Well, I got dragged along. It was like a poor man's Orbital and poor man's Holy Fuck. Some of it (third tune in anyone??) was great, but most of it was pretty uninspiring.
I think I disliked this gig more than I should as it was 400 degrees and I could see nothing but tall people's heads.
Anymore for anymore?
i hate you lots
you ungrateful bastard.
^this
Next time you get dragged you are going to see the knife let me have the ticket instead.
yes
you wnet, and didn;t enjoy it, when I COULD HAVE BEEN THERE.
wanker.
COME ON THEN, ALL OF YOU
Actually, yeah, sorry. I'd gladly have given my ticket away. I should have been in the Dublin Castle listen to my mate's band.
Aaaanyway, I don't want a barrage of abuse, I want a review of the night.
INNIT JOHN.
i really enjoyed it
but i allowed for backpacked dancing shenanigans and 400 degree heat before i entered the room.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/Knightmarevr.jpg
Look, I really enjoyed it, if only for the social aspect
kidding.
No, I actually thought it was very cool.... except for the knobs on e's with backpacks dancing in front of me on the tight as a kite dancefloor... and also, well, I felt The Forum was a wrong choice of venue... I think they should have played at somewhere a bit more.. well... ummm... different... wrong venue. It didn't transpire. And short set. Although it was mostly cool... but yeah, picked a few faults. But mostly cool.
Moker, stop being so CYNICAL!!!!!!!!!!
Also, re opening visuals - WOW FUCKING WOW
they were AMAZING.
I did feel that the latter half didn't quite live up, tho, visually.
Maybe I'm just fussy and old.
Great fun gig tho.
Yeah...
The opening visuals were astounding. For those who weren't there, they had 2 layers of video; a video wall at the back and a fine netting at the front that you could see through, with things projected onto it. Having a cage of geometric patterns projected onto the netting in front of the band, then displayed behind them looked astounding.
Musically it was excellent, too, not just a pretty light show. It wasn't until last night with all the visuals to go with the music that I realised just how weird and creepy they do actually sound.
I;m not, I just didn't like it
Or maybe didn't get it. Probably need to hear them recorded, but that was my first "The Knife" experience.
It's like when you watch rugby and wish you were watching football, all I kept on thinking was "I wish I was at an Orbital gig".
Aaanyway, I shouldn't really have been there. But I met nice_squirel Sophie and she was saying the Scala gig was better due to the more suitable size, and I think that's probably true.
So there, not cynical but fair and um... balanced.
Yeah, The Scala would have been a rocking gig
I think it was totally the wrong venue for them.
Anyhoo.. Take it all with a pinch of salt and tequila, Moker...
Just got in from chilling with Francois... nice night... really good time catching up with very good, old friends... It was a cool night. Being out with great people and great music - can't beat it.
On a side note, the skulls
at the side of the screen really reminded me of knightmare:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knightmare
Actually, the reminded me of my friend Susie's head
and which I told her.
Ha.
hahaha
Expect a detailed analysis in the morn
when it's not 4am and i'm not pissed.
I totally went to that.
I now feel smug.w
I enjoyed it
It was a bit short and all the songs seemed to build up to a nice break but then they just ended. If I'd been on E I'd have been pissed off, well, I wouldn't have, that's the whole point, but there wasn't much to dance to.
I think they're a band that are better when remixed.
.
if you wanna check out some more Swedish electro we have The Tough Alliance playing at Tack!Tack!Tack! tomorrow
www.myspace.com/tacktacktack
and
Lo-Fi-Fnk
..
..and
Differnet, The Embassy, Cat5, Le Sport, Unarmed Enemies, Mr. Pedro, Sophie Rihmden, Action Biker...
that'll do for now.. :)
I thought they were great.
I agree with the sentiment that the garage was the wrong venue for them though.
Too big, and you can't really see the stage that well, which is no good when most of the live performance is based around visuals. So yeah, it was never really going to beat the scala gig.
Still, I thought it was good.
I totally love the reworkings of all the old songs. Heartbeats sounded gorgeous.
Oh...
and I think the third song in was We Share Our Mothers Health.
