The show in downtown Oakland at The Great American Music Hall was an Aw
Esome show. Being that I've been an Autechre fan for about 5 years, I was
very happy to see them perform live, because I never have. Their set lasted
about an hour, with a great crowd of supporters- I'd say a couple hundred
attended. Most of the stuff they performed, I couldn't really recognize, so
I'm guessing alot of the stuff was new or unreleased material. Their set was
a mix of complex beats with thin layers of melodies. Very hypnotic. Most of
the crowd were enjoying the frenetic beats, nodding their heads helplessly in
every direction. Some were just standing there, stuck to the glow of Booth
and Browns laptops, mouths open, enjoying the sweet Ae sound.
Side Notes:
O.S.T.'s set was also fantastic. In my opinion, it was very dark,
hard, harsh, and ambient- at times, head-noddy. His visuals were done by a
local unnamed trio- they're thinking about naming themselves 7-11. The trio
consists of two guys and an extremely attractive girl named Phoenix. (Check
Form-8.com for more details? that's what she said.) Their visuals they
provided for O.S.T. were neat- think of Underworld's album cover for
"Everything, Everything" tweaked out in all types of colors and shapes, of
course pulsating to the complex sounds provided, and you kind of see where
I'm getting at.
D.H.S.'s set was definitely the hypest- everyone was enjoying the PHAT
beats the duo was providing. The bass from their set (and there was PLENTY
of it) made my feet tickle. The crowd was definitely grooving to this set.
Their visuals worked very well with their music. They sampled tons of clips
from t.v. and and added it on- Bruce Lee's screaming, the "Boot Camp" t.v.
show footage, and pro wrestler Kevin Nash yelling "I'm gonna kick your ass"
were some of the highlight movie clips/samples used.
A dj mixing some wicked Electro made the whole place rock. Everyone
enjoyed that dj's set. The sound was, well, think of that new Electro label
from Miami- I forgot the name. I have the record, but I'm too lazy to look
at it right now. (Airlock Tronics did a cut for the first release).
All in all, the show was great. I definitely had a great experience.
I was able to chat with both Booth and Brown after the show, get their
autographs AND pictures, get two Ae t-shirts, see Kit Clayton and other
musicians, but best of all, I got to hear alot of great experimental
electronic music (or "IDM")
By the way, I was the dude with glasses and a lip piercing in the very
front of the stage pretty much the whole night- I had a gray handbag with me,
was wearing a black hoodie and a white "come to daddy" t-shirt and black
adidas shoes. If any of you guys that went to the show remember who I was,
let me hear your thoughts about the show!
Next up: Mouse on Mars with Prefuse 73 on June the 18th and 19th in
San Francisco and Santa Cruz! Can't wait.