...and I'm quite envious of you going to see them tomorrow! I've seen them a few times and never been disappointed.
Hope you enjoy the gig.

Orbital were very special. Whilst they excelled as the exception to the rule that dance music lacked vision they also left a legacy of something so simple and significant as a great load of music. Snivilisation and In Sides still stack up as albums to be played end to end.

I was at Tribal Gathering in 1997 - fantastic event. Kraftwerk were good but I agree Orbital were as truly the tops. Have seen Orbital a few times. I remember a gig when I was at University when I went back stage with a mate who was interviewing them for our uni rag. They were really very nice chaps and made us feel very welcome. I must say that Belfast has even produced a tear or two on the odd occasion. Have a great time tomorrow - am jealous!!

Sticking a CD in the tray, pressing "play" and then waving your arms around with a couple of Maglites taped to the side of your head does not a great gig make.

Ditto Kraftwerk.

I love electronic music. I bow to no man in my love of Kraftwerk I saw Kraftwerk in 1982 on the Computer World tour.

Toss. One of the biggest disappointments of my teenaged years.

Orbital. I love Orbital. Live?

Toss. Listen to them. A recycling of samples. Press the button at the right time. Nothing to excite.

It is music to be listened to; it does not translate to the live medium.

The only electroniccy band I have seen who cut it live were Ultravox, both back in 1984 and earlier this year. Probably because they used organic instruments. Astradyne, still one of my favourite songs, brought the hairs up on the back of my neck when they started the set with it. And it was being PLAYED. Properly.

Others will disagree with me. And that is right. Hopefuly, others will agree.

I violently disagree and I am stuggling to stay within the Word politeness rules here.

Orbital in particular really 'wing it' by taking all their synths and analogue equipment out live and performing as live as you possibly can with electronics. If you equate a live performance with fancy guitar fretwork and drum solos then you will be dissapointed.

And What exactly did you expect Kratwerk? That they break out some 'axes' and make like Yngwie Malmsteen?

Electronic music is a static medium. It involves blokes standing behind banks of keyboards, computers and circuitry. If they're doing it properly, it ain't all that interesting. Re-read my post. I love electronica. But live.. for me, it doesn't happen. The only other electronic band I can think of which somehow manages to create something exciting in the live environment is The Crystal Method. Their sample triggers are just a tad more subtle which creates a more spontaneous atmosphere.

And, yes. A hairy, shouty bloke doing spectacular things with a guitar will, to my mind, almost always be more exciting than a dour, taciturn bloke doing spectacular things with a Stylophone.

Each, as they say, to their own. We each have our ideas of what a live music event should present to those who witness it. I am not right and neither, Dr Volume, are you. But neither are you wrong. It is certainly not something about which you should get too cross. Watch Orbital live and enjoy them.

Just please don't ask me to do the same.

Give it some stylus!

I mean the performers, not the music. "It involves blokes standing behind banks of keyboards, computers and circuitry. If they're doing it properly, it ain't all that interesting."

I probably should have added "To look at" - the visual element is a great deal of the live music experience. A couple of blokes with torches tied to their heads jumping up and down a bit behind the contents of a Maplin's catalogue and occasionally sticking one arm in the air.. not that great to my mind. And remember - I LIKE Orbital. A lot.

I went off on a bit of a tangent because of your comment about them pressing play before donning the maglite specs.

I never really bought the argument that gigs by electronic bands are inferior unless they draft in a singer or guitarist. When playing live Orbital's music sounds several times better than their recorded output so in my mind it doesn't matter how interesting they look, its how awesome they sound.

And if visual stimulation is your thing, can you honestly say that the average rockstar can compete with two french robot men on a neon pyramid?

Eh??

Two blokes with helmets on jigging about a bit whilst triggering a few samples. Whilst someone else plays with the lights.

Sorry.

That's about as unimpressive a live event as I would wish to see.

And, as before, Daft Punk record great music.

A field filled with pilled-up dance-twats doesn't reinforce your argument. Most of them would have said they'd had a great time if Messers Homem-Christo and Bangalter had pitched up and pissed in a bucket.

Or sent a couple of mates to tit about a bit on a pyramid wearing helmets whilst a pre-recorded rehash of a few tunes gets played to the plebs.

Please re-watch the videos before replying. The people on the pyramid aren't "playing" anything.

I'm going to see Orbital at the Electric Picnic festival on Friday and I'm pissing my pants with excitement. I saw them a couple of times on their supposed 'farewell' tour in 2004 and I can guarantee you hear and now that no two shows were the same. I saw them three times in three weeks at one stage - Glasto, Oxegen and Fuji - and then tuned in to John Peel's live broadcast of their Maida Vale 'farewell' and each time was totally different so to say the Hartnoll's stand there triggering samples is grossly unfair.

In industry circles, a few people I know in the game can tell you awful things about Chemical Brothers, Prodigy ("just fucking press the button and don't ask questions ok?"), Justice and Daft Punk but I have never heard a bad word said about Orbital (or The Orb for that matter).

The ignorance of the guy above in summing up the average audience at a gig by either Daft Punk or Orbital is nothing short of staggering. Fans of electronic music are not all pill-guzzling morans you know... In fact, so what if they were? At least they'd be enjoying themselves. If I said I thought 'mainstream' rock fans were all beer-swilling white oafs would it rattle your boat?

Love them. Seriously love them. Insides is up there in my list of favourite albums of all time. And hearing it for the first time one of the most important musical 'things' in my life, like The Jam or my first guitar, or hearing Prince for the first time or seeing Pete Townshend on an old clip of Ready Steady Go. I'd always loved my electronics, but the sheer scope of that album and the sound and the feeling just blew me away.

Yes, feeling. That's what a lot of people miss about a lot of electronic music, the feeling involved. And Orbital involved a huge depth of feeling, especially on Insides.

was first used in popular music.

I remember an identical argument re Tangerine Dream in the inkies back in the mid 70s. "All they do is sit in front of a switchboard and plug wires in".

Personally? I draw a distinction between analogue synthesizers, digital synthesizers, and samplers/romplers.

Analogue - the operator needs to model the sound they want with little or no ability to programme the machine to remember the settings. Needs to be played live. Takes a lot of skill and practice to understand the foibles of the machine and get the best from them. The operator is building the music from scratch.

Digital - can be programmed offline and sounds/sequences stored in memories. Playing live is more akin to being a keyboardist. The sound is there, it just needs to be played. You can't programme a DX7 on stage :-)

Samplers/Romplers - push the button, hear the music. I'm not saying playing a sampler/rompler is in any way less valid as a live experience but, to me, it's more akin to doing a live mix in the studio. That is, of course, a skill in itself.

This is, of course, all filtered through my personal prejudicies and experiences :-)

"If I said I thought 'mainstream' rock fans were all beer-swilling white oafs would it rattle your boat?"

No. Mainly because it's pretty much true.

I'd love to hear the organic version of The Box. Is it on You Tube anywhere? I couldn't find it.

Spot-on as regards Insides. One of the albums which made my jaw drop when I first heard it and which I still love today.

And Stimpy has summed up my feelings far better and more eruditely than I could ever manage as regards the electronic medium.

...as Orbital were ace at Brixton tonight, and unless I'm much mistaken there was a Word staffer there who laughed with - and furthermore at - me.

Harrison: blue glowstick, pintglass. That was me.