2016-04-13 Fox Theater - Pomona, CA

[Chris M]

Originally Posted by TheBang

Ah, what a great show. So many songs I haven't heard live before. I thought the crowd was really good too. Probably one of the best US crowds I've seen for Underworld.

I hope you hung around the side entrance, today, Rioja. There were lots of opportunities to meet them before and after the show as they came and went.

Chris got some nice pictures. I'm sure he'll chime in soon. Nice to meet Troy McClure, darktrain, khouri, and the other non-dirty superfans.

Yes-Yes. Lot's of images to sort over the coming days. Band management was very generous with coverage access. I'm teaming up with Thomas Kelley who did the fantastic L.A. Weekly piece for the Hollywood Bowl. We'll be putting together a review, photo essays, and images.

Solid set overall. To quote Rick's wife after the gig "it was a banging set". Atmosphere was electric - everyone there seemed to be a genuine fan, not just a casual spectator.

TheBang it was great sharing pre and post show conversation.

Troy McClure - good to see you again. next time have some conviction when you meet the band and get yer stuff signed

[khouri]

This was one of the most energetic American crowds I've ever seen for Underworld. Everyone was going nuts. The audio was great, all the songs sounded excellent. After the Dubnobass show in London and the shorter Hollywood Bowl show, I'd forgotten that Underworld delivered such long and high energy shows. Miles better than anything I attended during the Barking era too.

I Exhale
If Rah
Juanita
Ova Nova
Nylon Strung
Two Months Off
8 Ball
Jumbo
Ring Road/Minneapolis
Push Upstairs
King of Snake
Dirty Club
Low Burn
Rowla
Rez/Cowgirl
Nuxx

I Exhale + If Rah sounded great live and really got the crowd jumping. They're my least favorite songs on BB, but they made a kind of sense to me live that they don't on the record. Very enjoyable.

Juanita was the just album version with some small flourishes, effects and so forth, such as the "resonator" sample heard prominently on Everything Everything. The drums seemed really high in the mix in a good way. I really enjoyed it despite the lack of improv/deconstruction. They played the full 16-min version and it sounded marvelous.

Ova Nova + Nylon Strung did not work live, not for me anyway. Paradoxically, they're my favorite songs on BB. They just slowed everything down so much, I started yawning honestly.

Two Months Off was performed exactly as it has been for the last 14 years. The most boring weapon in Underworld's arsenal, but people still seem to go fucking nuts for it.

8 Ball was supremely disappointing live. I was sad when I didn't see Karl's guitar on stage at the start of the show but I didn't realize how dire it would be until this track, which has so many cool guitar parts. Effectively a karaoke performance.

Jumbo is always great to hear live but it's the same version we've all heard for nearly 20 years. I miss the way they played around with it on the Oblivion tour. That said, it still sounded wonderful in the theater and people loved it.

Ring Road/Minneapolis was beautiful. Karl was out of time for much of it but it was still exciting to see them go for it and play around with mixing elements of different tracks together. Despite the fact that they've been playing it on this tour, this arrangement felt live and fresh and a bit risky, the way a live band should sound.

Push Upstairs: Another fairly rote version but with Rick pushing different elements around in the mix. Hearing Push on a sound system remains a brilliant experience. Sounded wonderful, dark and dangerous.

King of Snake: Super energetic version. Dug it.

Dirty Club: Like the Ring Road/Minneapolis mashup, this was a treat. A new arrangement, cross-polination of songs, hearing sounds from the ancient records brought into the future. I wish they'd take this approach with more of the repertoire.

Low Burn: Another karaoke version. There's got to be a proper 10 minute version of this song somewhere and one day I hope we hear it.

Rowla: Rick had some fun with this.

Rez/Cowgirl: Rick took some risks with this one, relative to the other songs. Lots of changes, effects and such. Cowgirl was a hybrid of the album version and the live version that Underworld's played forever. Sounded great.

Nuxx: Standard version. There's so much room to mess about with this song and they never do anymore.

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.

[holden]

Originally Posted by khouri

This was one of the most energetic American crowds I've ever seen for Underworld. Everyone was going nuts. The audio was great, all the songs sounded excellent. After the Dubnobass show in London and the shorter Hollywood Bowl show, I'd forgotten that Underworld delivered such long and high energy shows. Miles better than anything I attended during the Barking era too.


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.

Appreciate your review and thoughts! Wish I could have been there...regardless of the pros and cons of the setlist/performance style, nothing quite like the energy of the boys playing classics and new tracks to a live audience.

Still, for those that can't be there, the saving grace has always been the extensive recorded history- be there virtually! Thanks to the fans and RTSR, i have dozens and dozens of shows from 1992 to present. Why? Because until 2010 Barking tour, you could count on different setlists almost every night, long segues, improvisation. Even a static setlist is fine (most bands do it or only change in/out a few tracks), provided there's some internal variety from night to night.

But with Barking tour and now BBWFASF, though i love the individual songs, i don't know that i need to collect or listen to gigs that are almost identical each night. Have heard/downloaded the short and long versions of the tour set, so i'm happy to hear the likes of Faxed, Juanita, Ring Road/Minneapolis, and Dirty Club. But unless things change up, i agree with many of your comments above - it feels a little bit, er, automatic. UW were always more than just pushing play and singing on top...

Anyway, sounds like it was a fun show and that some folks got to meet the band! Cool

[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.

[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.

[cdave2]

Originally Posted by potatobroth

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.

As much as I hate to admit it, I generally agree with this and King of Snake's earlier post. The visuals aren't necessary for me, although I do miss the raw kineticism of the 90s Tomato clips. But the music becoming more structured is another matter.

Wasn't an ambient show mentioned around the time of OwB? Something tells me that might still be a good idea. I was hoping they'd turn up at Moogfest a couple of years ago; they'd thrive in an experimental setting such as that.

Still, there's no one like 'em - still the most joyful group I've seen live.

[Troy McClure]

Originally Posted by Chris M

Yes-Yes. Lot's of images to sort over the coming days. Band management was very generous with coverage access. I'm teaming up with Thomas Kelley who did the fantastic L.A. Weekly piece for the Hollywood Bowl. We'll be putting together a review, photo essays, and images.

Solid set overall. To quote Rick's wife after the gig "it was a banging set". Atmosphere was electric - everyone there seemed to be a genuine fan, not just a casual spectator.

TheBang it was great sharing pre and post show conversation.

Troy McClure - good to see you again. next time have some conviction when you meet the band and get yer stuff signed

I'll remember for sure.... I think I used up all my conviction / courage to say hello to Rick earlier in the day and again that night with Karl & Rick.