I'm not sure who to agree with here. I mean, the Tokyo show was fantastic (esp. noodly intros), but it's the same sort of fantastic we've been seeing for a while. However, I think people are unjustly comparing "one-off" shows (Cocoon, etc) to every show on this tour. It's a
tour, for God's sake. UW has been (barring illness) playing shows every few days, at least. Asking them to come up with brilliant, on-the-fly, improvised sets for
dozens of shows borders on the absurd. Compared to other "electronic" acts, UW's sets are pure gold. I saw Daft Punk in Chicago this summer, which was a great show, but they play the same songs, in the same order, in the same way, every single time. Justice, who actually came to my cold, lovely hometown of Minneapolis, played intense, remixed versions of their songs, but I've heard that they play basically the same set every night. I know those two acts aren't anywhere near UWs caliber, but you get the idea. I think UW might be trying to throw little bits in for us (Monkey Wink + Nuxx, for example), and then using the rest of the set for stable, "tour mode" stuff. If their first show
after their tour is just a "greatest hits" night, I might be a little more disappointed, but for now, people, just let them do their thing.
The only thing that really bothers me is the way they almost always seem to play Jumbo/Moaner as the encore. Rick, Karl-- Jumbo is a brilliant tune, and is definitely in my top five. However, could you perhaps surprise us next time? Or, at least play a slightly remixed version of Jumbo?
Por favor? 