Jónsi and Alex Somers cast a sublime spell at Théâtre Maisonneuve for the Riceboy Sleeps tour

Back in 2009, Jónsi, vocalist for Iceland’s beloved experimental outfit Sigur Rós and composer Alex Somers released Riceboy Sleeps, an ambient album that set Jónsi’s ethereal vocals over strings and a naturalistic soundscape. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Riceboy Sleeps, the duo recently released an analogue re-master of the album on triple vinyl (including their All Animals EP), and set out on a small tour to perform the album in full for the first time alongside an orchestra and choir, which included a stop at Montreal’s Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts on October 23rd.

The show opened with a performance of the All Animals by the Wordless Music Orchestra, which nicely set the meditative tone of the night. Before the performance, Jónsi and Somers took the stage to explain how the night would play out, and motioned for the crowd to look for individual packets of Pop Rocks next to our seats, which they instructed the crowd to consume at a specific part of the set, when given the nod by the conductor. It was quite a seat to see (and hear) hundreds of packets of candy being torn open in unison in the stately theatre, and the crackling mouth feel, combined with the swelling of the performance, created a distinctly immersive moment. It may not have achieved exactly what the Jónsi and Somers had in mind, but it was a fun bonding experience for the crowd, and showed that the duo are really trying to establish a unique sensory experience for these shows.

After a 30-minute intermission, the Riceboy Sleeps portion of the night began, with Jónsi and Somers setting themselves up towards the back of the stage, set between the orchestra at the front of the large stage and the children’s choir at the back. Though broken up into 9 tracks, the Riceboy Sleeps material feels like one cohesive whole, and the live performance kept that flow, with only minimal breaks throughout the pieces. Alongside the orchestra, the nature soundscape was brought to life with performers whirling tubes over their heads, banging glass, and creating rustling sounds with what sounded like crunched up bits of plastic, all of which added to the dreamlike atmosphere of the set.

While Riceboy Sleeps only features a few moments of Jónsi’s vocals, those pieces really elevated the material in the live setting, creating a richly moving soundscape, especially during the otherworldly finale of “Indian Summer,” where Jónsi somehow held a single note for an astonishing, jaw-dropping length of time.

The Riceboy Sleeps material doesn’t have the sweeping breadth and drama of Sigur Rós; it’s a mostly atmospheric and lush affair, which makes for a very subdued show. That said, Jónsi and Somers have beautifully brought the record to life with this stunning stage show, fleshing out the material and creating a warm and enveloping experience that is distinctly their own.