Before I dive into a review that's going to be undoubtedly filled with many positive adjectives and much praise for the abilities of Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands, I should first say that I have ALWAYS been a fan of this band - OK, maybe two guys playing synthesizers and drum machines (if you want to oversimplify it) isn't really a "band", so how about a duo? But nevertheless, my point remains, I've always had a genuine appreciation of The Chemical Brothers. And that appreciation dates back to since I was SEVEN YEARS OLD. And even though most people, when they get to the age of 22, don't listen to a lot of the same music they did when they were 7, I have been simply unable to detach myself from the same positive feelings my younger self had toward such tracks as Setting Sun and Hey Boy, Hey Girl. Simons and Rowlands last toured Australia in 2008, on the back of their sixth album We Are the Night, as part of the Future Music Festival. Despite that particular album being... well, let's not deny it, a lowlight in the Chems' career, the accompanying live show was still a sight to behold, and I thoroughly enjoyed going to their sideshow performance that year. Anyway, this year Mark James and his team at Future have managed to get the British big-beat pioneers to do another lap around this country as part of the Future juggernaut, and of course, fitting in a few of their own arena shows in between festival dates. With cracking latest album Further (their seventh) released last year and considered by most to be a stellar return to form, a live show was something Australian Chemical Heads were craving, and we didn't have to wait long to get it! On a very un-dance-music Wednesday night, it was Melbourne's turn to be wowed by the Chems, with DJ support from fellow Brits James Holroyd (who's been on quite a few of their tours in the past) and Zane Lowe, and a live set from current Aussie hype trio Art vs Science to kick off the evening.
The group I was with got to Rod Laver Arena a little bit late for Art vs Science's opening slot, but when that opening slot starts at 7:15, who can blame us? We quickly made our way into the venue at 7:30, luckily just in time to see them rip through a performance of arguably their most popular single (and recent Hottest 100 #9) Magic Fountain. They're the kind of band that really polarises an audience, but the half-crowd that had turned up to watch them seemed to really be getting into it. The band seemed to be putting a genuine effort into their performance too, with the two synth/vocalists on either side of the stage, Jim Finn and Dan McNamee, jumping around enthusiastically and belting out the lyrics from their upbeat dancy tunes. They followed it up with the delightfully wacky Bumblebee, featuring a pretty cool light display from a laser mounted on drummer Dan Williams' kit. The band delivered a big triple finish in the form of Parlez vous Francais?, Flippers and Hollywood from their self-titled debut EP, and although many might not particularly like Art vs Science's particular brand of electro, those that had turned up looked like they'd enjoyed the show.
Up next, regular Chemicals warmup man James Holroyd and BBC Radio's Zane Lowe took the reins for an hour of DJing, however we escaped the main arena and headed out for a few more quick bevvies, making our way back in just after 9, with the main event due to start around 9:10. And start it did! The lights flickered off gradually, and a column of lights began to descend from the ceiling to hover just above the massive wall of synthesizers that was the middle of the stage. And then that light began spinning around and a familiar "DON'T HOLD BACK!" kicked in over the PA. Yes, it was the track that's opened just about every single one of their live shows since it's been released, Galvanize, and with a banging rendition of that sure-fire crowd favourite, Rowlands and Simons were off! As they're well known for doing, once they started they didn't stop or even really slow down momentum at all - as one track ended, beats and samples for the next tune came in to keep the flow going. Visually, a Chems live show is quite the spectacle and tonight they were not letting anybody down, with the new light column, the odd laser and a seemingly endless wall of blinding strobes adding a nice new dimension to the familiar visuals such as the psychotic clowns mouthing the chorus to Get Yourself High, brilliant paintball bursts of colour accompanying Saturate, and of course, the dot-men having a bit of a boogie to Escape Velocity. For almost two hours, Rowlands and Simons moved around the stage, barely visible at the best of times due to their extravagant setup (do they just bring their entire studio with them?!), mixing up the beats and keeping the crowd moving effortlessly, never getting bored as Do it Again gave way to Horse Power, Saturate moved seamlessly into a rave-tastic Believe, and even some relatively rare tracks got an airing, such as Don't Think (an iTunes bonus track on Further) and an unheard new song which seems to be titled Super Flash! The crowd lapped it up non-stop for almost two hours, but with the double-win of Leave Home and Block Rockin' Beats, it was almost time for the night to draw to a close. After a quick disappearing act, the brothers headed back onstage for the obligatory encore, which was a quick burst of Snow, followed by Surface to Air, a surprise inclusion of Electronic Battle Weapon 6 (the "Hoops" remix), and finally, the song that should always close a Chemical Brothers live show, The Private Psychedelic Reel! Finishing it all off with dizzying blasts of synthesizer feedback, Ed and Tom eventually headed offstage for good, with the light column in the centre of the stage displaying the usual Chemical Brothers message in rotating light form - "LOVE IS ALL". And at the end of the night, there certainly was a lot of love in the room, because we all knew we'd just witnessed something amazing. The Chemical Brothers came to town again, and they delivered the goods as we knew they would. Who knows what they'll do next time? We can only hope we don't have long to wait to find out!
SETLIST:
(Tomorrow Never Knows intro)
Galvanize
Do it Again / Get Yourself High
Horse Power
Chemical Beats
Swoon
Star Guitar
(Three Little Birdies Down Beats segue)
Hey Boy Hey Girl
Don't Think
Out of Control
Setting Sun
It Doesn't Matter
Saturate
Believe
Escape Velocity (with The Golden Path snippet)
Super Flash / Acid Children
Leave Home
Block Rockin' Beats
----Encore----
Snow / Surface to Air
Electronic Battle Weapon 6
(Dissolve segue)
The Private Psychedelic Reel
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