Brent Eyestone (Magic Bullet Records, Highness, Bleach Everything)
SPB: Who is your favorite current band to see live?
Eyestone: For the last 13 years, my absolute favorite band to see live is Sigur Rós, without question. I've seen them 38 times all around the world and their performances have always put me in a headspace that I've genuinely never felt elsewhere in life. In fact, I brought my dad the last time I saw them and remember asking him, "Does this change the way you think about music?" He non-jokingly responded that it was changing the way he thought about life! Afterward, he demanded that we go with my brother and mom next time and that we all "biochemically alter" ourselves in advance. On the drive back, we were able to openly and candidly talk about things we've never discussed together in my 37 years on the planet.
I've often seen them play over 3 hours at a time and have it feel like 10 minutes because they are absolutely the best in writing set lists and knowing how to ebb and flow in a manner that is constantly engaging. There was even a time where myself and my girlfriend of the time hopped a train in DC up to NYC to see them play one single song on that crappy Carson Daly show (when it was filmed out of 30 Rock and he was trying to be some man's man bro-dude instead of some pallid non-prescription glasses-wearing indie blog dork to fit modern trends). We got off the train, walked over to 30 Rock, endured and suffered through Daly and Tom Sizemore trying to throw footballs through tires for over an hour on camera (seriously), and finally had respite when Sigur Rós took the stage and played "Vaka." Just the one song. We got right back on the train to DC and went straight to the bedroom, not even once thinking it wasn't worth the effort.
Bless those spritely Icelandic geniuses. Life wouldn't feel nearly as full without them.
