Hometown Heroes GusGus Bring Iceland Airwaves to Fiery Close

Icelandic electro-pioneers GusGus closed the 10th annual Iceland Airwaves festival with a techno-fueled headlining set that delighted a hometown crowd in dire need of cheering up.

Addressing the crammed NASA audience in their native tongue, the trio of Stephan 'President Bongo' Stephensen, Biggi Veira and singer Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson began their set with some of their more mellow tunes which highlighted Haraldsson's camp vocal delivery but failed to open the evening with the same pizzazz as the previous year when they rained fake snow upon the audience.

But eventually they eased into techno beats and the LED and laser light show kicked into gear, amping up the audience into full-on rave mode. (Not to mention inspiring several of the fetching Icelandic women to jump on the venue's bar tops and air-grind.)

Far from their 12-piece art-collective roots, the 2009 edition of GusGus comes off as an updated pastiche of '80s New Wave bands like Frankie Goes to Hollywood, juxtaposing impressive vocal and musical chops with a camp aesthetic. Dressed in black with eyeliner and a form-fitting overcoat, Harldsson spent most of his time sashaying across the stage while Viera held down the beats and Stephensen switched between low-end vocals and synthesizer augmentation.

Peppering songs from new album '24/7' with old favourites, the trio concluded with an inspired version of 2007 single 'Moss,' which, at an extended nine minutes, sent the audience into a frenzy as they joined Haroldsson in chanting its 'high on love' chorus. When the lights finally came up at Reykjavík's largest nightclub, it not only marked the end of a lengthy world tour for GusGus but also the conclusion of a joyous weekend for a country still suffering from the startling economic collapse that nearly bankrupted the nation last fall.

As far as escapism goes, few festivals can top the hedonism and eclectic variety of Airwaves -- and as befitting their legendary status, GusGus proved to be the perfect band to wrap things up and give the local population a boost of pride before returning to its uneasy reality.