2010-06-13 Winter Sound System - Melbourne, Australia

[TheBang]

Live tweeting from the show tonight:

http://twitter.com/unwoundfloors

[TheBang]

Setlist from last night, plus swag bags:

http://yfrog.com/f/mhbv9j/

Apparently, they used the same setlist as from Sydney.

Also, given the two designs we've seen for the bags, I'm assuming this graphic is for the bags too:

http://twitpic.com/12dh9f

[unwound floors]

Wish I'd had the skills to tweet the setlist live, but I was too busy going right off and dancing like a nut :D

[kris-ko]

So what did you guys think of the set last night? Notwithstanding that the vibe in the room and at the festival in general was pretty lacklustre, that was probably my least favourite Underworld show of the 6 I've seen.

Maybe they're just a bit rusty from no gigging all year, but there were plenty of mis-triggers (and I know the randomness is part of the appeal of playing live on-the-fly, just saying) and they never really got a good flow happening. Would love it if they merged more of their tracks together in DJ set style and did a proper build rather than chopping and changing all over the shop.

They're still the best though! Good to hear plenty of new stuff, sounds like there'll be bombs a-plenty on the album.

[unwound floors]

So, Winter Sound System in Melbourne! Last night was my very first Underworldlive experience (being a relatively recent fan and all). All I can say is: wow.

I got to the inthemix arena early, the best friend in tow, with three hours to spare (we were desperate to get right in front of the stage), and arrived to Autoerotique opening. Decent skills - one highlight included him mashing up Breathe by the Prodigy with two other tracks, which sounded great, but overall, terrible track selection. It got to the point where a friend of mine, Andreas, grabbed my lighter and threw it at him, missing him by a metre - silly boy!

Crookers were up next - bloody hell, they were awful, too. Crap electro tunes, and I heard them fuck up their beatmatching a few times. They had some wanker with them wearing white sunglasses (at night, at an arena with a closed roof? Idiot!) taking photos and prancing about onstage - wasn't quite sure what that was about. My best friend got so sick of it he whipped his iPhone out and began to listen to Underworld at Brixton on that instead of the rubbish being fed through the speakers - which got an amusing reaction from a very drunk girl next to us. I also got caught by the Crookers heckling them, but the less said about that the better!

It was all worth it in the end, though, because we'd secured a position in the front-row, and then there was Underworld. After the Crookers bailed, there was ten or fifteen minutes of nice ambient-type tunes (Trentemoller got a spin!) between them, and I overheard the guys next to me asking each other what the band members' names were. Without thinking, I turned around and told them that Karl Hyde would be on the mic, and that Rick Smith and Darren Price would be jamming behind the desks. Cue ten minutes of them yelling out "GOOOOOOOO KARL! GOOOOOOO RICKY!" They also only knew one song by Underworld, and had forgotten how it went, so I gave them a quick lesson on how that song, Two Months Off went - which they kept singing, over and over. Hilariously adorable.

Some promoters came around during that break, handing out goodies to the people in the front row, and I was lucky enough to score one - a black tote bag, with "lgr lgr lgr" printed on it, as well as a little postcard inside, with a photo of the two from Artjam. Here's a photo: http://twitpic.com/1wiq61

And suddenly the three hours of listening to terrible doof-doof surrounded by pinging idiots who had no idea who Underworld were disappeared from my mind, and everything was okay again. There was a minute or two of darkness as some ambient tune (I don't know what it was, unfortunately) played, and then...!

Downpipe opened the show, all bangin' beats and hard synths as the lights went up and the band became visible. It was great to hear it live for one of the first times ever, and absolutely wonderful to see Karl dancing around and getting off on the vibe from the very get-go.

