Wreck Ya Vick

Around November, the official Taste of Iceland Festival takes place around Toronto. I've never attended but there was a Nordic vibe at The Burdock on Friday with 2 artists of Icelandic descent playing with their friends and family in attendance. First up was Gabe Kastner. His set was average with a typical sad-sack indie theme. One weakness was a penchant for odd chords that didn't work for me.

 Lindy Vopnfjörd and his cello/back-up partner brought up the energy and fun. Although there was some love songs, he also sang about the surveillance state and other topics. Sigrún Stella was similar to Vopnfjörd but leaning more to the folk side of pop. Her wordy set painted some vivid images.

The final act was Emilie Mover. She is my favourite singer/songwriter and I always attend any of her shows. So although it pained me that most of the crowd has left, it was also nice to experience her solo set without the early raucousness. Mover also painted vivid portraits but with deceptively simple rhymes. Yet they were never the usual ones you'd hear in pop songs. Similarly, her chords would suddenly transition from pop into a bridge or coda full of jazz structures. Apparently, Kastner caused her first broken heart and propelled her into songwriting. So I'm grateful to him for wonderful evenings like tonight.