In my last post from the Reykjavik Blues Festival, I mentioned that I really liked Mugison and that someone in the audience gave me one of his CDs. I meant to upload some MP3s, but it didn’t quite work, so I’m trying again. Enjoy!
Posts Tagged ‘Reykjavik Blues Festival’
Sunday, April 12th, 2009
Live Music: Reykjavik Blues Festival, 4/8/09
Wednesday was our last night in Iceland and the second-to-the last night of the Reykjavik Blues Festival. It was a great show to end on, too. Willie “Big Eyes” Smith was hot on harmonica, Pinetop Perkins made a cameo appearance, Icelandic bluesman Mugison brought the house down with his rock lyrics backed by acoustic blues, and Andrea Gylfadottir showed why she’s one of Iceland’s perennial contenders in the Eurovision Song Contest, if not exactly a blues singer.
The crowd at the Hilton Nordica was a little smaller than on Tuesday night, but not by much. And Icelandic crowds seems to be a bit more controlled than American ones. The hotel has plenty of free and easy parking, no one checked my bags, drinks are served in real glasses, and flash photography is condoned. I didn’t see a single bouncer; the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has tighter security. The concert was scheduled to begin at 8:00, and at 8:02, Halldor Bragason opened the festivities. He and the fine Gudtmunder Petursson played guitar for Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, whose eyes are not all that big, by the way. The band was tighter than on the first night, and Willie Smith was hotter. He was a total pro, switching smoothly between voice and harmonica. He was wearing a loose shirt that hid a special harmonica holster, making it easy for him to switch instruments or play without. Smith tried to walk into the audience, but that was tough because his mike was corded.
Pinetop Perkins came on for two songs, “Got My Mojo Working” and “Down in Mississippi”, both of which he had played the night before. The audience was thrilled because they were not expecting to see him; tickets for Wednesday were 1,000 krona (about $8.00) cheaper than for Tuesday because Pinetop wasn’t on the bill.
Mugison came on next, accompanied by a friend. Both played acoustic guitars, and they were fierce. His songs were original, with lyrics in English.
I really liked Mugison. He’s young and brings a fresh take to the blues. His lyrics reflected a modern understanding of relationships, which is a bit more than just “my woman done me wrong”. Instead, we have “your love will pull me though, I owe it all to you”. He brings some introspection to the pain. Mugison is the person who will write the blues song about the banking crisis. His blues are original: not jazz blues, not Chicago blues, but the blues of a European making his way through early 21st century turmoil.
Before the concert began, a man I had talked to the night before flagged me down and handed me a CD of Mugison’s songs, so you can see if you agree.
Andrea Gylfadottir played last, a Nordic beauty resplendent in a long red dress and funky platform sandals. She isn’t a blues singer by training; she mostly sings jazz and classical. Her song selections were straight from the blues canon: “I Put a Spell on You”, “300 Pounds of Heavenly Joy”, and “Lady Sings the Blues”. She seemed too cool for the blues, but the crowd loved her, and she seemed to be having a great time performing.
The Reykjavik Blues Festival was a lot of fun. The musicians were having fun, and it’s always better to see people who love their jobs. The Chicago imports, Willie Smith and Deitra Farr, showed everyone why the blues is so great, and Mugison and Gudtmunder Petursson showed how hot it might be when the legends, like Pinetop Perkins, finally pass on.
My biggest disappointment: the organizers maintained a guest list, so I have no fancy laminated press pass as a souvenir of my foray into music criticism.
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=1c43748b-e179-40ae-8201-baf3dbf63d10)
NXNE: Reykjavik Blues Festival, Part 1
I’m a Chicagoan on a working vacation in Iceland, writing about the financial crisis for a hedge fund trade magazine and taking in geysers. When I realized that my trip would overlap the annual Reykjavik Blues Festival, running from April 4-9, well, I had to cover it, too. After all, the only people who love the blues more than white people from the north side of Chicago are white people in Europe. Pinetop Perkins, darker than any Inuit, took the redeye here to sing the blues.
No matter what we look like or where we live, we have all been downhearted, baby, ever since the day that someone left. Right? And the Icelandic people have a lot to be downhearted about these days, between their heavy debt load, their deflated economy, and their stint on the U.K.’s list of terrorist nations, an attempt by the British government to recover British deposits in Icelandic banks. Throw in the fact that the British blue band Led Zeppelin wrote one of its big hits, “The Immigrant Song,” about Iceland, and you have a festival setting that Memphis and St. Louis would envy.
Only some of the musicians and fun this week are imported, but it started with the cars. Saturday’s kickoff event involved the Reykjavik Cruiser Club members driving their classic American cars down the narrow Bankastræti. The lead car was fixed up like Jake and Elwood’s Bluesmobile. Every driver was on a mission from God: to have some fun at the end of a long winter, in the midst of a recession, by showing off their much-loved vehicles.
The Sevar Karl Gallery had a display of classic guitars. Gallery is a loose term here; it’s in the basement of the Sevar Karl boutique. Upstairs, the racks of Dolce & Gabbana sweaters were all 60% off, and the merchandise wasn’t picked over; there simply aren’t buyers for fancy imported sweaters in a country known for its knitting. Downstairs, everyone admired Andy Summers’ guitar.
But here was the best part: local musicians were playing blues in the street. They added life, which was sadly lacking inside the shops. Some of the players seemed professional, but most appeared to be groups of friends who thought it would be a goof to get together and play some blues standards for all the folks walking around outside. The musicians and their audience were having a great time, especially considering that the temperature was in the thirties and rainy. And isn’t that was the blues should do?
