ICELAND 2 [THE SEQUEL]

HI GUYS.

It's 3 am and I just danced for an hour and a half, so it's the same deal as yesterday.

We woke up really early this morning to take a tour of the South Coast [black sand beaches, something, blah blah blah Iceland]. Early means 7:00. We made it downstairs by 7:40 and had a really great breakfast. I tried [and hated] pickled halibut. Then we waited for our tour-bus in the lobby. There were several other groups around us and we watched as they got cancelled one by one. Ours was last. We called the company when they were an hour late, and they told us that all tours were cancelled because of weather. Woof.

A side note: the weather here is unreal. I'm not kidding. I have nearly been blown off my feet several times. The actual temperature today was 30 degrees, but with the wind chill [and gusts of up to 66 mph] it felt like 8. Everyone we have spoken to - Icelandic or not - has said that this weather is the worst they've ever seen. It's especially bad walking right along the coast because the wind whips up a salt-water mist that stings when it hits you.

ANYWAY. So we went back up to the room to go back to sleep because we were so tired. We meant to only sleep 'til 11, but ended up crashing until noon [actually, I slept 'til 12:30]. Then we woke up and prepared to start our day. Hah.

We got dressed in so many layers and headed out to the National Museum of Iceland. We got to walk by the pond, which had frozen almost entirely in the last 12 hours [this weather is no joke]. Once we reached the museum, we got a condensed version of Iceland's entire history in two hours. It was wonderful. I particularly loved the section dealing with the transition from Paganism to Christianity. It was fun and educational.

After the museum we headed over to Eymundsson [a book store] to see a set by 1860 [the band we gave our seats to yesterday, remember?]. On the way we stopped at a little bakery and I ate a pretzel. The show was good - short and sweet. The sound was off, so they decided to do the whole thing acoustic, which I actually enjoyed more. 

After 1860, we swung back to the hotel to drop off/pick up a few things, and then we headed out to dinner. We went to Kryddlegin Hjörtu and I had some really delicious mushroom soup and a salad. Food in Iceland is EXPENSIVE by the way. Then we backtracked and found KEX Hostel to see Sin Fang [headed by the lead singer of Seabear, if you were wondering]. The venue was great, but it was packed and hard to see the band. Sound was great, though, and the band was really together. I sometimes have a temper about show-etiquette, and this was a challenge because two girls planted themselves where there was NOT enough space, but I made it through alright. There was a middle-aged man standing just in front of us who was a major fan of Sin Fang, and I loved watching him get very excited about every song they did.

Next, we hoofed it over to Gamli Gaukurinn - the great venue from yesterday. We saw this girl duo called Kool Thing. Their music was a little louder, and their beats were fantastic. One of the girls - the Irish one who did all of the talking - had beautiful butterfly tattoos up and down her arms.

We hopped over to the Deutsche Bar when they'd finished, just in time for Tilbury. They were described online as synth-folk, but this was misleading. They did have synths, and the main synth-player was adorable, but a few songs in, I was bored. So we jumped across the street to Amsterdam - the metal venue for the night. We listened to a song or two from Angist. It was novel. In addition to being a metal band [a genre I don't usually listen to], the lead singer was a lady. That was surprising. 

Bored again, and sore from standing, we headed back to Gamli Gaukurinn, hoping to find a place to sit. But to no avail. Moss was playing, though, and they were a lot of fun. They play electronic pop, and they do it well. We only saw the tail end of their performance, which was a little dismaying. I would have liked to see a bit more of them than just 3 songs. 

When Moss finished we went back to the Deutsche Bar and saw Blouse - our first [and only?] American band of the night. They were good. Ethereal synthy stuff. A little Beach House-y. We stayed for most of their set, but bailed a song or two before the end because it was so hot and also because we'd gotten a little bored [again!]. In the words of Hoessi [our guide yesterday], "It was not my teacup." 

It was fine that we jumped early, though, because we needed to head over to Harpa [Silfurberg] to get in for FM Belfast at 1 am. It was nearly midnight, and we got in without a problem. Silfurberg doesn't have seats like Kaldalon did, so there was a lot more space and a lot more leniency with who got in. Since we were there an hour early, we got to see the band before FMB - Hjalmar & Jimi Tenor. Their music style was "doom reggae." I didn't know what that meant either. They started out mostly reggae, but got darker as the set progressed. Then, after finishing their song "Route 666," they shouted "EXPELLIARMUS!" and then dove into a reggae/ska version of the Harry Potter theme song. I know.

That was their last song, and then FM Belfast came on. Ohmigash. It was such a fantastic show. So much dancing. They ended within an hour, but then came back on and did a half-an-hour long encore, finishing with "I don't want to go to sleep either." Which is my favorite of theirs. It was really hot - I still had on my thermals. But I danced anyway, and it was transcendent. 

We got out of FM Belfast at around 2:10, and then started heading to The Factory. We ran into a couple of guys. They approached us a little awkwardly and I was sort of nervous, but all they wanted was to know where The Factory was. We found it together - thanks to my iPhone. The fellows were really nice. One was from Sweden [his name was Gustav] and the other from Canada. Gustav was a blogger who'd gotten to come to AI for free. Canada was along for the ride. Anyway, we got to The Factory and the line was out the door. We decided to wait for a while, and it seemed to be moving pretty well. Canada almost got into a fight with some Icelandic kids who were trying to cut, but the crisis was averted. We made it to the door and the guys got through, but the bouncer dropped the chain right in front of us. We looked from him to the guys inside, and he reluctantly let us follow them in. 

It was so smoky and packed. We danced around the whole bottom floor and ended up in a back room. A couple was pressed hard against the wall, making-out like nobody's business. The guys went over to the bar, and we headed upstairs to see if the Gluteus Maximus dance party was still happening. Upstairs was even more crowded than downstairs, so we turned right back around and left for good. I do feel a bit bad for ditching those kind men after they got us in, but it was nearly 3, and I felt in over my head. There's a line I didn't feel like crossing. If either of you are reading this: sorry. 

So, after we ducked out of that, we came right back to the hotel. Now, as I write, I can hear some techno drifting in from the bar down the street mingled with the sounds of tipsy concert-goers. 

What is this life, you guys?