Live at the Gasometer

Aurora: A pop evening in the pagan north

Pleasantly different: Norwegian Aurora has little in common with the conventional pop stars of today.

(Bild: Andreas Graf)

Eight years after her last appearance in Austria and for the first time ever in Vienna, the Norwegian pop elf Aurora appeared in a completely sold-out Gasometer on Friday evening. With a quirky, natural and vocally intense show, she impressively proved why she occupies a special position in the pop world.

Only loyal fans and indie snoopers remember Aurora in Austria. She first appeared as a teenager at the always lovingly curated Acoustic Lakeside in Carinthia in 2015, and a year later she graced the much too short-lived Out Of The Woods Festival in Wiesen in Burgenland, which has since been played almost to death. Admittedly, the quirky Norwegian was still at the very beginning of her career, but her immense talent and otherness were already recognizable in those early days. Eight years later, she returns to Austria for her very first Vienna concert and has long since become an international heavyweight. The fact that the Gasometer Hall has been completely sold out for months reminds us once again that Vienna urgently needs an adequate event venue in the 8,000 to 10,000 spectator segment between the size of the Stadthalle and the Gasometer.

(Bild: Andreas Graf)

It's all about the big things
But there is no crowding or aggression with the Norwegian - the audience is extremely respectful and attentive, which is necessary given the many quiet tones. Aurora plays very quirky, some would say "classic Nordic" pop that likes to draw on pagan folklore and naturalness, which clearly sets her apart from most of the competition. But she also does this through her personality. Aurora loves nature and freedom, but hates injustice and the current man-made state of the world. At just 28 years old, she has dealt with the current situation so well and in such detail that she finds it difficult to write something as banal as a love song, as she declares in the middle of the set.

(Bild: Andreas Graf)

Aurora enters the stage in summery, sporty white. Her ash-blonde Cleopatra pageboy head is just as striking as her lively personality, which you would never expect from this self-proclaimed introvert. Her core band consists of four musicians, among whom there is strict gender parity and who always add their practiced choral voices to the overall program. The big star is the petite blonde with the expressive voice. After not fully recovering from a cold, she does not reach the falsetto high notes quite as effortlessly as usual, but she masters the constant alternation between high and low notes wonderfully, even when she is not at her best. Her elfish nature is also reflected in parts of the audience. Flared dresses or pinned-up fairy ears are not uncommon here. Vienna-Simmering is the Nordic Shire for an evening.

(Bild: Andreas Graf)

Falling into melancholy
In addition to the well-rehearsed and strong band, the sometimes bitterly cold, sometimes comfortably warm lighting effects and a video wall with all kinds of curiosities are impressive. A twitching eye behind a keyhole, birds flying around, rising and setting suns or even Aurora herself. Once with an oversized half-moon mask as a kind of eye patch and at the end even as a feminine Jesus with a sun wreath wrapped around his head. The singer has little to do with conventional religiosity. Songs like "Heathens" or "The Forbidden Fruits Of Eden" more than hint that she seeks her salvation in the tangible and natural. She alternates between heartfelt ballads, beautiful changes in song structure and sometimes even lets the electropop pig out so as not to fall completely into the confused worlds of melancholy.

(Bild: Andreas Graf)

In the best Björk or Kate Bush tradition, Aurora is always in search of spiritual heights and lets this flow directly into her music. An important cornerstone of her widespread success is her intrinsic urge for freedom and love of experimentation. As introverted as the artist may be by her own admission, on stage the caterpillar unfolds into an all-engulfing butterfly whose radiance is both distinctive and captivating. While Aurora enjoys leaping across the stage and peppering the oval with one expression of gratitude after another, her fellow musicians sometimes transform into acoustic instrument operators, sometimes into a kind of choir group. Occasionally weird song structures, deliberately broken-up choruses and the basic orientation, which is always one and a half feet in the indie segment, actually speak against a cheering crowd, but the Norwegian combines the dissonant with the familiar so congruently that everyone present finds themselves in the sometimes personal, sometimes global song content.

(Bild: Andreas Graf)

More than just a concert
There are plenty of moments of amazement. For example, when she performs the fragile "The River" a capella, invites you into her inner dream world with "Exist For Love" or transforms "Starvation" from a thoughtful pop track into a sprawling electro party song. The overflowing acceptance speeches and behavioral tips for a better society are well-intentioned, but take away much of the concert's flow. An Aurora show is not just a conventional concert, but always a reminder to take a more active look at yourself and your surroundings. This is one of the reasons why she stands out so clearly from the crowd of pop queens. Aurora always conveys the feeling that this is about more than just a cozy evening with beautiful music. You don't have to, but you can certainly appreciate that.