I really enjoyed it.
Was the shortest set I have ever seen though.
Hearbeats was indeed gorgeous as were the visuals.
Gigs make me hate my shortness tho :(
I loved it
I was surronded by annoying talking girls at first but soon moved to the side and danced my arse off. Great gig.
Also...
Does anyone know (and remember) what song was played directly before they came on. I'd heard it but couldn't place it, and niether could either of the people I was with.
it was really good
but not as good as I expected. I totally agree that the Forum was totally the wrong venue and I couldn't see anything either. Also I really really really didn't like the reworking of Pass This On. I don't think the fact I was *accidentally* drunk helped very much either.
The Forum
Probably was the wrong venue but I still really enjoyed it. Seeing as I expected it to be short I wasn't upset when it was and seeing as I expected Hearbeats to be slow I wasn't upset when it was, and anyway it still sounded great. There was an annoying man behind me though with a rucksack who wasn't even facing the stage (seeing as half of it was visuals I didn't really get this) and keep bumping into me so I gave him the old back and shove. Nice.
hmm
i think i saw him, was he near the sound desk at any point?
Yeah
I think so, it was relatively near the back so probably.
high five
what are the chances?
how long did they
play for then?
Ummm
The set was probably no more than an hour. Unless I got it completely wrong.
hmm
Did they play any off the self-titled album?
I'm sad I didn't go to the Scala gig, sounded like this may have disappointed me...
.
*sounds
They played Kino
but in the style of the new album. It's completely amazing.
My first Knife live experience
I really enjoyed it. They weren't quite as awe-inspiring as I'd built them up to be, but it was still a pretty excellent gig
Wasn't disappointed by the short set, as I was expecting that from the stuff I've heard/read
Also, I met some nice people. So that was good
I thought that they were brilliant.
The songs do not explode into 4/4 dancefloor classsssix every time, they play a short set: yeah yeah so wot. They are subtle and their music floats and simmers and contains subtlety and intelligence. There are plenty of bands that cater to the dancefloor, but none of them are as magical as The Knife.
The venue wasn't as good for the as the Scala, but the show was every bit as good from their side.
I was unimpressed
For me the songs started well but never really evolved into anything more than mere backing for the visuals. Heartbeats lacked any sort of driving excitement that I get from the recording. Most of the songs slipped into background plodding or textural nothingness. Possibly I was expecting the wrong thing but I would have liked something which fuelled some sort of dancing spirit in me…?
Set length
Any band who require such little physical input into their set really ought to provide more that an hour of music..
.
huh if you think last night set was short you shouldn't been at the ICA gig last year.. that was less than 15 minutes !!!!
http://www.itsatrap.com/index.php?article=66
I'm with
Toby Price & Moker I'm afraid. Could've just been the venue I guess - but then you'd think their PR manager or whoever books the tours would know their capabilities enough to be able guage which venues wouldn't show them at their very best?!
Plus, it was *obscenely* hot. Twas nice to meet a few DiS'ers though :)
yeah but that wasnt a gig
it was a showcase, and was advertised as such. thats why their show at the Scala in April was advertised as their first UK gig.. cos the other one really wasn't.
Toby, I just don't think you get it.
As I said, they are subtle and not catering to a Saturday night crowd in a typical way. If you wanted something that traditionally goes from quiet to loud, and has clearly delineated sections where big beats come in and make people dance, then you were at the wrong gig.
go see the chemical brothers or something.
Also, bands can play for a little or as long as they want.
STOP MOANING ABOUT IT.
I hate this whole "get" thing
There is nothing about mucis to "GET" - it's not a science and there is no magic understanding that people are missing.
Either you enjoy it or you don't - there is nothing to get!!
People, please stop saying "maybe I don't get it" - there is nothing to "get".
Sorry, this is just one of my pet hates and I find it really patronising when people say "you just don;t get it" as if they have a higher appreciation of music. This is nonsense.
i dont think its to do with a snobbery as such...
in my own experience (and speaking for no one else) certain bands I have listened to and...somehow not been able to enjoy the music as fully as i'd like to.
especially if they are challenging. for example, The Birthday Party are quite 'difficult to get', at first, i think, anyway. but the tracks make a lot more sense to me after having got used to the anarchic sound and repetition.
its the same with everything, plays, music, painting...
having said that, of course 'not liking something' is just as valid a reason to give for not liking something.
look at me, sitting on this big old fence!
