GusGus and Paris XY in Gdańsk
On Sept. 19th, GusGus played at club B90. Collective is currently promoting latest album "Mexico". Few days before event tickets has been sold out. The same situation took place in other Polish cities. I was eagerly waiting for this concert and I wasn’t disappointed. GusGus presented thrilling audiovisual show and B90 was filled with dancing audience. The evening was opened by Paris XY.
Britsh duo began their concert at 22:00. Paris XY combines heavy electronic sounds with guitar riffs and female vocal. Band members as a source of their inspiration point works of Joy Division, Radiohead and Edgar Allan Poe. Alice Smith and James Orvis very effectively warmed up the audience, which was waiting for the star of the evening.
GusGus was founded in Reykyavik in 1995. During the years the members changed many times. GusGus currently are Birgir Þórarinsson, Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson, Högni Egilsson, Magnús Guðmundsson and Stephan Stephensen. The last one didn’t came to Gdańsk because he's on a touring break. The band has become known in Europe for the song "Polyesterday" (1997) and albums released on 4AD. "24/7" (2009) and "Arabian Horse" (2011) got excellent reviews and thanks to them band gained new fans. Newest, ninth album "Mexico" also got positive reviews. They had already played in Poland before. Last year they played at the Audioriver festival in Płock.
Birgir Þórarinsson and Magnús Guðmundsson appeared on stage at 23:20 and were enthusiastically greeted by the audience. After the first instrumental track the vocalists Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson and Högni Egilsson appeared on stage. Band immediately established contact with the audience. During the two-hour performance, the band played in greater part the songs from the new album "Mexico": "This Is Not the First Time", "God-Application", "Sustain", "Airwaves", "Crossfades" and "Obnoxiously Sexual". They also played songs from older albums: "Add This Song" ("24/7"), "Over" i "Arabian Horse" ("Arabian Horse"). GusGus presented a mixture of dance rhytms, pop melodies and trip-hop sounds which sounded great live. The strength of their electronic sound could be fully appreciated thanks to the excellent sound system in the B90 club. Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson and Högni Egilsson showed incredible charisma, energy and vocal skills. They were dancing vigorously on the stage with the audience. Visual experience was complemented by outstanding lighting and minimalistic vizualisations. Main part of the concert lasted 2 hours but musicians came back to play encore. They played the acoustic version of song "This Is What You Get" ("Mexico"), "Moss" ("24/7) and "Deep Inside" ("Arabian Horse").
Many great concerts took place at B90, but this will be one of my favourite shows. And this is just the beginning of autumn concerts at this club!
