So, Hiro Ballroom. I'd never actually been there before, but it's a really cute spot! Hidden underneath the Maritime Hotel on 9th Ave. and W. 16th St., entering has the feeling of descending down into a Japanese speakeasy. The space is bedecked with low light, lanterns, and random Japanese script strewn about. It kind of feels like an old world floating ramen shop. The stage is all of 12 inches off the ground, so be sure to get there early to stake out your spot 'cause if someone's tall, monolith of a boyfriend is standing in front of you, you're pretty much screwed. 
That being said, I felt almost guilty standing up in front with my camera as i was flanked on both sides by some of the tiniest women I've ever seen en masse. Seriously, none of these girls could have been over 5 feet tall. Also, there was one awesome 8-year-old in a red polka dot skirt and star-covered tights who was one of the highlights of my evening (btw, I don't know what kind of connections this kid had, but she got to go backstage and meet Emilana after the show! She even drew a picture to give to Emiliana...how precious is that? Seriously). Now, on to the show!
Let's get the inevitable comparisons to Bjork out of the way now. There's something about Icelanders that will always bear some resemblance to the country's most famous pop/alternative export, Bjork. For those that have never heard of Emiliana Torrini until now (or think they haven't), she's the one who did that hauntingly beautiful rendition of Golum's Song for the Lord Of The Rings film that played during the end credits. You know, that song you were positive was Bjork?
Yeah, that was Emiliana. And there really is a quality to her voice that is Bjork-like, but more to the point, uniquely Icelandic. Icelanders can cram more emotion into a single note than singers from other places. More imporantly, Icelanders have the ability to convey joy through song more truthfully, more vividly than musicians/singers from anywhere else on the planet (at least that I've heard anyway). But where Bjork's voice is always simmering on the edge of an explosion, Emiliana's voice is past all that tension and lets out a big sigh of relief. Her voice is powerful, but so serene...If you close your eyes while listening to her sing, it feels like your flying or floating...or riding your bike on a breezy, early summer afternoon...or floating on your back in the middle of a lake with the sun full on your face. 
It's that good. Really. The saddest part of the night was that she didn't perform any songs from her debut album, Love In The Time Of Science, because she really, truly didn't think anyone had heard it. She was more than a little bit surprised to hear people from the crowd shouting out requests from said debut ("Fingertips!", "Tuna Fish!") at every in-between song space during the evening. "Unemployed In Summertime" is a personal favorite of mine...Perhaps the thing that makes the show so moving is that as lost in the songs as the crowd gets, Emiliana gets just as lost.
It might almost seem as though she'd forgotten about the audience altogether if it weren't for the fact that the stage is only 12 inches off the floor and she could probably feel us all breathing on her. Watching Emiliana perform, it's nearly impossible to not to vibrate off the floor with glee. She pauses between songs to chat with the band in Icelandic ("Haha! Secret code language!"), sip a Corona, and tell stories about her friends who all seem to think that the songs are about them...except for the ones that the songs are actually about. They just think they're really great songs. The breaks are just as much for the band to re-tune or switch instruments as they are to give the crowd a chance to chat and marvel over how amazing and sweet Emiliana is (and to just stop and let out its collective breath after having held it for the length of the last song). 
But I digress...When she launches into the next song, even the quietest song, it's with a level of intensity that makes the audience crane forward in unison in the hope that reaching physically forward will get them just a little bit deeper into the music; only to realise just how close they already are to Emiliana, and pull back just just enough to give her room to keep working and casting her spell over them all.In short, if Emiliana Torrini is performing anywhere close to where you live, you need to do whatever it is you need to do to go and see her happen. You will not be disappointed.
