underworld live

[bryantm3]

i don't like underworld live like i like their studio stuff, because even though not planning stuff and just doing it on a whim can be fun, but if you listen to 'push upstairs' it sounds like karl was totally unprepared for the song, and he was singing off-key and out of breath, and it just sounds terrible, imo. another thing is how they do their live concerts. there's just a turntable (mixer, computer, whatever you want to call it) and karl jumping around singing, with a big flashing screen behind them. where's the drummer, keyboardist, etc? it would sound so much better if they had live drums, or even someone playing electronic drums on their tours, and focus more on the music than the visual effects. i'm probably going to get flamed for this, but it's how i really feel, and i hope they might take this into consideration in the future.

[stimpee]

Can anyone else be bothered to reply to this? I'm at a loss for words (for once).

[Jason Roth]

No idea what to say either.

[//\/\/]

drunk post?

[ndrwrld]

i don't like underworld live like i like their studio stuff, because even though not planning stuff and just doing it on a whim can be fun, but if you listen to 'push upstairs' it sounds like rick was totally unprepared for the song, and he was singing off-key and out of breath, and it just sounds terrible, imo. another thing is how they do their live concerts. there's just a turntable and karl jumping around singing, with a big flashing screen behind them. where's the drummer, keyboardist, etc? it would sound so much better if they had live drums, or even someone playing electronic drums on their tours, and focus more on the music than the visual effects. i'm probably going to get flamed for this, but it's how i really feel, and i hope they might take this into consideration in the future.

consider yourself Flamed.
by the way, isnt it Karl singing on ' push upstairs ' ?
off key ? out of breath ?
you try jumping around and dancing like Karl does for ( on average ) 5 songs before Push Upstairs kicks in, and not feel a little winded.
but...thats just me.

[BeautifulBurnout]

... and i hope they might take this into consideration in the future.

Sorry, sweety. But I really, really hope they DON'T!

Just keep it the way it is guys... the way you want it to be. The energy is awesome.

Edit: Just a turntable? I don't think you have been to the same gigs as me.

Can anyone else be bothered to reply to this? I'm at a loss for words (for once).

\o/

I knew it would happen one day... who says there is no god? :p

[King of Snake]

i don't like underworld live like i like their studio stuff, because even though not planning stuff and just doing it on a whim can be fun, but if you listen to 'push upstairs' it sounds like rick was totally unprepared for the song, and he was singing off-key and out of breath, and it just sounds terrible, imo. another thing is how they do their live concerts. there's just a turntable and karl jumping around singing, with a big flashing screen behind them. where's the drummer, keyboardist, etc? it would sound so much better if they had live drums, or even someone playing electronic drums on their tours, and focus more on the music than the visual effects. i'm probably going to get flamed for this, but it's how i really feel, and i hope they might take this into consideration in the future.

this is a joke right?

a turntable is pretty much the only thing that is not on stage during an Underworld concert.
I see computers, synths, mixing desks, microphones, guitars, but not turntubles. (okay Karl has this cd "turntable" that he uses to fly in some vocal samples from time to time and do cool scratching fx but that's it)
Where's the drummer? I don't know, there isn't one on the albums so why should there be one on stage? This is techno music, not a rock band.
Maybe you could try and get a hold of some Underworld circa 1980 live footage and that will have a drummer, guitar, bass and keyboards. I'll leave it to you to decide if it sounds any better for it though ;)

[Forgotten Sanity]

this is a joke right?

a turntable is pretty much the only thing that is not on stage during an Underworld concert.
I see computers, synths, mixing desks, microphones, guitars, but not turntubles. (okay Karl has this cd "turntable" that he uses to fly in some vocal samples from time to time and do cool scratching fx but that's it)
Where's the drummer? I don't know, there isn't one on the albums so why should there be one on stage? This is techno music, not a rock band.
Maybe you could try and get a hold of some Underworld circa 1980 live footage and that will have a drummer, guitar, bass and keyboards. I'll leave it to you to decide if it sounds any better for it though ;)

Nice.

Although... maybe he is an old UW/Freur fan and totally forgot about them for ages, only to pick up an MK2 or MK3 CD with horror and shriek "MY GOD MAN! What is this rubbish?"

