Liz and Lee Heidhues 2.9.2022
Tuesday evening we arrived at Chase Center in high anticipation of seeing the Icelandic icon Björk for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Liz and I went through the obligatory myriad security checks. Once inside we approached an Usher to ask directions to our seats. Instead of directions the Usher, Titus, informed us he was upgrading our seats to sit on the main floor of Chase Center in close proximity to the stage. Amazing! To receive this prize.
Our seats were in Row 1 of a raised section looking directly onto the stage and behind Bjőrk’s three-man technical crew with multiple screens and sound systems. It was not a sellout in all likelihood to the requirement to present proof of vaxxed and boosted. A good-sized crowd waited in anticipation of the Icelandic muse. The show started 30 minutes late to allow everyone to be seated. It was worth the wait.
The choreography, the visuals, the music …. Bjőrk.
It is impossible for me, technologically challenged, to describe the visuals, the acoustics, the incredible light acrobatics, the music and Bjőrk. It all synched.
Prior to the Performance, Bjőrk made it abundantly clear to the audience that she preferred we refrain from taking pictures and video, reminding the crowd it is very distracting. Bjőrk’s fans respectfully complied.
The most stunning was a 10-minute piece one hour into the extravaganza. It was a jangled montage of bodies and colors, mostly blood red. It was Dystopian to say the least. A powerful musical creation about the destruction we are wreaking upon the planet, ourselves, and ancient pagan mythologies. The intertwining of the bodies blended themselves into the most bizarre tapestries.
Bjőrk was exotically dressed in a white feathered outfit and dazzling platform shoes as she stomped about the stage in her unique vocal style, whipping her collaboration of vocalists and instrumentalists into an unforgettable performance. The crowd went wild. The applause and screams of the audience rose and fell.
The Performance lasted 1 hour 45 minutes. The entire production was extremely disciplined.
I keep asking myself how Bjőrk has so much creativity. She projected onto the stage an appearance by Swedish 19 year old environmentalist Greta Thunberg who scolded the world – leaders and public – about the future of our endangered planet and the horrors of climate change.
It’s more than Music. Bjőrk. A musical conscience about the strange beauty of Planet Earth and what we are doing in our heedless path of its destruction.
Accompanied with her supporting cast of flutists, drummers, and vocalists Bjőrk’s concert “Cornucopia” was a memorable experience!
Björk Guðmundsdóttir OTF (/ˈbjɜːrk/ BYURK; Icelandic: [pjœr̥k ˈkvʏðmʏntsˌtouʰtɪr̥] (
listen); born 21 November 1965) is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer and actress. Over her four-decade career, she has developed an eclectic musical style that draws on influences and genres including electronic, pop, jazz, experimental, trip hop, alternative, classical, and avant-garde music.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bj%C3%B6rk
Review: Climate dread fuels Björk’s dazzling ‘Cornucopia’ in San Francisco
Lee's Perspective 