Yeah
I can see what you're saying, but I just don't agree with teh concept that there is something to "get" about music.
I can totally see that it might take a while to 'warm' to certain music, or it might take a while for you to like it... but I don't think it has anything to do with understanding or "getting" it. I feel the same about all arts forms. It's not algebra and there isn't something that you can suddenly undetsrand by reading a text book. It's so subjective that I just don't believe that there are any absolutes.
I dunno, maybe I'm being too much of an English Language pedant and think the use of the word "get" isn;t the right choice, maybe it should be "appreciate". I feel the same about people using the word "gay" in a derogatory/pejorative sense - it really annoys me!
It's not snobbery.
I just hate the complains of the type: "this band was not like other things that I like, and was not what I was expecting, and therefore I do not like it".
It's narrow and kind of stupid to make complaints like that.
(Oooh, controversial).
I have been the same - I didn't 'get' sonic youth or my bloody valentine for ages, or joanna newsom or antony & the johnsons for that matter. But I knew their music contained quality, and got into it sooner or later, and love them now.
They Knife have never been about making traditional buildups/blowouts 4/4 dance music floor fillaz, or about doing traditional live performances in any sense. This is part of the reason that they are so good.
I have absolutely
no issue with what you describe here dude. In fact, I totally agree with you.
I just have an issue with the use of the word "get" or with the idea that there is some kind of higher 'understanding' to music. I believe this is not the case.
So ultimately, I think I'm being a language pedant more than anything else! heheh
It's a fair point.
I'm always discomfited when someone suggests I don't 'get' something. So I can see why it might sound a bit superior or annoying. But where some people perceive long periods of nothing happening in The Knife, nothing they can dance to, just a load of swirly noises, I find that they are doing exactly what makes them so good, drawing out these lonely chords and letting them ring in the air before moving into something else.
Yeah. They're well good.
i'm split between which gig of theirs was best
in terms of Forum/Scala.
this weekend was totally awesome. yes, they only played for 45 mins, but they only played for about 30 at the Scala and no encore - now THAT is short-changing. 45 minutes compared to that felt like a marathon.
i was a bit disappointed that stupid big-haired indie kids insisted on taking up every inch of space in front of them so there was little proper dancing where i was, but the visuals were great even though the sound where i was (dead centre, about 7 rows back) was fucking shocking. plus at the slow, quiet songs, everyone seemed to just chat to each other, but that happened at the Scala too: a bunch of people just there to be seen there rather than to actually give the band the respect they deserve.
We Share Our Mother's Health, Like A Pen and Marble House were awesome (although You Make Me Like Charity was jaw-droppingly bad), but i get the feeling The Knife will always be a band you cant watch in huge numbers.
.
christ if you guys are complaining about the knife playing for under half an hour you would have had a heart attack watching The Tough Alliance tonight..
amazing
The knife we're incredible
people get irritated cause they dont play a full on dance/electro set so they can rave but nor do they play a chilled out left field set so you can sit and nod your head and nor do they play an indie set for indie bods to tap/shuffle their converse to
they view they're music as any individual band would - each track different and unique in its own way - ok some maybe mor eup tempo but they're just not so genre specific as we are - they dont do the whole pigeon hole thing
the visuals were spine tinglingly amazing - the only thing I would say is that you couldnt see their masks but it was great - the set list was as follows:
PASS THIS ON
THE CAPTAIN
WE SHARE OUR MOTHERS HEALTH
You Make Me Feel Like Charity
MARBLE HOUSE
FOREST FAMILIES
KINO
HEARTBEATS
SILENT SHOUT
FROM OFF TO ON
Encore - Like A pen
the only reason people were miffed it was so short is cause they're so good and they always leave you wanting more
I had an ace time and so did everyone around me
and yes - i AM A knife geek