Fever Ray @ Kool Haus

Fever Ray/Vuk
Kool Haus
Friday October 2, 2009

I think I still have dry ice and laser dust in my lungs. Fever Ray’s first and maybe only North American tour ever, (see OMG Blog’s interview here) has been highly anticipated by fans and critics.  Their debut dates in NYC have been covered by almost every good online music site (Stereogum, BrooklynVegan, Pitchfork), and now its my turn to weigh in.

Got to the venue at 9pm, Katie was tied up longer than anticipated at the dress rehearsal of her Nuit Blanche project.  Vuk began her set, I listened from the lobby, not terribly my thing but sounded okay.  Katie arrived, grabbed a drink and headed into the thick of the crowd to get a good front/centre standing spot. It really surprised me how empty the venue was, maybe 65% sold out tops (photo).  They had even made the venue smaller by putting up a curtain blocking off the right hand side of the venue (when looking at the stage).

Fever Ray began their set shortly after 10pm, and from moment 1, I knew we were in for something really special.  The venue was pumped full of dry ice, more dry ice than I have ever seen used in a concert setting.  It was so thick I could taste it.  As the house lights went down, the most beautiful lazer light show began, as did a thunderous eerie heartbeat-like bass line began, the opening to If I Had A Heart.  Antique lamps scattered across the stage pulsed to the beat, while a heavily costumed Karin Dreijer Andersson crept out of the bowls of the darkness to the mic.  She looked like a cross between a Jim Henson character and something from Labyrinth.  Her entire band were also in costume, one was dressed as a werewolf, another wore a long red veil over her face. Until the show, I didn’t realize that the deep, man-ish v ocals on the album were actually Karin, I always thought it was her brother (from the Knife).

The set that followed was probably the most intense (in a good way!) concert I have ever witnessed,  dark, a bit chilling but overtly enjoyable.  Karin stayed in “character” the entire set, did not speak or take part in any stage banter, which added to the performance.  I guess you could say that it really wasn’t just a concert, but a performance art piece, every sense what stimulated, the music could be felt in your bones, the visuals (lazers, lighting, costumes) and I will always remember the dense smell of dry ice that was forever being pumped into the venue.  Set list was as  follows:

If I Had A Heart
Triangle Walks
Concerte Walls
Seven
I’m Not Done
Now’s The Only Time I Know
Keep The Streets Empty For Me
Dry and Dusty
Stranger Than Kindness
When I Grow Up
Here Before
Coconut

Their big single, When I Grow Up was the highlight of the set, it’s their most dance-friendly track and really set the mood and got the crowd going.

OMG Blog has some great pictures here (site NSFW).

Watch the video for If I Had A Heart below.

If I Had A Heart from Fever Ray on Vimeo.