Olurfur Arnalds

I cannot not even begin to find the words to convey the beauty of this man’s wondrous music.
All the way from Iceland (He shoulda came here in January!), his take on a music that I neither can, nor want to tag to any genre in particular.
But if I had to try to explain it to someone, it would go something like this.
Olarfur is a uniquely talented, virtuosic keyboardist, songwriter performer and engineer/producer who is SO interested in making certain that the music gets shared with your ears, your heart and your soul, that he had the venue turn off the beer coolers because he didn’t want them to interfere with the music.
That’s right! Much to the dismay of many beer drinkers, I would suppose.

He had a string quartet to accompany him, and, at times, a drummer.
He’d get his exercise in by dividing his time between four or five keyboards, synths and what looked to be a ‘player piano’ (even when he wasn’t playing it, you could still observe the hammers striking the strings. After all, it IS a percussion instrument!).

If I had to describe it, I guess that I’d have to begin with- that it was a more modern form of a new age type of music, ‘newer age,’ if you will.
But his frenetic delivery was mind blowing.
You saw him making constant adjustments to effects, synths, and what guitarists would refer to as ‘loops,’ allowing him to riff and ad lib/improvise over music the music that you were hearing which only enhanced it By Far!
His expertise at ‘mixing’ while performing made you realize just how multi-talented he is.
Add to this the beautiful accompaniment of his bandmates and it was phenomenal.

My friend and coworker, Mark invited me to see him, and knowing nothing about him, I did a little digging.

I found a little bio that discussed how important to him the communication and conversation is between the performer and the audience is.
And even after reading this, I had no idea just how intimate and emotional and heartfelt this conversation would be.
NO idea!
Around the second song, I found myself with tears literally streaming down my face (and praying to God that no one would turn around and see me!) and not really knowing why.
It was like he said.
The beauty of his music reached you on a plane that you weren’t even aware of; you just felt this deep compassion and emotion, almost like you have never felt before.
It was enchanting.

Every so often, he would address the audience and was quite witty and entertaining with that as well.

He mentioned that they had finally gotten a day of rest; a night off from their touring schedule, so he was able to explore Chicago a little bit.
I was proud.
Beyond the bad hype, I believe that we have many fine things to offer (not to mention the finest skyline I have ever seen. And I been around!).

Then, he brought up “pizza.”
I was happy that he got to experience one of our favorite ways of life here-
only for a brief moment.

He announced “Thees is not Peeza.”
Now, I’m pissed.
We have the best pizza in the world (no matter WHAT New Yorkers think!
I’ve had pizza in ROME and it couldn’t hold a candle to ours.
But, of course, I realize- that it’s what you’re used to that becomes your frame of reference).
But again, these feelings were fleeting. Because he then said…
“Thees is like a ‘fried casserole.’”
And ‘thees’ was hilarious! And I was no longer ‘peesed.’
Actually, “fried casserole” is a pretty accurate description for our pizza.
And for those who are not aware, the famous “deep dish” (which is what I pictured he was speaking of) was INVENTED right here in Chicago at ‘Pizzeria Uno.’

And in addition to Mr. Arnalds’ skills at keyboarding, engineering, mixing, riffing and levity, he provide us with a most beautiful unique and entertaining light show to further enhance his beautiful music.

Usually, the lights shine down from up above.
But on this night, the colored lights were shining skyward from the darkened stage (see photos).

Toward the end, he told us a story about how his grandmother and he used to sit and listen to Chopin.
And he played a song for us that he had written in her sweet memory.

All in all, a most unforgettable evening.
And if I may change course a little bit here-
After the show, I wandered the Pilsen neighborhood for some dinner, and on my way back, I was bowled over by a display in the courtyard of a church that was directly across the street from Thalia Hall.

It was a memorial for young school kids whose lives were cut so short by some broken man.
The two taller crosses were for the two teachers who had lost their lives (again. See the photo).

While photographing the memorial, I ran in to a young couple who were visiting Chicago from New Orleans.
As it turned out- they had been at the show too.

And to give you a better idea of just how much this man’s music means to people-
A young lady in our opera box seats was from New Orleans as well.
When I asked if she was here on vacation, she replied “No. I flew here to see Olafur.”
That’s high praise right there!

If you should get the chance, I highly recommend that you go and see him ‘live.’
If not, look him up and support him by buying his albums (they will Always be ‘albums’ to me!).
Thanks for listening.