Reviews
Björk makes a plea for ‘Utopia’ at Chase Center ‘Cornucopia’ show
Directed by Lucrecia Martel and Björk with co-creative director James Merry, and with fascinating projection design elements by Tobias Gremmler and stage design by Chiara Stephenson, “Cornucopia” debuted in 2019. You can call it a concert, sure, featuring 19 songs—most from Utopia, but a handful with similar climate-change-centric themes cherrypicked from her songbook (even non-Björk fans would have no trouble picking out which ones ; they’re the ones that got the loud applause on Saturday).
But what made the show unique was the constantly moving, evolving, morphing nature-centric projections, the woodsy arrangements (with 18-member L.A. choir Tonality, Icelandic flute septet Viibra, harpist and two others) and the spectacle of it all—which included not just Björk’s dresses (one of which looked like a collection of dandelion puffballs) but the performance. At one point, the percussionist used falling water while striking floating bowls with a mallet. At another, a large metallic hoop was lowered from the rafters and revealed to be a flute that required four flautists to play it simultaneously while Björk sang and spasmed inside it.Riff Magazine
Björk’s San Francisco concert at Chase Center mixes emotions and politics
These delicate soundscapes are what so many superfans love about Björk, the emotional tapestry she’s woven over her 30-year career. Beyond her music, she’s long been an activist for environmental and political causes, and it’s clear from the inclusion of Thunberg that after decades of exploring her inner world, present-day Björk is just as concerned with looking outward.SF Gate
