SF Saturday night. I had heard about the "no light" performances of the past
and wasn't expecting or hoping for it. Yet, there it was. I must say, it
worked wonderfully. I was a little bored at first standing near the back
away from the speakers and in the light of the bar, so I tried a better
spot. I must recommend standing in the dark in the midst of the crowd and
square to the speakers. Strangely, there was copious personal space in the
front, more than I'm used to (can't say for sure if it will be/was like this
at other shows).
The set seemed like a wide sample from most of thier later releases. I
picked up on a few themes from quaristice tracks but nothing straight from
the record. The beginning of the set featured a slower-paced heavy beat and
bass (earthquake simulator) selection and the tempo varied widely and
often. Mid-late set was full blown noisiness with the stumbling rhythms
that we all fell in love with.
After 30 minutes of visual sensory deprivation and frantic grasping for the
rhythm, the brain gives up and the crowd started to look like a zombie flick
on mute. I like to call it the "slouch" dance for lack of a better term;
head-hanging swagger with the occasional violent flailing (plus that one
couple who weirdly find it appropriate to booty-grind) indicating that
everyone is quite lost in the soundwaves. I took along a friend from Isreal
who was a stranger to Autechre but not to electronic music. Afterward he
seemed shaken and described it as "amazing.. evil" and "an intense
experience I will never forget." I don't know if hearing a recording will
do it any justice, but if someone does have it, post it somewhere.
Final opinion: go if you have never been. They still sound fresh to me,
however, it won't be like the "good old days" of Autechre.