Last weekend Voodoo festival was held here in New Orleans. The lineup was pretty strange; Ozzy Osborn, Paul Van Dyke, Jonsi, and My Morning Jacket exemplify the randomness of the event. While I was not personally extremely excited about all the acts, Jonsi, in particular, intrigued me. I unfortunately missed him on a two night visit to London, so I was determined to catch him at Voodoo.
After some schedule confusion I determined he was set to play on one of the main stages at sunset which proved for a very ethereal ambiance to accompany his music. As he walked out the feeling in the crowd was one of amazement. His style cannot be described, but it is certainly like no one else I have seen. His stage was filled with all sorts of pianos, big and small; one was even hidden in an old suitcase.
By the third song in his set the air was filled with the sounds of xylophones as he transitioned into my favorite song, "Tornado." The set built with emotion and energy as he continued with a slow but intense introduction into "Go Do" followed by "Boy Lilikoi" and "Animal Arithmetic."
In moments of passion Jonsi collapsed to the floor to play with the distortion and delay pedals as the music built to a peak. Only when I thought it could not get any better he slowly moved to his final song which was unknown to me. It consisted of mostly all instruments starting very soft and slowly becoming very loud and overwhelming in the best way possible, very reminisent of Sigur Ros.
As Jonsi left the stage I was speechless. It was truly all I had hoped for and more. Jonsi, for me, was one of the best contemporary musicians I have seen without question. If he plans to play anywhere near you....GO!
For more pictures from the show,
check out Joshua's Flickr.
