Sigur Rós Present Heima at UCLA, 11/3/07

On Saturday Sigur Rós performed the last of their four LA shows in conjunction with the screening of their new film Heima. The performance took place on the campus of UCLA and was open to the first 1,000 students. As with many of the other stops on the worldwide screening for the film, the Icelandic group played a three song acoustic set and participated in a short Q&A session following the film. Heima (Icelandic for “At Home”) is based around the free series of concerts the band played throughout Iceland during the summer of 2006. The shows varied in size with all but the Reikavik show being in atypical musical venues. The footage of all the performances capture Iceland’s natural geographical beauty and its unadorned architecture. If you have seen the trailers for the film you already know that the cinematography and sound are both stunning. Interspersed between the concerts and shots of the scenery are interviews of each member of the band including their string quartet, Amiina. The interviews, like the performances, come off as personal and intimate and edited in documentary fashion. Snippets of local Icelandic culture are also included throughout the film, such as a man who makes musical instruments out of rhubarb, and a dinner feast comprised of various types of head cheese. Dean DeBlois, who directed the film, joined the band in the Q&A session. Heima will be released in North America on November 20th.

Setlist:

Ágætis byrjun
Njósnavélin
Heima

Some Q&A gems (paraphrased):

1) “Would you like to come over to our house afterwards? We love you and would really like to get to know you.”
2) “Do you have groupies in Iceland?”
3) “What does your made up language (Hopelandic) mean?”
4) “What is your favorite type of fish? (Referencing the fact moderator had referred to Georg as “the bass,” pronouncing it like the fish.)”
5) “I like your Tetris sweatshirt (to Orri).”