From there it was a brilliant mix of classics and the new stuff - Strumpet, presumably now titled Bird 1, Diamond Jigsaw and Between Stars all got some play, with Rick taking up backup vocal duties during all of the new tracks, although to be honest, I couldn't hear him at all. It'll be interesting to see whether he can be heard singing anywhere on the new album. This got a great reaction from the audience, but then that could be related to the fact that some dude got busted by police with 750 - yes, that's right, seven hundred and fifty - pills on him, because let's face it, the crowd was full of idiots. Even in the front row I only spoke to one or two people who were genuinely into Underworld at all.

Wonderful to hear the full version of Scribble dropped - that was a solid eight minutes of perfection. The YDS-esque bassline kicking in was possibly one of the best moments of the show.

Of course, other festival anthems got a spin, too: in particular, Nu Train was brilliant, and one of the tunes most people recognised, getting them all dancin' for their lives: that bit where everything except for those choral-type vocals drop had me standing and staring in awe at the stage, and they did this thing I've never heard before where they faded in the main synth line gradually, shifting the pitch as it grew louder and louder until I couldn't help but lose my shit again.

I may have spent half of the set jumping up on the rails and jamming a metre above the rest of the crowd, looking like an idiot. Possibly I was imagining things, but I swear to God I made eye contact with Karl for a good five seconds mid-song - boy looked like he was having the time of his life!

They also had some wonderful visuals going on - during Scribble, we had some projections of people singing along in the background, and during one of the new tracks (unfortunately, I can't remember which) Karl had a handheld mic with him, filming himself sing, which was being projected onto a screen behind him. Rez/Cowgirl began with them ducking off to hide behind a translucent screen, through which only their silhouettes were visible as they played Rez - once Rez faded into Underworld, though, the lights dropped and they came out from hiding to rock us yet again.

Given the short set of one and a half hours, and the fact that they were cramming in so much new material, there wasn't much scope for the extended jams or improvs they're well-known for, which was a little disappointing but understandable. Was also a little saddened to hear a complete lack of their lesser-known stuff - I would have sold my soul to hear the second half of Cups, Pearl's Girl, Bruce Lee or Mmm Skyscraper - though they're not as well-know, they're still very dancefloor-oriented, bangin' tunes that would have went off withouth a hitch - but oh, well.

And really, we were lucky to be given the set we were, as a lot of the artists there were limited to an hour. Lucky they were headlining the festival, hey!

Because I spent most of the show dancing, jumping up and down and screaming like an idiot, there wasn't too much time to take photos or record video - however, I did get a full five minutes of Diamond Jigsaw recorded (I'll have this up tomorrow), and here are a few photos from the set - http://flickr.com/photos/unwoundfloors

The setlist was identical to Sydney's show, and included:
Downpipe
Always Loved a Film
Nu Train
Two Months Off
Scribble
Strumpet
Rez/Cowgirl
Between Stars
Diamond Jigsaw
King of Snake ('97 mix intro)
Born Slippy.NUXX

[Commander Keen]

Well that was pretty ace. Had an awesome time.
Great Mix between new and old material.
Defiantly worth taking on the WSS crowd to see them

Highlights:
Strumpet, Nu Train and Cowgirl, oh, and scoring the setlist :D

Lowlights:
As expected, the rest of the WSS crowd...

Video of NUXX taken from the awesome position i scored!
http://yfrog.com/4v45lz

[Andrea]

I may have spent half of the set jumping up on the rails and jamming a metre above the rest of the crowd, looking like an idiot. Possibly I was imagining things, but I swear to God I made eye contact with Karl for a good five seconds mid-song - boy looked like he was having the time of his life!....


Lucky you! "My five seconds" was rather humiliating... you know the one when you´re happy and throwing a kiss and all you get back is a stone, almost angry face.
I must have been very ugly or too old or too screaming or something. I wish I could say it was somebody else he was looking at but I´m afraid it wasn´t. I still don´t know what wrong I´ve done.
I mean, a could shake hands and talk to Jean Michel Jarre after his concert in Stockholm 2 years ago and the guy looked happy
and no, even though he was good-looking (for my age) I still don´t wanna marry him or tried to tear him down from the stage.

