Yesterday I picked up my ticket to see Sigur Ros at the Uptown Theater June 12. Some of you may remember the last time I saw them, though apparently that version of my blog is no longer online; the show still seems more like a religious experience than a concert.

I’m not an obsessive follower of the band, so I don’t know what all is going on. But they recently released a concert film called Heima, which means something like “at home.” In 2006, after touring the world in support of their album Takk…, they did a series of unannounced concerts around Iceland. Many were in unusual venues such as an abandoned herring factory, for audiences ranging from tiny to the largest concert ever held in the country. The trailer for the movie is absolutely stunning—I downloaded it and have watched it half a dozen times, and it still takes my breath away. There can be no doubt that the music of Sigur Ros is part and parcel of the moody, spooky, even surreal countryside of Iceland.

You can buy the Heima DVD (I just ordered mine from Amazon). You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a product before where every single review gave it 5 stars. The Heima website includes photos, diary entries, and maps, as well as the trailer. You can see the winner and four runners-up videos in the Minn Heima contest here. Click around for downloadable videos or a widget you can embed on your blog.

Postscript: There was a movie on Sundance Channel or IFC (sorry, can’t remember the name) a few years ago about the Icelandic traditions of fairies and otherworldly creatures—in one case highway construction was actually rerouted to avoid running through a fairy city invisible to normal human eyes. Iceland does seem like it could well be a place where the veil between worlds is very thin. As a geology student I knew it as the place where the Mid-Oceanic Ridge actually rises above the surface of the water: new earth is being created there. So who knows—if fairies or nymphs or whatever actually exist, it surely seems like Iceland is a place they would be at home. Update: Found it! It’s called Investigation Into the Invisible World.

But that’s neither here nor there (okay, maybe it is). I spent a fair amount of time in Norway and other parts of Scandinavia, and the Iceland seen in the Heima trailer tugs at my memory. One of these days I will visit there. In the meantime, the music (and incredible musicianship) of Sigur Ros is reason enough to go to one of their concerts. The taste of their home country it provides is just a little extra seasoning for me.