Monday, April 7, 2003 | 8:22 a.m.
"Shhh!"
It's a sound you might hear in a library, during an exam or at the movies. But in the middle of a rock concert? Surely not.
But Saturday night at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, reverent fans calling for quiet actually got their wish. Vigorous bursts of applause aside, a respectful crowd of 1,300 stayed mostly silent for Icelandic quartet Sigur Ros.
Backed by a four-piece string section, the band crafted 13 elegant soundscapes, unhurried songs that stir emotions without employing a single word from the English language.
Vocalist Jon Thor Birgisson sings intermittently in either Icelandic or "Hopelandic," a language of made-up words and sounds he created. Sometimes it sounded as if he tossed in words more recognizable, a "you" or a "light," but it's difficult to tell.
Really though, what Birgisson might be singing about is mostly irrelevant. Sigur Ros' music is all about the way he sings, and the way his vocals complement the ensemble's subtle textures.
A singer manipulating his voice through its extreme upper register in the studio is one thing. Doing it onstage for two hours straight is quite another, but Birgisson did that rather easily Saturday night, judging from the strength of his high-pitched vocals during a mammoth four-song encore.
Not that his face didn't show signs of strain. Eyes closed, the rail-thin Sigur Ros singer appeared visibly moved by the experience as he wailed plaintively.
His guitar bursts -- largely played Jimmy Page-style with a violin bow -- and turns at one of the band's many keyboards also contributed to Sigur Ros' rich instrumentation.
Beginning with the first untitled track from their latest album, "( )," Birgisson, bassist Georg Holm, keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson and drummer Orri Pall Dyrason took a slow, deliberate journey through rock music's spacier side.
Just how leisurely were Sigur Ros' explorations? The band averaged close to nine minutes per composition.
But despite the slow pace, the music never became tedious. Even though songs often started softly and moved along with only slight variation for a while, those changes hinted tantalizingly at looming intensifications.
Generally, those dramatic finishes were well worth the wait. Peaceful just moments before, the band's rhythm section suddenly whipped itself into a frenzy, Dryason pummeling his drums and Holm sending out rib-rattling waves from his bass.
Stage lights, smoke and shadowy effects on a screen added to the mood, as did the string section, which aided not only the quieter material but the rocked-out portions as well. Sveinsson worked especially well with the violinists, wrapping his piano lines around their sweeping notes.
"Play Track Four," one fan yelled between numbers, demonstrating the inherent risks in releasing an album without song titles.
Sigur Ros didn't play Track Four, but did play the most recognizable pieces from their first two albums: "Hafsol" from debut "Von" and "Svefn-G-Englar" from breakthrough follow-up "Agaetis Byrjun." Both were exquisite, as were two other tunes from "Agaetis," "Olsen Olsen" and "Vidrar Vel Til Loftarasa."
The Icelanders also visited their new album one last time to close, choosing the apocalyptic 15-minute final track. The song finished with the night's heaviest burst, a caucophony of noise that seemed to release everything that had been built up and held back throughout the night.
The appreciative crowd urged the band back to the stage for two group bows, and one fan yelled "Happy Birthday Georg" to the Sigur Ros' bassist, who celebrated his 27th birthday with a rousingly successful Las Vegas debut.
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