They're very adamant about playing live, although to what degree may vary from
show to show. The live versions of "Midnight" and "Choice" on the import
album are quite different from the single. What they played in Salt Lake City
last time was pretty much true to the originals, but I knew for a fact that
they didn't use any tapes. They didn't play "Moebius" here, and they did in
San Francisco, but many people testified to the fact that they dumped in the
CD at the soundboard at that point.
Then there are the UK people who state that their live remixing is the most
amazing thing on the planet. That wasn't what I witnessed. My hunch is that
things are a bit easier to piece together at home than they are on the road.
The practice room is a bit closer for one.
Aphex's music is, by definition, unthemeatic. He could get up there and grind
belt sanders into DX7's and the fans would go home yelling how great it was.
Not that I wouldn't mind that spectacular display, but demanding that Orbital
be as live and different as Aphex can be on each stop is a bit much. Aphex
doesn't have to play back favorites. Whereas if Orbital played entirely new
material or just dinked around on their keyboards for an hour, their listeners
would probably be a bit muddled over why.