|08-NOV-2015|  Final day of the festival – it always goes by so fast! Kicked around today, not too much going on in the way of off-venue today and frankly, it’s nice to feel like you don’t *have* to be going somewhere or seeing something – one of the benefits of returning to Reykjavik year after year: it actually is a vacation!

Made our only stop into Sandholt bakery this trip and it was for lunch, not breakfast.

The big finale tonight was at Vodafone Hall, a multi-purpose facility not too far from our apartment though the complete opposite direction from the rest of the week’s venues. The schedule was set to start at 5:50pm and when we arrived at 6:15 the line was out the door and along the side of the building toward the street. Peering into lobby, it was packed solid …. what’s going on, is it already full?  Unlike last year’s Flaming Lips show, Vodafone was open to all festival goers this year; 9000+ people, only a handful of venues with shows tonight and this is the largest, holding probably 2500 – 3000 people.

Not sure what the delay was in getting people into the main hall, but once the doors opened the line quickly flowed into the building without any capacity problems. Big night with seven bands scheduled, an hour delay – we weren’t sure what to expect.

Vök kicking things off at Vodafone. Though their set was cut short, they pulled together a tight little set and were well received by the gathering crowd.

Hip-hop artist Emmsje Gauti followed Vok. Not the best hip-hop we’ve seen this week but he did have some great musicians backing him: Keli, Vignir and Þórarinn of Agent Fresco.

After also backing hip-hop artists Ulfur Ulfur, Agent Fresco convened on stage with the arrival of Arnor. They bring it … every time. Solid, though short, set with all the passion and intensity we’ve come to expect from these guys.

Grainy, cell phone picture of Hot Chip, tonight’s “big name” band.  Colorful lighting, lots of strobes, vocal affects, the whole deal – exactly what you’d expect from a seasoned electronic band of this caliber.  And they closed with a cover of “Dancing In The Dark” .

 Which brings us to the closer, FM Belfast – Reykjavik’s premier party band. And they brought the party.  Hot Chip may have the cache, but FM Belfast brings the crazy that winds up a crowd like no band we’ve ever seen here. Vodafone lost about 20% of the crowd after Hot Chip, but those who stayed were ready to party! Jeff and I didn’t see them last year and can definitely say they’ve honed their craft and deserve their status as Airwaves closers.

I can’t believe the festival is over and we fly home tomorrow. Year after year Airwaves continues to impress us with the ever-increasing quality of the artists who grace the stages, cafes, shops, bars and hostels in Reykjavik. As we close the books on Airwaves 2015, we saw 41 bands in 5 nights, 25 of which were new to us – a great mix of new discoveries and old favorites.

Thanks for coming along with us – hope you enjoyed the adventure! 🙂