Underworld... live?

[amhilde]

I find synth music to be very "visual" and find it disappointing that a band with an actual visual past/identity/agency doesn't actually use visuals, especially in this age of processing capability and software. Alan Wilder put on a show as Recoil where he sourced miniature films/visuals for each of his songs from new, unknown video directors and then synced the set to each visual and manipulated synth lines/effects live around the "base" song+video. I saw that show twice and LOVED it both times even though it obviously had to be the same set list because the visuals really set off the music. Absolutely memorable. That was done on a shoestring and no one is calling his phone anymore, so I don't see why UW can't use those gorgeous screens of theirs for something more than a typeface!

The Ally Pally show - why is this listed as "very special show" and why do folks on here think it will be different (or at least has the potential to be different)?

[hexagoneye]

I should also add that i would also like to see Darren Price have more input. His productions under his Cliffhanger title were excellent, that kind of sound is something i miss from Underworlds productions.

[jetpig]

I also wonder if this is some sort of twisted fan service? Maybe they wanna make sure that there aren't any catastrophic failures or rough spots that don't work to ruin a more casual fan's experience? Most people seeing their shows aren't gonna be religiously keeping up with them, so they won't have had the show spoiled for them on youtube either way.

More than anything, i'd like to know WHY they are doing the mostly static show. I could live with a static setlist, if the tracks were getting developed and were seeing more variety. I could also live with songs not really changing a whole lot, if the tracks on the setlist were being rotated a bit more. It doesn't even need to be rotated on the fly, for that matter, just surprise us a few times a tour. Dirty club, faxed invitation, and juanita were good additions, but why not drop even ONE unexpected song per show? I mean off the top of my head some songs that would be VERY well received and fit in the current set: Cups (hell, even just pens), most anything off AHDO, crocodile/BB, best mamgu, Glam Bucket, or any of tracks from the river run series.

at this point i'd be excited if karl simply stuck some new lyrics in somewhere, like he did that one time with 'resonator' during the the opening of rez...

[WhiteNoise]

I want to say I'm also disappointed that Underworld's live show isn't what it used to be. I've been an obsessive fan since I was 13, but I've never had the chance to see them live thanks to age and geography. Nearly flew out to California this tour because of how over the moon I am with BBWFASF, but it just wasn't worth the money after reading the reviews and fixed setlists here...

Thing is, I don't think it's old age turning them away from improvisation and surprises. I think a well-polished setlist is something Rick really wants. Look at Everything Everything, for instance. The songs are all edited and polished after the fact, there's no transitions after the first 3 songs, each is a safely perfect definitive live rendition - it's how Rick wanted their live show to be presented to the world, and it's so polished, it launched the creation of Bootleg Babies just to show off their skills in improvisation!

Karl talks often about how, starting with Dubno Live and continuing on to record Barbara, the band no longer feels trapped by the "idea of what Underworld is supposed to be" that started with Born Slippy and Beaucoup Fish, and supposedly plagued them from there on out. Maybe performing by the seat of their pants was part of the "idea of Underworld" that they didn't want to do anymore, but felt forced to deliver. It's a bit telling that their more scripted shows started around 2009-2010, when Karl and Rick's creative partnership was splintering.

In that way I'm still really disappointed that the shows aren't wild and free anymore, even visually... but if it's part of their current creative process of "escaping Underworld", I guess I understand it. Hopefully it leads to more creativity in the future.

[philth]

I'm lucky enough to work at a lot of festivals and club shows so it's rare that I get a day off when there's a big gig in town. One of those rare days coincided with Underworld playing at Forbidden Fruit in Dublin a few weeks ago.

For all the criticism of the scripted show, I still had the time of my life with a handful of friends jumping around in a field to the music that's soundtracked my life played nice and loud on a sunny summer evening.

Sometimes you just need to let go of the past and live in the present.

I feel all of us who long for the 'good old days' of improv and transition are missing out on enjoying the present. I was that soldier too for a long time but that last gig really changed my mind. Yeah, I'd love a gig where the music was twisted and warped and transitioned and adlibed and all the rest, and yeah I'd *really* love the 5 screen Tomato art jam live visuals to come back, but maybe they will, maybe they won't. The past is gone, the future is coming.

I can't wait to see what they do next.

[negative1]

Originally Posted by philth

I can't wait to see what they do next.

you don't have to wait to see what they do next.

they're already doing it, and it hasn't changed. and isn't likely too either.


later
-1

[philth]

Originally Posted by negative1

you don't have to wait to see what they do next.

they're already doing it, and it hasn't changed. and isn't likely too either.

later
-1

You've missed my point. If what they do next is the same as what they do now then I'm fine with that. I'll enjoy it in the moment. And if they change things up, then I hope I'll enjoy that too.

[Dirty Saint]

Just be glad, that despite them both nearly 60 years old, they are still playing live!!!!!

Enjoy them whilst it lasts cause I am sure there wont be many more tours if any.

& by the way I have been watching UW since the Dubno days & have to say that the recent Royal Festival Hall & Roundhouse gigs were 2 of my all time favs!!

[holden]

Word!

I used to lament the state of these forums, and by extension, that of Underworld.

But then I smacked myself in the face, realized that I/ we grew up, and that my wants count for nothing in the grand scheme of things...

Things change. We change. It's not 1999 anymore.

for me, BBWFASF is their best since AHDO, maybe even since BF. Live is great, but let's be honest... concerts are to sell records, not to appease long-term fans. Rick and Karl are doing what they want. The end. All that follows is fan speculation, a dozen+ years too late.

[jetpig]

Originally Posted by holden

Word!

I used to lament the state of these forums, and by extension, that of Underworld.

But then I smacked myself in the face, realized that I/ we grew up, and that my wants count for nothing in the grand scheme of things...

Things change. We change. It's not 1999 anymore.

for me, BBWFASF is their best since AHDO, maybe even since BF. Live is great, but let's be honest... concerts are to sell records, not to appease long-term fans. Rick and Karl are doing what they want. The end. All that follows is fan speculation, a dozen+ years too late.

*mic drop*

Well said. They're doing what they will, and that's why we love them, cause above all else, they make the art that they want to make in the way they want to make it. Do I wish I could have seen them live jam it? absolutely. in 99? please yes. in 93? oh my god where's the time machine. But also, I'd love to have seen pink floyd on the dark side tour and Nirvana play in some garage in '88, but that's all nostalgia. We're here now, enjoy these good times even though they may not have been the good times you wanted/expected/hoped them to be, they won't be forever.