Then again, anyone doing that and I mean anyone, that will be the day that the apocalypse begins and Dubya resigns from office to join Greenpeace...

But serious. You have to remove yourself from your first impression. And that is, if you have no idea how electronic music is made then what they do live may be pretty underwhelming. But Underworld is known and reknown for jamming live with their gear and pushing electronic music to a point of credibility that even people like you, people that respect the craftsmanship of playing live and not the "re-interpretation" so to speak that a DJ does with pre-recorded vinyl, should be able to find something largely impressive about the whole thing. You have to respect the fact that UW doesn't want a live band, as that would pull their live sound too far away from their studio sound. I'm sure that if they wanted to use a live band they would've, hell Karl as a guitarist could definately testify for the upsides of having a live band. But that's not what they're about, at all.

Besides, I've seen electronic bands play with a live band, and it's normally not nearly as locked and tight as a studio record.

[potatobroth]

i don't like underworld live like i like their studio stuff, because even though not planning stuff and just doing it on a whim can be fun, but if you listen to 'push upstairs' it sounds like rick was totally unprepared for the song, and he was singing off-key and out of breath, and it just sounds terrible, imo. another thing is how they do their live concerts. there's just a turntable and karl jumping around singing, with a big flashing screen behind them. where's the drummer, keyboardist, etc? it would sound so much better if they had live drums, or even someone playing electronic drums on their tours, and focus more on the music than the visual effects. i'm probably going to get flamed for this, but it's how i really feel, and i hope they might take this into consideration in the future.

what in thee fuck are you talking about? could you possibly get more facts wrong?

[bryantm3]

drunk post?
well, on this new medicine my doctor gave me, but that's about all. (sorry about saying rick sung. i was thinking backwards, ie: rick or darren at the computer, whatever you want to call it, decided to play the song and karl was caught off guard, but when i was posting i got it all twisted about.

[King of Snake]

as for off-key or out of breath singing, well yeah sometimes it happens, but you gotta keep in mind that they are doing a liveshow that is improvised and not structured and rehearsed beforehand. So Karl does get taken by suprise from time to time because he doesn't always know what the other two are gonna do next. Also the other way around. Sometimes it goes wrong, but often out of the mistakes comes something interesting and unexpected.

[the mongoose]

I kinda agree with some of the complaints.

A live drummer would be fantastic and having just "boom" "clap" and "ti-ti-tik" coming out all the time is nothing compared to the improvs a human being who's fucking badass can think of on the fly. Karl, play more guitar and sing ("never touch meee anymore this waaaaeeEEE" remember? Now it's all one line stuff with no actual singing (vision...c'mon)

afterthought:
hmmm...except the AWESOME new vocals he added to You Do Scribble live.
:cool:

[potatobroth]

well, on this new medicine my doctor gave me, but that's about all. (sorry about saying rick sung. i was thinking backwards, ie: rick or darren at the computer, whatever you want to call it, decided to play the song and karl was caught off guard, but when i was posting i got it all twisted about.

why would you think that UW would want a live drummer on tour when their albums/songs have nothing that a live drummer (or keyboardist) could play?

[Raz]

OMGWTFBBQ.

[bryantm3]

why would you think that UW would want a live drummer on tour when their albums/songs have nothing that a live drummer (or keyboardist) could play?
read the mongoose's comments. he put it better than i ever could.

[potatobroth]

I kinda agree with some of the complaints.

A live drummer would be fantastic and having just "boom" "clap" and "ti-ti-tik" coming out all the time is nothing compared to the improvs a human being who's fucking badass can think of on the fly. Karl, play more guitar and sing ("never touch meee anymore this waaaaeeEEE" remember? Now it's all one line stuff with no actual singing (vision...c'mon)

afterthought:
hmmm...except the AWESOME new vocals he added to You Do Scribble live.
:cool:

im completely stunned. live drummer?

as for thinking on the fly, thats precisely what rick does. that is the basis of their live show as opposed to just playing a record.

[potatobroth]

read the mongoose's comments. he put it better than i ever could.

yeah, it made almost as little sense as yer did. im still shaking my head at the idea of having a live drummer for Underworld. it would defy sense.

