Live Review: Yndi Halda @ Ghostprint Gallery, August 18

It started off like any other Monday, that is to say inauspiciously and perhaps even somewhat badly. By the time the end of the working day arrived, I was in need of some serious soul-soothing. Thankfully, two things happened to completely turn the day around (and make me a very happy girl indeed): a friend told me about a show going on at the Ghostprint Gallery, and a band called Yndi Halda was one of the bands on the bill. It was to be a very good night indeed.

In true Richmond style, the Ghostprint Gallery serves several purposes; by day, a fully functioning gallery space, with an area behind the main wall for tattooing, and occasionally by night serving as a venue space. It’s a unique space to see a show, and it was perhaps the perfect place to see Yndi Halda’s first show in Richmond. At first, the gallery was pretty empty. Gradually, though, people began to fill the small room, and it’s lucky for those of us who were there that we were around to witness such as was about to transpire.

I’d never heard of Yndi Halda, but now having seen them live I can safely say I’m a believer. What happened that night at Ghostprint was nothing short of spectacular. One minute, a gaggle of youthful guys from across the pond is fiddling about with their instruments, and the next thing you know a wall of painfully beautiful sound hits you like a ton of bricks. They were magnificent. Straddling the oft-fragile beauty of Sigur Ros and the loud, louder, loudest noise of Mogwai, Yndi Halda presented themselves as a force to be reckoned with. The set was intense, only cracking when one of the band would glance at another and both would smile briefly, but beamingly. Their Violin mixed with violent guitar angle proved fiercely dynamic, and they stormed through a short (song-wise, not length-wise) set with vim and vigor. My ears felt like they might be blown off at any moment, so loud was the music, but it couldn’t have been any other way. I felt rooted to the spot, and was transfixed by what was happening in front of me.

When it was all over, there was a collective pause, as if we all had to stop and collect ourselves before anyone could move. It was one of the best Monday nights I’ve had in quite some time, and Yndi Halda are definitely one of my favorite new live bands. Maybe it was the right time at the right place, but oh what a show.

[Photo by Melissa Koch]