Live from Jodrell Bank - The Transmissions - 30th August 2013

I’ve wanted to get to a gig at Jodrell Bank – a space station and observatory which is pretty close to where I live, ever since they began their series of one day festivals “The Transmissions” in 2011 – their stage has seen the likes of Elbow, the Flaming Lips and Lianne La Havas. When I heard Sigur Rós were playing I was sure they were the perfect band to play this perfect and slightly bizarre venue.

It was a really well-organised event, with a lively end-of-summer festival atmosphere despite occasional spells of rain and a bit of a different crowd than most festivals – there were a lot of families and it was in general a bit of a richer crowd, though people definitely weren’t cold or unresponsive. The observatory had set up a Science Arena in the adjoining field with demonstrations and stalls, and it was nice if not a little weird being able to escape the main area to eat a tray of potato skins and learn about H2O powered cars.

First up was Nik Colk Void, whose abrasive art-noise effects it is hard to believe are created by just the three members and their intricate electric guitar/bow work. Personally, I wasn't massively into it but could definitely see how what they're doing is clever (and the weird space sound effects along with the bizarre venue made the whole thing feel like being in an episode of Doctor Who for sure).

I'd heard a lot of both good and bad things about Daughter's live performance so was interested to go decide what I thought. Generally, they were sounding great: the project as a whole admittedly rides on Elena Tonra's gorgeous and ethereal vocals - their set had a few hiccups with obvious technical difficulties, and I do feel like whilst they’ve got a really lovely sound going on, they don't quite have the songs yet. Their hit single "Youth", however, definitely had the front rows singing along.

Poliça are from the States, and are at the top of their game, having just released their album “Shulamith” (named after feminist writer Shulamith Firestone) and having had Justin Vernon of Bon Iver call them “the best band I’ve ever heard”. I thought they were great – lead singer Shanny Leaneagh was brilliantly energetic and cool, and their electro synth-pop sound was in general really bright and refreshing.

With some very theatrical control room messages, it was announced that the Lovell Telescope - of 76 metres in diameter and focal length of 22.9m – would be turned around for Sigur Rós’ set. That moment was truly spectacular, the strange mixture of people making up the audience: the families, the kids smoking weed, the girls in flower crowns and middle class couples – staring up at the sky in union and with wonder, like children walking into Disneyland for the first time, and thegigantic radio telescope was revealed in its full frontal glory, to a soundtrack of audio from Jodrell Bank’s footage from the last fifty years, specially selected by the band.

Sigur Rós took to the stage, modestly and their set wasn’t overshadowed, nor disjointed with the spectacular light show that incorporated both the large screen above the stage and the majestic Lovell Telescope behind it. For it was the perfect backdrop for the world they were creating – it was at times the moon, the tide, a shadow moving through golden fields.

And their music compliments it perfectly, because neither imbalanced the other but was one entity. If you listen to Sigur Rós, you’ll probably know what I mean when I say that their music makes you feel like you’re having some kind of profound and epiphanous realisation about something – it captivates your mind, turns any moment into a movie, and the visuals they use in their show illustrate and add to that beautifully.

Lead singer Jónsi’s sings in gorgeous falsetto, his voice is one you can never mistake, it’s just pure as snow and beautifully clean and clear – and during the set he moves between playing guitar, and also flute.

I spent a lot of the latter half of their performance stood near the front, trying to find out quite what their set up is, and all I concluded was really the fleet of musicians that make up Sigur Rós changes throughout their set – at times there being about ten musicians on the stage, with horn and strings player coming on and off.

Highlights included “Hoppípolla”, their biggest hit – to which the crowd response was insanely joyous and warm, and a brilliant rendition of “Sæglópur” – the bass just gives me chills every time.

It was, actually, so nice to attend a show where people’s eyes aren’t utterly focused on the people on the stage– heads turned as lasers and spotlights threw gazes to the trees and the sky – although, sadly, it wasn’t a particularly clear night - and in a way I think it pushed the crowd to pay more attention to the music than actually looking at the band. Sigur Rós truly brought their world to Jodrell Bank, through a whirling technicolour journey of sound and visual, and the life in their set more than made up for the lack of stars.