So I've been having a bit of a discussion on a local messageboard about laptop performances.
By and large, they're really BORING. It looks like people are checking their email. Or, if they're bopping along, it looks like they're checking important email but really need to go to the toilet. What's the solution? Name some laptop performances you've seen that were really good SHOWS. And say why they were. Is it really simply a case of having stellar visuals as well, or is there a whole new paradigm out there for this type of performance? I liked Kraftwerk's minimal-movement-black-suits-and-plinths affair, but that sorta ties in with their aesthetic, and I heard Aphex Twin did a show where he just lay on the floor and twiddled with the laptop - no effort at all. That appeals to me in a twisted way but is somewhat gimmicky. I personally wonder if laptop performances are more suited to more artistic interpretations - ie having a gig in an office, with extras sat at desks with PCs as well, and only one of them is the musician. Stuff like that.
