Iceland Airwaves 2009 Part 4

Faroese singer/songwriter Eivör Pálsdóttir brought her ethereal charms to the Reykjavik Art Museum on Saturday night.

Singing in a mix of English, Icelandic and Faroese, Eivör captivated the crowd with her primal but tender songs, drawing positive comparisons with the likes of Florence And the Machine and Kate Bush.

Over at the heaving NASA venue, the impossibly young Retro Stefson drove the equally young (and good looking) crowd into a carnival spirited frenzy. Singing in Icelandic, English, French and Portuguese, the group churned out bossa-nova infused funk workouts, before merging their set into that of the oncoming FM Belfast in a move so seamless it would leave most DJs standing.

FM Belfast began their set proper with a blistering electro pop version of Rage Against The Machine’s Killing In The Name Of, and carried on the party without dropping a beat.

Their set, packed with falsetto vocals and the frequent addition of members of Retro Stefson, kept the audience moving throughout, before ending with a triumphant, ticker tape filled finale.

Meanwhile, outside at a variety of ‘secret’ locations around the city centre, something very odd was going on. Attracted by the sound of riff-heavy guitars and the sight of a man breathing fire in between taking swigs from a bottle of JD, crowds began to form around an open sided lorry.

Performing on the truck were Icelandic nutters Dr. Spock, dressed in a wardrobe which included some staggering pink trousers and a wrestling mask.

Hurling yellow rubber gloves into the dancing crowd, the group fired through their short set before shutting up the lorry and driving off to the next location – all without stopping playing.

The Spock show was enjoyably entertaining, inclusive, a little crazy and a whole lot of fun – much like festival itself.

Flights kindly supplied by Icelandair www.icelandair.com