Karl Hyde in PURE SCENIUS/LUMINOUS, Sydney Opera House.

[Bargo]

Well I'm home now so I can write a little more.

The night was split into three shows of around 90 minutes in length. In attendence were Eno, Karl, The Necks (piano/bass/drums trio and amazing improvists), Leo Abrahams on guitar and Jon Hopkins on piano and electronics. Peter Chilvers was also in attendence and helping Eno out.

The shows had a strong emphasis on improvisation. Eno acted as the coordinator (or ringmaster, as you will), occasionally giving the guys vague little 4-5 word directives on how to progress the sound (he'd write them on slips of paper which - I'm guessing here - got displayed on the 2 screens facing the members). Occasionally the audience was privvy to these messages as well, as they'd come up on the video screens (I'd like to quote some but I'd be going off very bad memory at this point).

But ultimately, each artist fed off and spurred on one-another to progress and evolve the sound they were creating. It was wonderful to see the surprised smiles on their faces, especially Karl's (he seemed to really be having the most fun out of all of them, seriously, he looked absolutely thrilled), when someone would throw something new and surprising into the sonic mix.. encouraging the rest of them to adapt and contribute in their own ways.

There were repeated themes which evolved from show to show. In roughly the middle part of each show, the music gradually led towards a beautiful "duet" of sorts between Chris Abrahams (from The Necks) and Jon Hopkins.. both sitting at their respective pianos on opposing sides of the stage. Chris would play one chord, then Jon would play. By the third show, this had evolved into something so indescribably beautiful I can barely give it enough praise. I have no shame in saying that it just about brought me to tears.

For those wondering about Karl's input.. well, the man came prepared with his notebooks of lyrical musings (what I'd give to take a look through them..!), sample CDs, and other electronic kit. He recited some of this poetry, sung, spoke, played, did many wonderful things. It would not have been the same without his presence. Underworld fans would've spotted the occasional line they recognized.. indeed, in the early parts of the third show, he pretty much sung the whole lyrics to "Headset" whilst The Necks improv'd in the background ('I'll live in a cardboard box, but I'll have my fountain pens..'.. I still remember that moment)

There were so many highlights and I've already written far too much, so I'll just list some of my favourite bits:
- The start to the second show.. 1-2-3-NOISE!!!!!!! I think just about everyone jumped out of their seat.
- The many moments when Eno and Hyde would sing or recount poems together. I especially loved the bit where Eno would keep saying "what if?", and Karl would follow with a lyric of his own.

"What if?"
"The waitress spoke in French.."
"What if?"

- The duets between Abrahams and Hopkins.
- The encore to the third show. It was MASSIVE and got the whole opera house moving. Holy shit.
- Pink Moon!!
- The Necks getting a new, wider audience. I've always felt these guys are one of the most under-appeciated bands.. stuff like this is gonna get them noticed in a big way.
Edit: thought of some more highlights
- The coffee table and couches out the front of the stage, where the various members of the ensemble could chill, chat and listen whilst their musical companions continued the show. Sounds a bit gimmicky but wasn't.
- Karl and Eno kicking off the third set just by themselves.
- Karl getting up and painting the words "HOME" on the tent up the back, towards the end of the third show.
- I loved that Brian let The Necks just play by themselves for 10-15 minutes in each of the shows, after which the other members would gradually get back up off the couch and join them in progressing the music.

Regarding "Pink Moon".. in each of the three shows they played a song which wasn't improvised, called "Pink Moon", again evolving it over each of the 3 shows. Karl sang the lyrics, and it was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL song. Wasn't a cover of Nick Drake's song as far as I know. If anyone knows more info about what/who wrote this song, I'd love to know. It sounded very familiar to me but I've no other songs called "Pink Moon" in my library..

Sorry for writing so much, but this was really a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I'm still absolutely buzzing from it, 12 hours later. Some badly-taken photos from my mobile phone:

Hyde and Eno
More of the group
And More
The Necks, during a bit where they were left alone to play by themselves
Everyone says goodbye