2016-03-17 Columbiahalle - Berlin, Germany

[skyscraper101]

Setlist looks good. It'll be interesting to see how it varies tonight.

My main concern these days is not so much the setlist, but that they've been playing the tracks with very little to no variation from how they sound on the albums. One of the joys of watching them back in the day was how Rick used to play around with the samples, change the instrumentation, and fade in the b-line and synths at will.

These days it looks like a lot of pre-record going on, with only slight tinkering with delays and reverb on Rick's part. Darren seems to mainly be pressing play on the master laptop.

[qirex]

Originally Posted by skyscraper101

These days it looks like a lot of pre-record going on, with only slight tinkering with delays and reverb on Rick's part. Darren seems to mainly be pressing play on the master laptop.

Darren looked so bored during that Colston Hall gig.

[skyscraper101]

Originally Posted by qirex

Darren looked so bored during that Colston Hall gig.

I know. His job is literally cueing up the tracks on a macbook pro. I think I'd be bored if that was my only job too.

Also, everyone knows too that the desk and master laptops can be manned by one person. Darren himself covered Rick during part of the dubno tour so clearly two people up there with Karl isn't essential.

Compare that to the old days where Rick and Darren Emerson were criss crossing over each others backs all hands on the mixer, creating beautifully unique live extended versions of the tracks which made for excellent live sets which were all unique.

I just hope we get some unique track variations between each of these shows anyway. Or they will all just sound the same as the albums when downloaded.

[Rioja]

Originally Posted by skyscraper101

My main concern these days is not so much the setlist, but that they've been playing the tracks with very little to no variation from how they sound on the albums. One of the joys of watching them back in the day was how Rick used to play around with the samples, change the instrumentation, and fade in the b-line and synths at will.

Indeed, indeed - I have to say "yes" to this. I mean, I am a die-hard UW fan (we all are, of course), but yeah I'm yearning to hear some serious improv! I loved it when, for example, different drums were played with Nuxx, Snake, etc. Also when songs began unusually like perhaps something just with the bass line or a single synth motif. Or, as Skyscraper notes, samples of Juanita's spoken word were peppered throughout a track's intro, outro, etc.

I forget which performance it is*, but there's this brilliant intro to Pearls where Juanita's laughter, shifted down in pitch, is played throughout. Such great, inspired stuff! And I know this isn't a radical departure, but I've always wanted to hear just the triangle from Moaner start the song, then maybe go into the short synth bit at the end...

(*Found it: was the legendary Blue Mountain performance from 1999. Mayan Theater in L.A. (forget which year) also had an incredible Pearls intro. But my all-time PG fave is probably the intro done at the I Love Techno fest. (Again, year? Seems I'm a bit daft when it comes to years.)

And don't get me wrong: I'm not saying I want to go back in time. I'm just saying I'd like to hear the individual tracks of each tune messed around with a bit in new ways, perhaps. Otherwise, the strips of paper labeled with the instrumentation for each song (for the purpose of being overlaid on the board) don't really need to be there.)

[TheBang]

Originally Posted by Rioja

I forget which performance it is*, but there's this brilliant intro to Pearls where Juanita's laughter, shifted down in pitch, is played throughout.

Being a little pedantic here, but it's Petra on Pearl's Girl, not Juanita.

[Rioja]

Originally Posted by TheBang

Being a little pedantic here, but it's Petra on Pearl's Girl, not Juanita.

Nice -- no, I appreciate the correction, man. I love to be a part of a community that knows these things because I'm pretty obsessive* about the band myself.

Ok so that I know the difference, who is talking at the beginning of Bruce Lee? (Telling the story about the "shooter".) I've always thought that was Juanita, but now it sounds like it's Petra.

Actually, more importantly, who exactly are Juanita and Petra? I've always thought the former worked at Tomato and maybe the latter is Rick's wife?

Obviously, I'm confused about this, so would someone straighten me out? (Bang, please?)

(*Not saying this like it's a bad thing; I just mean we're pretty detail-oriented around here and I love that. Would not have it any other way.)