At the beginning of May we saw the Icelandic folk/pop/alt band Of Monsters and Men in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House. The Opera House opens its doors to contemporary artists pretty often as I’ve seen a few bands there over the years. We were seated in the stalls for the first time, which gave us a real close up view.

Listening to their albums, I’m aware that the band is a large one, having two lead singers, but I wasn’t quite prepared for 9 to 12 people on the stage!

The audience was a real mix, from under 20’s to over 60’s – a real surprise given that the group is only 5 years old and doesn’t get a lot of mainstream radio play. I guess these days people can discover new music in all sorts of ways.

They played the content of their two albums, and a few odds and ends, and their music sounded grander on stage than on their album. To me, they are one of those bands that sound better live than on their recordings. It even brought the crowd to their feet every now and then!

And yes, the smoke machine and strobe lighting was in use. Not surprising given the atmospheric nature of much of their songs.

All in all, a good night out.