2016-04-13 Fox Theater - Pomona, CA

[Troy McClure]

YouTube Videos that I've found so far:
All credit to the poster:

I Exhale (complete)


If Rah (partial)


Juanita (last 3 minutes from very front, very slight distortion)


end of Ova Nova / Nylon Strung (5 minute parital) (nice interaction between Rick and Karl)


Nylon Strung (complete)



Two Months Off:


Eight Ball (complete)


King of Snake
complete

Rez (partial)

[deckard236]

Originally Posted by TheBang

Haha, well, that was me taking the picture. You were so happy. I'm glad you were able to talk to him for so long. The other guys with me were Chris M and Troy McClure from this very thread.

Some day I would like to meet up wth you guys. "The Bang" You were especially helpful to me uploading the Dubno Dat back in 2008. I go to all of the L.A. area shows but due to my work schedule and traveling time I usually get there just before show time and leave immediately after. I left at just after midnight, got home at 1:30 and was up at 4:30 for work. Hopefully someday soon. Cheers!

[cdave2]

Nice to hear everyone had such a great time and a big hello to Jason and Chris from the Bowl last year! (Man, to be able to hear the revamped "Dirty" and "8 Ball" in person...ah well, hope to see you guys next time around!)

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Troy McClure

There weren't any songs new to the tour played last night.
I think this was the order :

I Exhale
If Rah
Juanita
Ova Nova
Nylon Strung
Two Months Off
Eight Ball
Jumbo
Ring Road Minneapolis
Push Upstairs
King Of Snake
Dirty Club
Low Burn
Rowla
Rez
Cowgirl
Born Slippy. NUXX

--Jason

Did they also play Dark Train and Faxed?

[Troy McClure]

Originally Posted by Mike

Did they also play Dark Train and Faxed?

Mike,

Neither Dark Train or Faxed were played at Pomona. Visiting with TheBang pre-show he mentioned seeing the written setlist at the soundboard and that 'Faxed' was on it.

Maybe skipped over due to a 2 hour slot vs 2+ hours at other cities. It would have been cool to hear it live given how good the soundsystem was at the Fox.

Regards,
Jason

[Troy McClure]

Originally Posted by cdave2

Nice to hear everyone had such a great time and a big hello to Jason and Chris from the Bowl last year! (Man, to be able to hear the revamped "Dirty" and "8 Ball" in person...ah well, hope to see you guys next time around!)

cdave2!!!

Nice to hear from you.... Yes, would be great seeing you again at another Underworld show.... Still hoping for that Chicago show so you can hear Dirty Club and 8 Ball.

-Jason

[King of Snake]

Originally Posted by khouri

Obviously I can't know exactly how Rick's new gear works but based on what I heard and observed, it seems like he is triggering and manipulating all the sounds live just like he used to -- but I'm honestly at a loss as to what end. If the goal is to reproduce the album arrangements as closely as possible, you hardly need to go through that trouble. I also think that it's no longer possible to segue between tracks. The segue between Ova Nova and Nylon Strung was such a hard cut that I suspect only one Ableton session is being loaded into the console at a time, and Darren just activated it on the beat.

Again, I can't presume to know what Rick's thinking is, but the end result is a distinctly not-live Underworld Live. Very few surprises, no flow from one song to another, no "conversation" as Karl has described it. These shows are really electronic music recitals -- of uncommonly brilliant songs, no doubt -- but recitals nonetheless. Whereas not even ten years ago, on the Oblivion tour was brimming with inspiration, unpredictability and sonic bliss. I just don't get what the appeal is of this style of performance to the band or to the audience.

That said, the crowd loved it and the guys seemed overjoyed, so maybe I'm just not keeping up with whatever's happening.

I have to say I fully agree with this. While I thoroughly enjoyed this show in Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago, I could not help but wonder what happened to the improvisation, the mixing and the surprises. Of course it was not really a surprise as they've been playing like this since the Barking tour but still...

