Ian Malbon wrote:
Did anyone here hit the show at St. Andrews? Other events (and local
effects of global warming) kept me from going. Is a brief review
possible?
As one would expect, it was crazy hot/humid in there - thankfully it
wasn't packed to the gills, so there wasn't as much smoke to choke on
while being cooked.
Jack and company were very good, although I would say that the rave
reviews I've read about this tour have been written by hardcore fans for
the most part.
The problem with the live shows is that the 'sameness' of the records
quite naturally makes a 2 hour + show a bit redundant at times. MBM,
Tinocorp and Dangers' music is all about laying down a groove and
working it - when it clicks, it really clicks. The show had some very
high points; for me those moments came when there were sufficient bleeps
and chord shifts to vary the mix. I prefer it when the mix moves closer
to dub, techno or jazz than when it is so breaks laden, which is often
what Dangers does. When the balnce tips towards the more techno aspects,
the crowd seemed more into it and it was stunning. Even though this
sounds rather negative thus far, I'm sort of giving the bad news first -
I would not have missed it. One of the more interesting aspects was how
integral the video clips are to all of the songs. Every sample you hear
on the records is presented via video sources on two large screens at
the rear of the stage. It actually apprears as though the songs begin
with video sources. I was amazed at how much footage they had - great
kitsch sci-fi, ancient robot stuff, kung fu, horror - stock footage, you
name it (a very nice shot of the bomb riding scene in Dr. Strangelove
with Bush cut back and forth)...all video scratched live and very
interactve. They also had live drums triggering samples and the drummer
was top flight. One sequence featured Ben Stokes video jockeying clips
of various drummers 'battling' against their drummer (can't recall his
name) and he can hold his own. Another thing - this was a live show.
Racks and racks of gear.
The problem at St. Andrews is usually about the heat. It was so hot
in there that the vid projectors kept overheating and shutting down,
needing to be reset. First one, then the other, then both, and the cycle
kept repeating. I have seen it worse in there and it wasn't as bad as
I'd expectd it. I think MBM rolled on about 10 and were offstage about
12:15, so it ended at a decent hour for the sleep deprived set.
jeff
