"Don't let them do that to you!"
Tristan got us tickets to Bjork's sold out show at the Auditorium Theatre last night. He'd wanted to surprise me (my b-day is coming up), but had no choice but to spill the beans when I mentioned on a walk home from dinner a few weeks ago that I'd found the tickets I wanted online and was set to buy them (I'd missed out on tix when they were first went on sale.) Tristan said "OK...I have something to tell you. I'd wanted it to be a surprise, but I don't want you to spend your money; I got you tickets for your birthday." Huzzah! :)
The show was spectacular...mesmerizing. I've been fairly obsessed with Bjork since my teens when I first heard "Birthday" on BBC Radio 1. Bjork is a goddess in my eyes and I find that I am consistently blissfully entranced by her music, fascinated and moved by her world view, and captivated by her artistic sensibilities. Needless to say, I was practically on the verge of tears throughout the show...lol.
Here is the order in which I rank my favorite Bjork solo CDs:
Vespertine
Homogenic
Post
Volta
Debut
Medulla
Bjork's set (see complete list below) of 17 songs (!!) included virtually all of my favorites: four songs from Vespertine, four from Homogenic, two from Post, four from Volta, one from Debut and two from Medulla. Her performance of Army of Me included a synchronized laser show that was just about coolest thing I've seen in years. Just flat out awesome. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the show from Army of Me until the end was probably the most fun I've ever had at a concert. The new song, Wanderlust, sounded AMAZING live. OMG. There's a beautiful and haunting sense of desperation and sadness that doesn't come across on the recording. My other favorite performances were of the impossibly frenetic Pluto and Hyperballad (I don't understand how some folks were able to remain seated) and Unison. Of course, I loved it all from start to finish...it's kinda pointless to pick out favorites, I guess...the show was entirely flawless. Anyway, Bjork danced in her usual quirky, ragdoll way, naturally to the delight of the audience At first it seemed like she might have headed for an off night; there were some sound issues early on, her voice didn't seem all there and her energy level just seemed kind of low. Three songs in, though, and Bjork was blowing the roof off the theatre. Just amazing.
The complete setlist:
Earth Intruders
Venus As A Boy
Aurora
Unison
All is Full of Love
Immature
Please is All Mine
It's Not Up To You
Pagan Poetry
Army of Me
Innocence
Bachelorette
Wanderlust
Hyperballad
Pluto
Encore:
Oceania
Declare Independence (I can't help but hear a little Peaches in this song! Did the two collaborate?)