Rick and Karl still tend to emphasize this improvisational aspect of Underworld live in interviews, but in reality it's all but dissapeared. The new tracks all sound virtually identical to the album versions when played live and Dark Train, Push, KOS, Nuxx, TMO etc, while always great to experience live, also don't really have anything new to them in this tour.
I also don't understand why they don't mix the tracks together at all. I find it hard to believe the technology of today doesn't allow for it, while technology 20 years ago did. It must be a conscious decision by Rick but as you say I cannot fathom the rationale behind it. To me, all the pauses between the tracks take away the momentum and some of the most exiting bits in UW live history were the moments in between the tracks. The anticipation of not knowing what track was gonna come next, and hearing elements from different tracks combined into new pieces.

Yes now they have Ring Road/Minneapolis wich works really well, and the new Dirty Club. But these combinations have been decided beforehand, and are not the result of spontanious live improvisation.
On top of that, Karl doesn't play any live guitar anymore at all, which is a crime especially on 8-Ball, and there's not much visual elements to the show anymore. No Green Laser (tm), no falling inflatable balls during Nuxx, no inflatable towers on stage, no Tomato visuals (well there's some visuals but it's really just the track titles)...

So in the end "all" that's left is hearing a collection of awesome tracks played really slick on a really loud soundsystem, and Rick and Karl seem to be really into it again. And that's great, but as a long time fan, and looking back at the history of their live show, it is frustrating because I can't fully understand why they do it this way.

[King of Snake]

Originally Posted by Rioja

...
So I almost instantly chatted up Rick, who for some reason or another I thought might have a bit more reserved personality than Karl, but damn if I didn't turn out to be wrong! For 5 - 10 minutes, we had a great conversation, and he didn't seem at all put off by my typically intense demeanor, which can throw people off a bit when they first meet me.

We talked about Wales, Pearls Girl (I'd always wanted to know what synth it was that made that amazing, filtered bass line, and now I know: a Nord 1), sampling, creating as an artist even when you feel like that's the last thing you want to do (but you've got to do it), why sometimes making record can be a miserable experience, his recommendation of the book "Steal Like An Artist", staring down the dole office and thinking there's no way you're going to make it... and then having the support of someone you love somehow helping you find a way. (In Rick's case, that person was his wife, without whom he said he'd likely never have found the strength to press on.)

He was amazing: very appreciative, genuine, and complimentary. And I absolutely could not believe that I was standing there, talking to my hero. (In fact, there's just one other famous musician with whom a conversation was such a pleasure, and that was -- believe it or not -- Ogre from Skinny Puppy. (I say "believe it or not" since, you know, with a stage name like "Ogre", you expect at least a bit of animosity. Not true at all in that guy's case though.))
...

Great story and experience! I feel jealous! After all these years and dozens of live shows I still haven't met R&K in person yet. I would love to chat to them, and especially Rick, preferably for a couple of hours
Hopefully I'll still get the chance one day. I'll have to come up with a plan next time they visit here.

[potatobroth]

Originally Posted by King of Snake

Rick and Karl still tend to emphasize this improvisational aspect of Underworld live in interviews, but in reality it's all but dissapeared.

Pretty much every word you wrote I agree with. I always try to look at this from an average UW concert-goer's POV; they have no idea this is a pre-designed setlist. There are lots of people on facebook calling out for songs that "we" know won't be played.

Where'd the visuals go? Were the tubes or laser really that expensive? The laser for KoS, Moaner and Dirty Epic was so fantastic a live experience that I can't believe there were ever dropped.

I can't help but keep comparing them to the Chemical Brothers who put on a fantastic visual show, with a pre-designed setlist that FEELS like a live version or mix. The songs blend together in exciting new ways.

Now I'm still excited to see them on Wednesday, but this is not the Underworld Live experience I've loved for the past 20 years.

[Troy McClure]

Some more YouTubes from Pomona popped up today:

I Exhale


If Rah:


Juanita (14 minute clip)


Ova Nova:


Nylon Strung


Two Months Off


Jumbo:


Push Upstairs clip


King of Snake clip


Ring Road Minneapolis


Rowla


Cowgirl