However, from the latest videos it looks like Karl has more energy and looks more happy nowadays and it´s really pleasant to see.



...there wasn't much scope for the extended jams or improvs they're well-known for


yes, that was quite disappointing even in Hungary last year but I understand that festivals are not the right place for it

[TheBang]

Hello, Drew, welcome!

[testudo]

I did get a full five minutes of Diamond Jigsaw recorded (I'll have this up tomorrow)

Can't wait to hear it!

[Commander Keen]

Hello, Drew, welcome!

Thank you!

[Mike]

Gigography updated:

http://uwlive.rowla.com/gigs/view/393 (http://uwlive.rowla.com/gigs/view/393)

[TheBang]

Some Youtubes:

Downpipe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twsH10GP3xE, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH46lzjmnD8
Diamond Jigsaw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Guet01cATUs
Nuxx: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtJTAxatUKE

[King of Snake]

I think it's great they're playing Downpipe even if it's not technically their own material (except for the vocals).

[potatobroth]

Ugh, I think the exact opposite. I greatly dislike Downpipe. Makes me think of all those old remixes that I'd definitely not want to hear at an Underworld show. It wouldn't stop me from going/paying in a million years tho, but I don't think it warrants a spot in the rotation when there are SO many great tracks going unheard in the live set.

[Mike]

I think it's great they're playing Downpipe even if it's not technically their own material (except for the vocals).

Im beginning to think this was a collab just like the others on the new album..

[BrotherLovesDub]

Im beginning to think this was a collab just like the others on the new album..

Not according to the credits and press surrounding the release.

[testudo]

Unwound! I am dying to hear your recording! wheres it at?

[nosajmunson]

Ugh, I think the exact opposite. I greatly dislike Downpipe. Makes me think of all those old remixes that I'd definitely not want to hear at an Underworld show.

I love Downpipe. It think it showcases their talent in another format. Plus I really dig Karl's lyrics on this. I think it's great that they are playing it live. They have played their remix of Massive Attacks' RisingSon a time or two in the past. Sure, I'd like to hear something live we haven't heard before like 8 ball or play some more unreleased tracks like Telematic Peel. But as far as I'm concerned, this is a great track and as Long as it is Karl singing, then it's fair game for playing live.

[potatobroth]

Of course its fair game, I just dislike the track. :P

I've never really cared for Underworlds remixes of other bands. Sure they are good, but I never listen to them nor have the desire to. Downpipe reminds me of that style of song. It sounds like they took someone elses material and added a bit to it. I didn't like that Bebop song either.

[unwound floors]

Unwound! I am dying to hear your recording! wheres it at?

The video is 600MB and I have an exam tomorrow... I'll have to resize it somehow. Anybody got suggestions on what free programs are out there for me to resize it?

I'd love to hear their remix of Risingson played live, somewhere - does anybody know if there are bootlegs out there with it available? (Massive Attack + Underworld: my two favourite bands, I died when I realised one had remixed the other!)

Speaking of which, the first mix of Leave Home by the Chemical Brothers by them has sounded absolutely bangin' when they've dropped it live. That mix of it with Spikee at Lowlands, '95 is brilliant. It ain't all bad!

[King of Snake]

It sounds like they took someone elses material and added a bit to it.

well that's because that's exactly what they did.

[DaddyAdv]

I'd love to hear their remix of Risingson played live, somewhere - does anybody know if there are bootlegs out there with it available? (...) mix of Leave Home (...)

Use the song search in Mike's awesome Gigography database: http://uwlive.rowla.com/songs/listSongs

Risingson: http://uwlive.rowla.com/gigs/bySong/115

Leave Home: http://uwlive.rowla.com/gigs/bySong/97

[potatobroth]

well that's because that's exactly what they did.

Right. That to me is more the realm of remix and I wouldn't want to hear it live. Dunno, its just my personal preference. I'd rather hear UW original tracks. Like I said, it wouldn't stop me going to a show, not by a long shot. :)

My tiniest of fears is that Barking will sound too much like this to me. I doubt it but the tiny fear is still there.