[King of Snake]

well to be honest, Emmet (http://www.emmetonline.co.uk/)use a live drummer, and they can sound pretty Underworld-y sometimes. :) But he's part of the band from the start, it just seems silly to stick a live drummer on a band that doesn't have a live drummer to begin with, just for live kicks.
I do believe Rick plays keyboard on the Nord Lead from time to time live btw. (I can remember some bootleg where he palys "riders on the storm" over Confusion the Waitress)

[dog]

i have a reply! shut up.

[botkiller]

I don't see any way that UW could do their live sets differently, nor should they. live electronic music is whatever you want it to be, and there's no reason that UW should get a keyboardist or drummer on stage. this would not be the dynamic they've always played with; two (or three) guys jamming out on stage. and you can't tell me that the nord does not get some attention during live sets, it does, and one the beautiful things about how UW does it is that their live sets are never the same.

I play live a lot like UW does, except that it's just me on stage, running my gear and doing vocals, and I run a projector in the background that runs various video bits to go along with the music.

it's ok to have an opinion bout UW live, but you should also consider the magnitude of what they do live; many, many electro acts don't do this anymore, orbital is deceased, and even bands like hybrid do less live gigs than they do DJ sets.

[joethelion]

it's not mere spinning records or tapping the ocasional key...

karl works HIS ASS OFF onstage - you would know this if you've ever seen them live

no drummer could work as hard or as fast as would be needed for a live UW show


...you don't know what you're talking about whatsoever

[ndrwrld]

no drummer could work as hard or as fast as would be needed for a live UW show


http://www.dirty.org/forums/showthread.php?p=15111#post15111

[dubman]

drunk post?

post-coital, i think.

the kind where you're fuzzy and muddled and you let dumb shit slip out.

[joethelion]

http://www.dirty.org/forums/showthread.php?p=15111#post15111


...sorry but no

anyways - it's not like UW are the Prodigy! I mean - they have preplanned setlists, no improvs, and their shows are usually kinda short

and their live drummer doesn't evven drum on all the tracks (from what I've seen on videos)

[Icke]

...sorry but no

anyways - it's not like UW are the Prodigy! I mean - they have preplanned setlists, no improvs, and their shows are usually kinda short

and their live drummer doesn't evven drum on all the tracks (from what I've seen on videos)

Preplanned setlists: I think that 99,9% of popular bands play with preplanned.

The Prodigy has some improv type thingies

And about the short shows; what do you want when you compare to a band that plays 3 hour sets :p ?

And I think that the drummer drums on (very nearly?) all the tracks.

I saw The Prodigy live last summer, but havent seen Underworld live yet (saw the DVD though).

[nacmat]

my only live experience is the everything cd... and I love it

[julesdude]

I was reading this thread anonymously, but it wound me up like shite so i had to join.

I've been to see both the Prod and Underworld a few times over the yerars. As far as i'm concerned they're completely different and can't be compared. SO that's that.

Why you've chosen Underworld to bite you're teeth into i'll never know. Just stumbled across them whilst flicking through Cable TV? There are other bands out there which are more deserving of your inane criticism such as the Chemical Brothers whom i love but unforunately don't make the connection between themselves and the crowd like Underworld do. Gosh even Orbital had moments where this was so - at best only mustering a shout of 'thank you... thank you' to the crowd whist they tweaked away with their knobs.

But frankly you've got some balls to come on here and state that you don't think much of them live. Underworld are renowned for their excellent live performances. You ask any person that has been to see Underworld live and seen other similar groups to compare them with and the vast majority will tell you that Underworld are second to none. This means that you are in a minority which means that what you're saying is not normal which means you have to ask yourself why you might be in that minority and not thinking normally. What is it about you that is HELL BENT on being different? You obviously live in Tuvalu and have never dropped.

I know what you mean about the effect that having a drummer can have. I remember this all too well when i went to see Underworld play live at the Brixton Academy a few years ago. They were being supported by Les Rhythm Digitale who had a drummer just like you mention. It was wonderful. It is great to have one but i feel it is more than made up for by the way Karl is.

Amen

[Jason Roth]

my only live experience is the everything cd... and I love it

Go see a show - you'll love it even more.

[bryantm3]

I was reading this thread anonymously, but it wound me up like shite so i had to join.

