Newsgroups: alt.music.alternative
From: grove@uk.tele.nokia.fi (Paddy Grove)
Subject: Primal Scream + The Orb Live
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1992 16:10:01 GMT

Hi,

    This isn't going to be a very objective review, but I have to get this
out of my system. On Saturday I went to see Primal Scream and The Orb live,
and it was the most enjoyable gig I've been to for a LONG time. The gig was a
benefit for miners' families (for those not in the UK, the miners have
recently been stuffed by the Tory government shutting down all the pits), the
venue Sheffield Arena.

    Like most arenas (arenae?!), Sheffield's is huge and all-seater which
usually makes for a fairly dismal gig. On Saturday, however, I had a ticket
for the middle seat of the front row which actually meant I had all the
benefit of being at the front, with space to move around a bit as well. This
probably played a major factor in my enjoying the gig so much - I'd be
interested to know what anyone further back thought of it.

    The Orb came on first (with, I think, Steve Hillage - can anyone confirm
this?), and played for nearly two hours. They started off with a couple of
their more ambient numbers (I'm not sure what the first one was, but the 2nd
was 'Spanish Castles in Space'). From then on it was the more up-tempo stuff
- 'Little Fluffy Clouds', 'The Blue Room', 'Towers of Dub', 'uf.orb' etc.,
finishing off, of course, with 'A Huge Pulsating Brain....' (which merged
into 'Singin' in the Rain'!)

    All this was accompanied by some pretty far out visuals - A video screen
showing a collage of images and some computer-generated patterns behind the
stage; either side of the stage were two 5m translucent white orbs lit up
from inside by strobes. A third orb was suspended over the middle of the
arena with a projector showing psychadelic swirly patterns onto it. A similar
sized cube was also suspended over the crowd, with a different light pattern
projected onto it.

    Given that most of the Orb's stuff is computer-based, it's difficult to
know how 'live' it is, but Dr. Alex and Thrash seemed to be pretty busy
mixing stuff etc., and the mixes were very different to the album versions.
Steve Hillage (?) just seemed to be waving a pencil at a synth guitar all
night - I couldn't detect what sound(s) it was making at all, but he seemed
to be well into it!


    Primal Scream came on about 11, and played an intense but disappointingly
short set of about an hour and a quarter. They surprised me by how much of a
'real' band they were - they didn't use techno stuff as much as
'Screamadelica' led me to expect. They mainly played the more conventional
tracks off Screamadelica ('Movin' on Up', 'Damaged', 'Higher Than the Sun',
'Loaded', 'Come Together') plus a fair number of what I guess were oldies
(I'm not familiar with their older stuff - the only non-Screamadelica track I
recognized was 'Losing More Than I've Ever Had').

    They were visually much less impressive than the Orb. Pretty standard in
the way of lights 'n' things. Bobbie Gillespie's not the most handsome of
guys (remember, I was about five feet away from him), but I seemed to be
surrounded by loads of youngish girls (shame!) screaming adoration. The bass
player looked like a merchant banker in his pinstripe suit and tie. Rhythm
guitarist (sorry, I don't know these guys names) looked like Marc Bolan.

    For the final track, they were joined by a guest bass player who I didn't
recognise (I'm not doing a good job of upholding my 'alternative' credentials
here!). I heard a suggestion that he was the guy from New Order - anyone
know? He looked about fortyish, slightly balding, trim beard, black
leather-clad, bass round his knees...

    I'd be interested to hear from anyone else who was there to let me know
what they thought - email welcome.

        Paddy.


        "...You might still see them in the desert"


--

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- Paddy Grove,  Nokia Telecommunications,  Transmission Product Development -
-                    Cambridge, UK.  Tel:  +44 223 423 123                  -
- External Email: grove@uk.tele.nokia.fi       Internal Email: NTL02::GROVE -
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