August 18, 2009 

            By the time Icelandic pop sensation, Mugison, hit the stage at Manhattan’s City Winery, he had already played three full NYC performances in Staten Island, Queens, and the Bronx.  As an Amnesty International benefit, the songwriter made his way through all five boroughs last Tuesday, performing in each throughout the day. 

            After a brief introduction and speech urging for the support of prisoner San Su Chi from Burma, Mugison’s first notes of his quasi-love-song, “I Want You” rang through the audience, not quite halting conversations which made for an awkward vibe.  The first chorus “Baby, let’s go dancing, like we talked about!” registered LOUD in the quiet room, and he quickly altered his delivery to suit the wine/dinner crowd sitting up front. 

            His wife, Rúna, joined him onstage for the second number, an absolutely stunning rendition of their ballad, “Two Birds.”  The subdued tranquility of the piece seemed to be the turning point for the audience who had obviously just stopped in for wine & tapas, not expecting an Icelandic man in red crocks to hit the stage, guitar in hand, chatting them up and playing (relatively) loud post-Americana-RNR.

            Always a high-point, a low-key rendition of “Jesus is a Good Name to Moan” featured Mugi’s best moans of the three performances I’ve witnessed.  By the second chorus, a table of young girls in the front table (previously talking throughout the set) moaned “JEEEEEEsus” alongside him, eliciting ecstatic cheers from the audience. 

            After the final two songs, “The Animal” & “Murr Murr”, Mugison apologized to the newly converted audience that he had to run to catch his next show at Pete’s Candy Shop in Brooklyn while quickly packing up his guitar and amp.  The lights came on, the house music hit, and the crowd continued cheering long after he was gone…the timeless Icelandic art of seduction.

-Geoffrey Hug