Went to see Emiliana Torrini tonight. Her big homecoming since she became a ‘star’ – of sorts, well since she wrote a hit song for Kylie Minogue and got nominated for a Grammy.

Now, generally I hate going to concerts a) because you have to stand for hours, b) because I’m short and generally wind up looking at the back of some big guy’s ears. Kind of puts a damper on things if the truth be told. And I am unhappy to report that we had to wait for 40 minutes for Emiliana to appear on the stage tonight, and everybody was getting just a tad impatient. Forty minutes of standing, on heels, with me back aching. Grrr.

So was it worth it? Well, yeah. Ish. Thing is that, of late, Emiliana has been making really slow atmospheric music, lovely music and all that, but the kind of music you need to listen to sitting at a table with a candle and a glass of wine. Not packed vertical into a crowded venue with the person behind you breathing down your neck. [Which in this intance happened to be EPI which was lucky, but imagine if it hadn’t been. Just imagine. For a moment.] So it wasn’t ideal.

On the upside, she has a beautiful voice and she told excellent stories in between songs, really delightful.

On the downside, there was….

THE BJÖRK FACTOR
I am getting so sick of every single female Icelandic vocalist acting, sounding, speaking exactly like Björk. They put on that little girly act and talk with their… voices… all… stilted… and… they pull at their hair… and it just makes you cringe. Björk is such a strong personality and sort of towers over them and none of them can seem to muster up enough personality to hold their own. And it’s quite sad, especially in the case of Emiliana because she’s so amazingly talented and she really doesn’t need to do it. So – Emiliana, honey. Quit making that pseudo-angelic face, closing your eyes and turning your face skywards with your hand all rigid and bent and making those jerky movements, OK? Because it’s just – embarassing. And we paid money to see you.

BUT ENOUGH OF THAT
Guess where I’m going tomorrow? Hiking! EPI and I belong to a hiking group and every year we pick a new amazing place to explore. Last year we did the West Fjords. This year – the beautiful, magical Snæfellsnes peninsula. No doubt it will be filled with incredible views and adventures. I shall post pictures. In about six days. In the meantime, adieu!

OH RIGHT THE WEATHER…
Emiliana made one good comment tonight [actually she made several but this one I shall tell you about]: she said ‘Sweating like a pig in Reykjavík – this is quite remarkable!’ And it is! The last couple of days I’ve felt like I was somewhere overseas, somewhere warm, because I’ve been walking around with just a t-shirt on [well and pants, too, and shoes] and actually perspiring [which is what women do, Emiliana honey, they don’t ‘sweat’ kay?] in the sunshine. And believe you me, in Iceland this is quite remarkable. Today I think we had highs of around 22 and the sun came up at 03.59 and went down at 23.10.