8) Just got back from the show. I have to say, it's been a rough week, I wasn't even for sure I was going to make it, *but* I really needed the night out.



So I went to my friend's wedding and skipped out around 8:20 or so, and yes, I changed in the car on the way up to Los Angeles. Made good time - it only took about a half hour to get there, then we (husband and I) had to pay $15 for parking which was all the way in friggen Egypt. But that's OK.



The venue is huge, and it looks like a giant green flying saucer from the outside. Perfect. Once inside, we saw that the upper level was devoted mainly to hip-hop acts, and the bottom level was devoted to the dance acts.



Once there we met up with this board's own paulieslim along with 3 other massive Chem heads I knew from the old vmg list. The Chems weren't going on for another hour or so, we just kind of wandered, used the toilets, got water/beer - then skipped into the massive dance area where there were green lasers supporting Bad Boy Bill amidst a backdrop of crazy images on a big screen. There was a go-go dancer and all I thought was, I hope she isn't gonna be dancing up there on stage in front of God and everyone like she was for Bad Boy Bill. We all inched our way toward the front, and when Bad Boy Bill's set ended a few of his fans at the very front (a little to the Chem's left) and kindly made way for us, giving us a w00t. Wow, up front, it was like being a teenager all over again. So far the vibe was pretty good, won't you say?



Ed, wearing that black shirt with the blue squares (someone here mentioned that they thought it was cool) pretty much swiped Bad Boy Bill off the stage, and Tom emerged, just hanging out while the set ended so they could take over at 10:15. And of course he was wearing his little back hat and that French shirt with the tank on it. ;)



Now, I am the world's shittiest fucking trainspotter, so don't go looking for a set list. heheh. Maybe someone else can clue me in. But there was plenty-o sweet sweet acid house with booming bass. Went perfect with those lasers. Anyway, their set definitely had peaks and valleys (good) - and their set went really well with the vibe of the crowd, dare I say, controlled it. And to all you Golden Path haters, I was there in the front, along with my husband, singing every word (it was the vocal remix with the soaring pronounced "you are forgiven " which seemed to elate the crowd and reach for those lasers.) They also played Under the Influence (Mix 2) which was really cool, because I like that song so hearing it loud and busting really made it feel "live." Then during the show Tom did one of those segues, kind of like at the end of the BBC session, and since I heard that squelchy, delicious segue, I thought for sure they were gonna end it with Tommow Never Knows - but they didn't. They just kept trooping onward, relentlessly. I was sweating and dancing so hard, I know I'm going to feel it in my ol' aching bones tomorrow. Or today... what day is it now??



I have a feeling we might have heard Here Comes the Drums (that was paulie's call, and if y'all were there you might've reckoned the same thing!) There were actually the "It Began In Afrika ka ka ka ka ka's" then a tumultous orgy of massive drums beats. Didn't really sound like IBIA, but it had that feel. Very earthy, but much more pronounced drumming imo.



Tom was at the decks more than Ed, who seemed to be in charge of crowd control, and every once in a while they'd hug and get these big smiles on their faces. Ed was a little frightened of my friend though, who was standing next to me. She was wearing a top that said "Hey Boys, Hey Girls" and she was at a prime spot to have her picture taken with Ed when he meandered his way to our area in front of the stage. But he backed away - almost looking mortified :-? :(



Oh ohoh!... almost forgot - they played Get Yourself High which sounded wicked at ear shattering decibles. Especially during the naughty part where Koas says "woo!" and there's that deep synth sound that sounds like synthesizers are having sex. Anyway. And another crowd pleaser was Star Guitar, which is just wicked anyway.



Jeez, there was so much more but I am awful tired and not completely coherant as a good girl ought to be. ;)



So I must have folded space, because I looked at my watch and it was around 12:10. We almost squeezed a full 2 hour set by them, which was longer than the powers that be said they were going to play. I couldn't believe I was dancing nonstop for almost 2 hours - it felt like heaven, like a wonderful release. And it was so great being up at the front with my friends and husband!



The show ended with Hey Boy Hey Girl, and Ed walked over to our side of the stage, and put out his hands for a handshake. Needless to say, that was brilliant, a damn shame I had to eventually wash my hand. ;) I can't even remember what I said, I think it was "thank you!" but nobody could've heard me anyway.



So that was that! A fun night had by all in my Chemical Brother (and Sister) hood. Except the girl in the "hey boys hey girls" t-shirt felt a bit sad and Ed's rebuff. And for the record, I was the black haired dork in the black choker w/the denim hacket singing along - to my left was my Coachella goer friend Ana with the short red hair (we *finally* got to experience a Chems show... together! long story) and my husband was the guy with the glasses standing pretty much by my side the whole time. And paulie was right behind us, in all his 6 foot 5" glory, busting a move and bouncing up and down like a pogo stick the whole time.



