A Night At The Björk Show
SHOW DATE: February 2nd, 2022.
LOCATION: Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA.
FIRST TIME VIEWER?: Yes.
We had been anticipating the concert for several months, the realness of it finally catching up to me as my partner and I chatted on the train about what awaited us. In between jokes of how I wanted the elusive musician, Björk, to finally adopt me, I mused on her over-the-top productions, the theatrics of her stage presence, and the one-of-a-kind artistry of those gaudy outfits that would only truly fit Björk. What I experienced was everything I expected and nothing that I expected - she was all of it, none of it, and more.
Mechanical bird songs streamed delicately from unseen speakers, and Björk’s otherworldly flora projected upon the curtained stage brought us into a live Utopia music video as we stepped into the Shrine Auditorium. I counted down the minutes till showtime as I people-watched the swells of her army in every corner, fit with their glittering costumes, Björk’s iconic pigtails, and animalistic makeup looks. As thirty minutes slinked past, I wondered if the Icelandic superstar had underestimated our notorious LA traffic. A loud fervor awoke among us as the lights finally went dim, people still scrambling to their seats. Their silhouettes nearly blocked the view of Tonality, the accompanying choir, as they opened the show at last. Their radiant voices and angelic ambiance in all white garb captured me for a musical ritual. I knew I would have a once-in-a-lifetime experience when Björk appeared at last from behind the cascading string curtains, ecstatic applause and shrieks erupting from the crowd, in an enormous white dress that completely enfolded her.
My eyes were glued to her as she waltzed around the fungi-turned-stage, her face obscured by her golden-winged mask, like a praying mantis upon her face. Björk was the pied piper, the flute ensemble elvishly trailed behind her as they traced their utopian landscape. Colorful beams of light illuminated the theater and Björk’s impulsive dance movements encapsulated the childlike glee I felt. The audience became one with the performance as chaotic lights rapidly struck us to the beat of the music, then flitted back to the stage. I was in awe - every inch of the venue was reverberating with raw, euphoric energy. I was swept away to another realm.
No matter where I looked, there were amalgamations of fauna and flora with a technical spin. Flowers projected upon the stage turned inward indefinitely within themselves, and amorphous figures with delicate feline features reached toward each other in a loving embrace. Björk was just another one of these alien-like creatures that came to life from this world. Throughout the show, she would retreat to a hive-like cocoon, while her masked face appeared on each side of the concert hall as she performed “Show Me Forgiveness” and “Claimstaker.” In between songs, my partner nudged me, loudly whispering, “I knew she had a spaceship!”
Just before we would crash land back on Earth, a speech by Greta Thunberg urged us to protect our planet and come together to fight for our natural world, the clear inspiration behind Björk’s utopian dreamscape. As the artist returned to the stage to welcome us once again with “Future Forever,” I was overcome with gratitude and awe. While she had stolen me away from the fear of a world overturned with chaos, Björk had granted me a way out: to imagine a future and to be in it.
Thinking about seeing the one and only Björk in concert? This is your sign. Buy your tickets at:
https://bjorktour.com/
https://www.ticketmaster.com/bjork-tickets/artist/753508