I've been to see both the Prod and Underworld a few times over the yerars. As far as i'm concerned they're completely different and can't be compared. SO that's that.

Why you've chosen Underworld to bite you're teeth into i'll never know. Just stumbled across them whilst flicking through Cable TV? There are other bands out there which are more deserving of your inane criticism such as the Chemical Brothers whom i love but unforunately don't make the connection between themselves and the crowd like Underworld do. Gosh even Orbital had moments where this was so - at best only mustering a shout of 'thank you... thank you' to the crowd whist they tweaked away with their knobs.

But frankly you've got some balls to come on here and state that you don't think much of them live. Underworld are renowned for their excellent live performances. You ask any person that has been to see Underworld live and seen other similar groups to compare them with and the vast majority will tell you that Underworld are second to none. This means that you are in a minority which means that what you're saying is not normal which means you have to ask yourself why you might be in that minority and not thinking normally. What is it about you that is HELL BENT on being different? You obviously live in Tuvalu and have never dropped.

I know what you mean about the effect that having a drummer can have. I remember this all too well when i went to see Underworld play live at the Brixton Academy a few years ago. They were being supported by Les Rhythm Digitale who had a drummer just like you mention. It was wonderful. It is great to have one but i feel it is more than made up for by the way Karl is.

Amen

i don't know why you're attacking me. i'm not attacking you or underworld. i'm not 'biting my teeth' into underworld. if i didn't like underworld, i wouldn't make this post. underworld are in my top 3 favourite artists. i respect them very much and i enjoy their music a lot. i just don't like the live concerts, and i thought i would comment.
This means that you are in a minority which means that what you're saying is not normal which means you have to ask yourself why you might be in that minority and not thinking normally. What is it about you that is HELL BENT on being different? You obviously live in Tuvalu and have never dropped.
why are you personally attacking me because i don't think like you? that's fucked up. at least most of the people here are actually respectfully disagreeing, and i am with them. but you're attacking me, and telling me i live in tuvalu... which i've never even heard of... i don't even understand a lot of your attack.

[jose m]

man this is really heavy......................he's shouting at me.............oh no...................i just love drummers man...................i've got a drum,its great......................maybe that darren emerson guy could bang it........................if only underworld would do what i say they would be loads better and i might buy a ticket to see them live !

[King of Snake]

But frankly you've got some balls to come on here and state that you don't think much of them live. Underworld are renowned for their excellent live performances. You ask any person that has been to see Underworld live and seen other similar groups to compare them with and the vast majority will tell you that Underworld are second to none. This means that you are in a minority which means that what you're saying is not normal which means you have to ask yourself why you might be in that minority and not thinking normally. What is it about you that is HELL BENT on being different? You obviously live in Tuvalu and have never dropped.


Are you serious? If you are, then you're a dick.
This guy has every right to come in here and speak his mind about Underworld. Just cause most people won't agree with him doesn't change that fact one single bit.

I guess you might be a troll or even a regular in trolling disguise though. :rolleyes:

[//\/\/]

(meanwhile, back at the ranch:)

coincidentally, my bf sampler cd came in da post yesterday - from the notes:

Trevor Morais: All hitting things done in a live, loose and sexy way not dissimilar to drumming but better.

not sure if this is on bf, and the tracks aren't final mixes - but it seems pertient to the conversation!

[joethelion]

Underworld improv their entire shows... they have no preplanned setlist.

Prodigy have preplanned setlists - even listing when the 'fills' are supposed to be. To them - it's not an improv, but a planned interlude between tracks the majority of the time


Preplanned setlists: I think that 99,9% of popular bands play with preplanned.

The Prodigy has some improv type thingies

And about the short shows; what do you want when you compare to a band that plays 3 hour sets :p ?

And I think that the drummer drums on (very nearly?) all the tracks.

I saw The Prodigy live last summer, but havent seen Underworld live yet (saw the DVD though).

oh, and that bit about the 'similar to drumming bit' (above post)
I think that is mentioned on the album itself also... but I took it more as like - he did some added percussion bits here and there

[//\/\/]

Underworld improv their entire shows... they have no preplanned setlist

i'd contend that that hasn't been the case since the stiti tours