Entertainment For Lively Minds
Autechre
Posted by Dr Volume on 20 March 2010 - 1:17am.
When:
17 March 2010
Where:
The Wardrobe, Leeds
Comments:
20 years on, Autechre still prefer the after-hours nightclub setting, despite their maturing fan base and knack for un-danceable beats. As uncompromising as ever, they don't 'do some old', or even play the gorgeous new LP. Instead, just after midnight, they pummel us with 70 mins of semi-improvised, thunderous bass and beat madness written specifically for the tour. Oh, and they play completely in the dark, there is literally nothing to see, which doesn't stop most of the audience trying. The only way to appreciate it is to shut your eyes and surrender to the growing intensity and attempt to find patterns and hidden melodies..of which there are many. This makes the beery nightclub setting all the more incongruous. A few hardy souls attempt a 'dance' as the music approaches something resembling a groove only to morph into the sound of a circus falling down a spiral staircase again. So, as ever, frustrating, eccentric but utterly compelling and quite brilliant...contrary buggers.
The Audience:
Mostly of Word-reading age, some Females and not all of them dragged along by their partners. Lots of people with little rucksacks. A surprising lack of foamy-mouthed rave monkeys. A few earnest 'IDM' types trying to peek at the racks of equipment.
Food & Drink:
Lovely Japanese meal at restaurant round the corner, and a well known brand of Spanish Lager at the Gig. The gig was quite loud so it did feel like you were eating raw binary data as well.
It Made Me Think...:
What a gulf there is between the live act and their records. If they mixed the two and added some visuals they'd be unmissable. It's all strictly underground, Autechre prefer their orchestral manoeuvres..in the dark.