[lectoid]

The video is 600MB and I have an exam tomorrow... I'll have to resize it somehow. Anybody got suggestions on what free programs are out there for me to resize it?

Try handbrake, probably the best free one out there.

[unwound floors]

Cheers, lectoid! That helped, a lot - managed to size it down to a hundred megaytes, which even my shitty connection could handle :D

Sorry for the delay in uploading (it's been a really awful, busy week), but finally: here is Diamond Jigsaw, live in Melbourne, 13/06/10. Please excuse my yelling with excitement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IgOyLHU97Y

Also! I found out the day before yesterday John Warwicker was doing a talk at RMIT Uni in Melbourne for the Australian Graphic Design Association about his book, The Floating World, so I went and picked myself up a last minute ticket and went. I got into the theatre a little early, and Warwicker jokingly told me and the two other guys who were in to get out. Then he noticed the 'lgr lgr lgr' bag I scored at Winter Sound System, and asked me how Underworld were on Sunday. Cue me pissing my pants with glee, and chatting to him for a few minutes about Underworld and the new album. Apparently he caught up with them while they were in Sydney and they were pretty amped for the Australia tour. Yay for them <3

(Warwicker's talk, for those curious, was great: while I haven't been able to pick up a copy of The Floating World due to poor, it was great to hear him talk about the process of putting it together and how Tomato worked overall. Weird discoveries: the credits for Trainspotting were in fact put together in ten minutes with a photocopier, and Mmm... Skyscraper I Love You, the typographic journal, was a rush job done for a gig Underworld were doing in London, I think - instead of knocking together some shirts for it, they decided to put together a typographic journal, and completed it over the course of three days. THREE DAYS. Jesus. My mind was blown.)

[//\/\/]

how Tomato worked overall

which appears to work like this: aNt and co just sit with their adidases on desks and chuck stuff together 10 minutes before the deadline - typical creatives!!!

[testudo]

Thank you Unwound... OK I am not freaking out anymore (PVD intervention)

[Mike]

Mmm... Skyscraper I Love You, the typographic journal, was a rush job done for a gig Underworld were doing in London, I think - instead of knocking together some shirts for it, they decided to put together a typographic journal, and completed it over the course of three days. THREE DAYS. Jesus. My mind was blown.)

Seriously, miki you are very very lucky. John Warwicker is one of the most interesting people i know, i would really like the chance to meet him one day.. i like the interview he did that is on the onyx pearls tomato dvd.

Having said that, im a little suprised that you would think that skyscraper took anything more than 3 days to make.... it is quite random, chopped up and it doesnt look like the kind of thing that was planned and created with a vision... the notes in there seem like things collected over time, underworld talk in the making.. ;)

Nevertheless it is a unique masterpiece, and takes pride of place in my collection...

[unwound floors]

Seriously, miki you are very very lucky. John Warwicker is one of the most interesting people i know, i would really like the chance to meet him one day.. i like the interview he did that is on the onyx pearls tomato dvd.

Having said that, im a little suprised that you would think that skyscraper took anything more than 3 days to make.... it is quite random, chopped up and it doesnt look like the kind of thing that was planned and created with a vision... the notes in there seem like things collected over time, underworld talk in the making.. ;)

Nevertheless it is a unique masterpiece, and takes pride of place in my collection...

Haha. It's probably because I've tried doing some typographic-type stuff in Photoshop, and never managed to get it looking anywhere near as great. The design's a bit messy, sure, but that's what makes it so compelling - it feels deliberate, like they're trying to emulate the visually-busy nature of the city, and it looks beautiful, not like it was a rush job at all!

[razorpilot]

Unwound Floors- do you know that you were mentioned in the Underworld facebook posting today? :
unwoundfloors is a total cuteface, enjoying wasabi rushes and the other half back in
essex fighting the jet lag!

[unwound floors]

All thanks to a certain forumgoer here ;)