I haven't seen anyone review this...
I got there at 7:30 (when the doors were supposed to open) and RDJ
was spinning records. Groovy old rave and whatnot at first for
something like 20 minutes and then drum'n'bass for at least another
40 minutes... IMHO the record selection wasn't amazing this far (not
to say a bit boring) but it got a better and better and also crazier
and crazier.
He played both tracks from his "2 remixes by AFX" single and also 4
(or 5) tracks off Drukqs (the craziest ones). A little bit of
hardcore was thrown in here and there, but nothing too steady: mainly
tracks with cuts and breaks every other second.
Then Bogdan came on and started playing his set from his laptop, but
obviously he had technical problems. I know the endless bar
repetitions are done on purpose, but still... the tracks would
sometimes jam and he would have to move on to another track. He did
that maybe 3 or 4 times, looking clearly puzzled and pissed off...
that's when he decided to redefine the conception of the one-man show
and started dancing spastically to his own tracks. He barely touched
the computer again to attempt any real-time modifications. He just
let the tracks play and danced (?) mimicking the sounds and melodies
with gestures. I saw him turn down the vodka and beers that some
people offered to him though, but I also saw him drink Tesco's
pineapple juice... so maybe that explains his behavior...
Then people from the crowd were invited to dance with him on stage...
so there were something like 10 people there with him and he started
jumping onto his desk again almost trampling his laptop... he would
sometimes turn the volume all the way down, shriek and turn it back
up... he also crashed on the floor pretending he was dead from
dancing too much and crawled along the wall with his cheek... in
other words, a mesmerizing experience which goes to show that you
don't *have* to look serious behind a laptop, especially if
everything's pre-recorded...
Music-wise, it was all "drill 'n' bass" - typical Bogdan stuff,
nothing too mellow except for the short intro...
The third and last set was Ovuca... I don't know what to think...
Does hectic drum programming really work with pads ?... I mean,
people were barely dancing except for the tracks that didn't include
pads...
Anyway, he played for maybe 45 mn (I think) but he vanished after the
first 15 minutes !... Maybe he was hiding behind the desk... I don't
know... he eventually reappeared by the end of his set...
The only problem with the show was that foul-mouthed Rephlex guy...
K-Rock... who sometimes spins average breakbeat / drum'n'bass with
Aphex... right in the middle of Ovuca's set, he wanted people to have
a minute of silence for Aaliyah... *sigh*... so he started insulting
people who wouldn't shut up...
He was kind of MCing here and there saying stuff like "give it up for
Rephlex !" or just dancing around... what a pain...
In any case, it was over by 11:15 and it was very nice... and I'm
soon off to the Victoria and Albert museum where Aphex is playing
again tonight with Rob Hall, Ovuca, V/VM, People Like Us (DJ set)
"and more..."
Anybody going there ?... I might have an extra 7.50 ticket if my
girlfriend doesn't want to go so let me know !... :-)
Topher.
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