Hasn't anyone thought that perhaps Sean and Rob didn't want to give the
radio mix a full release? Would you be happy if Warp overrode their
artists' wishes?
Blech at the BlueNote, Tuesday April 29th
Not having been there before, I thought it was a very strange location for
a club, although outside leafy Hoxton Square it was suitably insalubrious.
Warp merchandise was available, including the Blech lighters so useful for
you incendiary types. Sweets were also on offer at no tariff (cola
bottles).
It's a two floor club, with most of the schmoozing enacted upstairs, where
Sean/Rob and Chantal had control of the decks. All up to their usual
standards, including (fury) something from the radio mix. Downstairs,
Chris Duckenfield was spinning first, starting off with a classy house set.
He may not be a large name but I think in terms of professionalism he's
champion of the Premier League (a bit like Man Utd - ObFootball reference).
Plaid came on at around 10.40, using a tag team arrangement i.e. Andy did a
few tunes, then Ed etc. First was a swirly number with what sounded like
Bjork samples (she was there, btw). Then Android from the Clear EP,
slightly chunkier. I may have the order wrong, but there were also
renditions of Abla Eedio (good but suffering from the unsubtle nature of
live mixing) and Angry Dolphin. Of course there were several new tunes,
posing the usual rhythmic questions (which particular beat shall I dance
to) and with nice scurrying melodies. The last one was a much sparser
affair, a real builder which unfortunately was cut short before momentum
had reached its maximum.
There's no questioning Ed and Andy's talent, but I don't feel they've quite
mastered performing their material live yet. It was more audience friendly
than when I saw them two years ago in Manchester, and a friend completely
unfamiliar with their work really enjoyed it, which surprised me a little.
Chris D. span again, this time arranging his ingredients to produce a
strong Techno flavour, whilst I think it was Chantal upstairs at that
point, with her downtempo herbs.
Squarepusher emerged to tune his bass and started his set at around half
twelve. There was a long intro rumble (about 3-4 minutes) before he burst
into the bouncy number after Tundra from FMWT (sorry - don't have the
titles handy). A few extra live flourishes, of course. Then, uhm, the one
with what I think of as the acidic funky clavinet from HND. I liked it
better live. There followed a couple more tunes from HND, including Beep
Street (my equal favourite) and the completely mad one (track 5?) which
went down really well. Most of the rest of the set was new, exhibiting a
move away from the jazz inflections which I think have reached their
zenith. A lot harder sounding and really rather marvellous. Word has it
that the next EP will largely consist of this stuff, so get those orders in
now. Possibly the highlight of the whole set was when he'd finished and
the DJ (Strictly Kev, filling in for Andy Wetherall) started with a KRS-1
tune. The crowd shouted him down and Tom J. returned with Port Rhombus,
which is one of those whose quality you (or I) tend to forget.
It was an energetic performance (lots of gurning from Tom which will no
doubt appear in the footage of the several film crews present) and much
better than the Big Chill. Perhaps more satisfying than when I first saw
him at the Leadmill over a year ago as I knew most of the tracks, but it
can't compete with the radical impact of that earlier onslaught.
Frankly I was too spent to pay much attention to what followed, but I'm
sure Strictly Kev did his usual funky business and Rob's last tune upstairs
was Numbers/Computer World 2.
Pretty much all the London 'Techno' mafia were present, including an
Orbital, Aphex, Chris Jeffs and a slew of media types (including a healthy
trawl of MTV people). Squarepusher was interviewed for Japanese TV after
his set, but the quality of questioning was very poor.
Well, I had a very good night. I hope some other IDM people were there to
enjoy it. Thanks to Warp for this extravagant event, no thanks for
prompting my spending in Fat Cat/Sister Ray the next day. Erm, maybe that
should be thanks too.
I say: sod London, put live bands on in Sheffield. Hmm?
adam
playing this morning: AutoReload EP Vol. 2 (thanks to the not-so-anonymous
finder)