have to say that the Friday night show topped even that.
Bjork had the electronic duo Matmos (who also performed with her at Radio City), Zeena Parkins an absolutely beautiful harpist (who also was on the 2001 tour) and the Icelandic String Octet who last toured with Bjork in 1998.
The sound at the stadium was the best I had ever heard in an outside venue. The song list was a dream for any Bjork fan. If you have never seen Bjork in concert check out her live dvd from the Vespertine tour.
Sigor Rus was an excellent choice as an opening act. They performed with a string quartet. I have a couple of their cds so I was familiar with their music. They blew me away live going from very soft passages to extremely loud passages in the same piece of music.
A must for any fan of Bjork's music is her just released Livebox which consists of 4 cds and 1 dvd of live material.

 

I can't stand to see a fellow Björk fan left hangin'. I was there Fri. night and it was SPECTACULAR! Despite the fact that I love her recorded output, I have to say there is no substitute for seeing her live. She was energetic, inspired, fun, AND an outright dancin' machine! I've never danced at a concert until Fri. night,...well, it was more swaying than dancing...anyway, I'd challenge anyone to resist it. It was like being at the best rave ever!

 

I was at Saturday's show and I have to tell you, if the Keyspan employees hadn't upgraded our seats for us this show would have the been the biggest rip-off ever. Upon finding our seats in section 2 of the upper box we came to the realization that not only were our seats a million miles from the stage but our view was obstructed by the awning above the sound booth and a gigantic baseball net. Needless to say I was pitching an absolute fit. $63 for this kind of crap!

I had pretty much capitulated to the fact that we would be hearing more of the concert than seeing it when my friend pointed out a number of Keyspan employees were passing out upgrades to other disgruntled fans who were in the same boat. Before I knew it were sitting in the second row on the far end of the bleachers. It wasn't GA on the field (the best tickets) but it was one heck of an improvement. We could now actually enjoy the show.

I have to say that I was really impressed with Sigur Ros. The atmosphere and the sonics that they were producing kept me glued to the stage. I wasn't the only one either. It seemed like they received as much applause at times as Bjork did.

As for Miss B. herself, she was absolutely fabulous. The show was a bit short but I like how she started off with slow, intimate songs like "Unravel" and "All Is Full of Love" and gradually built up to the heavy techno numbers like "Hyperballad" and "Pluto" towards the end of her main set. The fireworks and pyrotechnics were totally off the hook.

Since the show I have to purchase her live DVD from the Royal Opera House in London. Now I can relive it all over again.

 

If you get a chance check out Bjork's Livebox, which is currently on sale at Virgin. One of the cds is from the Vespertine tour, with a full orchestra, Matmos and Zenna. My favorite cd in the box is almost 70 minutes of music recorded during her tour for Homogenic where she performs with the Icelandic Octet and sounds very similar to her Keyspan show.
I noticed on Friday night that they were both filming and taping the show. One can hope that this get released. It would be nice if Bjork would release her live shows like Peter Gabriel and Pearl Jam are now doing.

 

Given that most Bjork shows tend to be recorded on film and/or audio, I'm sure there will be more DVD and live CD releases to come!!!

She is a true original IMO and Sigur Ros are great also....

Glad you enjoyed the show(s)!!!

 

Concert DVDs Recommendations?

As there are several Bjork concert DVDs currently out, which one is a good one to start with?

 

I would recommend the Live at the Royal Opera House. This was filmed during the Vespertine tour and I believe that it also has a 5.1 mix. I'm at work and not sure. I only have a stereo set-up for my dvd player. One of these days I will dive into the world of 5.1.
If you want a real treat pick up her Greatest Hits dvd which has all her videos and is available for under $15.00 it most places

 

I have to recommend "Cambridge" as my fave live DVD. ROH is good, but the 5.1 mix is very strange. I play the standard stereo surround sound mix when I play that because on 5.1 Björk's vocals are buried in the mix.

 

Bjork is God, which is very unsettling for everyone who's into a patriarchal religious philosophy (Clapton is God was easier to take).....

Get her greatist hits DVD first - the films and tracks are AMAZING. Then you'll end up buying her entire audio/video catalog anyway, so you won't have to wonder which live DVD to purchase.

 

I have to agree Tim. At least her latest dvds have been at a bit more reasonable price.
Tim are you going to her Boston show. FYI it has been moved to the Fleet Boston Pavilion and I understand it is sold out too.

 

We can't afford concerts - we're two teachers and we have two kids. We'd love to see Bjork (all four of us), but by the time we hear about it, it's sold out anyway.