Bjork @ Madison Square Garden - Sep 24, 2007

This time I am gonna keep it to myself... This time I am gonna keep it all to myself

In short words: Bjork's show at MSG was pure Voltage. In not-so-short words:

Bjork started the fire (literally) with Earth Intruders. The brass section came on stage first, marching, and Bjork followed wearing a golden dress like the queen of a tribu. That's what she is... The Queen.

I finally got to hear Hunter live! The brass section sounded beautiful under Bjork's powerful voice. Last time I saw her at Radio City Music Hall she did not play this song. She played it at one of the United Palace shows, so I was jealous. I got my revenge.

Pagan Poetry gotta be one of Bjork's favorite songs of her own catalog because she really means that song when she sings it, and that, automatically, makes it one of my favorites ever. Check out her video... you will understand. She made everybody in the garden feel what it's like to let an amazing voice make love to your ears.

If you have heard I See Who You Are then you've heard a watery-sounding cord instrument that makes that song such a beautiful one. Min Xiao-Fen was invited (she's is probably part of Bjork's crew on tour) to do her thing and got lots of clapping of the very nice people attending the show. This song live is an example of how great Bjork can make sound a non modern instrument with a very modern one in a very smooth way. She is a genius.

I love Homogenic, over all Bjork albums, and at Radio City she didn't play much from it. This time she knew I was pretty much first row tho... she played Unravel (I already mentioned Hunter and more are coming!) and I almost cry. Seriously.

Medulla is the most inaccessible album Bjork has put out and Pleasure Is All Mine is not the easiest one to listen to on it. Why do you keep playing that song live Bjork? Why? I heard that night a tighter set list than the previous time I saw her and if she replaces that song by a more appropiate one it could have been even more fantastic.

A Bjork show in the city, for this tour and hopefully from now on, means that Antony Hegarty guests to sing one-to-one with the goddess. The Dull Flame of Desire was one more time a peak in the show and I was not the only one waiting for that moment again. I am sure Antony has won lots of new fans joining Bjork for two of the sweetest songs on Volta, because his voice and Bjork's were meant to be together. You just need to see them singing to each other... the energy bouncing from one to the other one will find its way to you and will fill you. Thank you! I was.

More Homogenic, more pleasure for me. Joga was next and Bjork took us up to the stars.

She likes Medulla. It was a very conceptual album for her (and hence everybody else) and something she needed to do after seeing the voice as her most powerful instrument. Now, here she did absolutely right choosing Desired Constellation as part of the show... with all those new machines she is using to simulate sounds, this song, that sounds like if you were floating among million of stars (where Joga took us!), was ace.

Time to shake things up. Army of Me, a highlight of Post, although missing energy at the beginning, made us jump for the first time in the night. Lasers and its reflections traveled all over the garden reminding us how we used to have fun at those obscure raves years ago (well, and nowadays too).

Innocence, the track Timbaland helped to make the beats for was next.

And then I Miss You, another great track from Post, made people move their bodies a bit more. The brass section sounded awesome here again... those trumpets coming in once in a while.

Second peak of the show (for me) came next. Before last night, Cover Me was a pretty normal track on Post, but after last night I will never ignore it again. Not after Bjork looked at my eyes and told me:

I am going hunting for mysteries... Cover meeeeee. I am going to proooove the impooossible maaaayy eexiiiiiiist. This is really daangeroouus... Cover meeeee.

I will never forget.

Then, Wanderlust, one of the best tracks on Volta (there aren't too many singles, but as an album it perfectly flows) gave me peak number 3. She is married and have two kids, but... would you re-marry me? I would be happy to wanderlust with you (and your kids and husband... I don't care).

The dance party continued with Hyperballad, another song I love that I hadn't heard live. All Bjork fans know those lyrics and she let us sing them to her. She was so happy, and so we were. The song was played a little bit faster and that turned us on again. Jumping and fisting, jumping and hugging was all I see around myself. People smiling... awesome times. And then, the last song...

Pluto. Goddamn, one more Homogenic track. The ex-planet was remembered with everybody dancing and making their bodies explode, like the lyrics say, promising to be brand new tomorrow... a little bit tired, but brand new.

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Of course, there was an encore, and longer than usual with her. Everybody knew that the last song we were going to hear that night was the excellent Declare Independence, from Volta, but she surprised us all playing Oceania, the best track on Medulla together with Who Is It and Triumph of the Heart, meaning she wasn't going to play a one song encore.

She brought all her people around her and for Declare Independence and so not only us but everybody on stage, including girls holding big trombones and trumpets, started dancing. Everybody was so pumped that if a war was called in her name we all would have followed. For almost two hours we did what she wanted us to: raised our flags (fists) and protected our language (music). Declare independence people!

P.S> Klaxons was OK. I need to see them at a smaller place. Now, I went to their after party, sneaked in to the VIP area because I saw guess who? Bjork! She was hanging out with her friends, I stared at her for half an hour or so willing to talk to her, but never did, and had like seven vodka-tonics meanwhile for free! As I said before, I will never forget. To finish the awesomeness Spank Rock played for free, Diplo was in the house mixing and the place, Rebel, was destroyed every time he played a M.I.A. song. [photos of the show]

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Were you at the show? How did you like it?

Bjork links: Stream Volta, Stream her show at United Palace (5/5/07), Official Website, Wikipedia, MySpace, YouTube (Recommended)