When I heard that Sigur Rós was going on a intimate theater tour I got excited. Their live shows are not to be missed. I pulled up the tour dates and was disappointed that I would be missing them as they were not playing St. Louis this time around and when I initially looked at the Chicago Theater show it was sold out. I didn’t think much of it and then I heard that Ash was going to be in Chicago just a couple days before the show and decided to see if any tickets had been released. I was in luck and booked my room and secured my ticket.

Normally the band have a string and brass section that they have  incorporated since the tour before 2002’s ( ). This time around the band was stripped down to just the now three core members Jónsi Birgisson, Georg Hólm, and Orri Páll Dýrason. After having seen the band three times before with the string and brass sections I was curious how they would sound. This tour also marks the return of Sigur Rós have playing new material onstage ahead of recording.

The band had no opening act on this tour and instead played two different sets with and intermission between the two. Both sets the band opened with new songs, Á for the first set and Óveður for the second set.

The band constantly amazes me with their awe-inspiring music and stage performance and on this tour they upped the light show to mind blowing levels. Lighting towers and mobile projection screens that changed between geometric patterns and digital landscapes. During the second set the band began its the set behind a semitransparent curtain, but came out from behind it after a few songs. The band closed the night with their go to closing song Popplagið. It is probably the perfect song to end the night. From its slow mellow star building up to the chaotic ending.  Eventually the band  returned for a curtain call as they do not do encores.