So thanks if you two are reading for a great time this evening. And thanks for making me feel young again. ;)

Cool, sounds like a good time was had by all :)

whirlygirl Escribi�:

I have a feeling we might have heard Here Comes the Drums (that was paulie's call, and if y'all were there you might've reckoned the same thing!) There were actually the "It Began In Afrika ka ka ka ka ka's" then a tumultous orgy of massive drums beats. Didn't really sound like IBIA, but it had that feel. Very earthy, but much more pronounced drumming imo.

i'm pretty sure it wasn't 'here comes the drums', you herad. from your decription it is the demo version 'it began in afrika' that i was going on about when we were suggesting tracks for the bonus disc. they have been playing this version in there dj sets for the last 3 years. this track is a cut-up of a load for tribal beats taken from a few records. one of the reasons they could not put it on the bonus disc is that it's just a lot of other peoples music grafted together. i really love this version, the rhythms just seem to go on for ever and the occasional chant of 'it began in afrika'. the thing about there dj sets i love is all these special one off bootlegs/cut-up records that you will only here in a chems set, pure magic.



glad you guys had fun, there's nothing better than being entertained by tom and ed!!!

Oh you make it sound super cool. and it is super cool. enjoyed your review whirly...like always ;-)

sneakerbeater Escribi�:

whirlygirl Escribi�:

I have a feeling we might have heard Here Comes the Drums (that was paulie's call, and if y'all were there you might've reckoned the same thing!) There were actually the "It Began In Afrika ka ka ka ka ka's" then a tumultous orgy of massive drums beats. Didn't really sound like IBIA, but it had that feel. Very earthy, but much more pronounced drumming imo.

i'm pretty sure it wasn't 'here comes the drums', you herad. from your decription it is the demo version 'it began in afrika' that i was going on about when we were suggesting tracks for the bonus disc. they have been playing this version in there dj sets for the last 3 years. this track is a cut-up of a load for tribal beats taken from a few records. one of the reasons they could not put it on the bonus disc is that it's just a lot of other peoples music grafted together. i really love this version, the rhythms just seem to go on for ever and the occasional chant of 'it began in afrika'. the thing about there dj sets i love is all these special one off bootlegs/cut-up records that you will only here in a chems set, pure magic.



glad you guys had fun, there's nothing better than being entertained by tom and ed!!!

Ah, sneakerbeater, quite the trainspotter. ;) Your description of what I heard fits to a 't'. I was really digging that song - the only other time I heard IBIA dj'd was when they previewed it at Coachella 2001 and they played the longer singles version of it. But me likes the cut up they had going off last night!

I had a lot of fun. I enjoyed getting to hang out with Mia + Jim..



(seeing Mia summed up so well)



a few quick thoughts:



Tom had a CDJ 1000 that he kept playing loops and various samples off of. Along with some tracks I assumed were new Chemical Brothers tunes..



Tom and Ed need more shirts! these guys get paid in the 6 figure range for gigs and have like 5 shirts between the two of them..



Ed dances like a middle aged man at a wedding reception.

Ed kept leaving the decks/stage (which isnt a good thing if you want to crowd to stay into your set)

Ed seemed to want to kick Bad Boy Bill's ass (so did I, that guys set sucked)

Ed would mix one record in and Tom would take over for the next 5.

Tom strikes the Jesus post a bit too much ;-)

sneakerbeater Escribi�:

i'm pretty sure it wasn't 'here comes the drums', you herad. from your decription it is the demo version 'it began in afrika' that i was going on about when we were suggesting tracks for the bonus disc. they have been playing this version in there dj sets for the last 3 years. this track is a cut-up of a load for tribal beats taken from a few records. one of the reasons they could not put it on the bonus disc is that it's just a lot of other peoples music grafted together. i really love this version, the rhythms just seem to go on for ever and the occasional chant of 'it began in afrika'. the thing about there dj sets i love is all these special one off bootlegs/cut-up records that you will only here in a chems set, pure magic.



glad you guys had fun, there's nothing better than being entertained by tom and ed!!!

Is that version of Afrika the one with that screeching noise or is that another song?

Biff Escribi�:

Is that version of Afrika the one with that screeching noise or is that another song?

no screeching in this version!

paulieslim Escribi�:

a few quick thoughts:



Tom had a CDJ 1000 that he kept playing loops and various samples off of. Along with some tracks I assumed were new Chemical Brothers tunes..

nice to know that the chems are playing on these little babies!!



this weekend i recorded my own chemical brothers dj mix. using my cdj 1000 and cdj 800, i also used my mates filter-tastic allen and heath zone 32 mixer. very happy with the result!! i'll be posting up this mix soon, just need to sort out some new web space to host the real audio file!!

paulieslim Escribi�:

I had a lot of fun. I enjoyed getting to hang out with Mia + Jim..



(seeing Mia summed up so well)



a few quick thoughts:



Tom had a CDJ 1000 that he kept playing loops and various samples off of. Along with some tracks I assumed were new Chemical Brothers tunes..



Tom and Ed need more shirts! these guys get paid in the 6 figure range for gigs and have like 5 shirts between the two of them..



Ed dances like a middle aged man at a wedding reception.

Ed kept leaving the decks/stage (which isnt a good thing if you want to crowd to stay into your set)

Ed seemed to want to kick Bad Boy Bill's ass (so did I, that guys set sucked)

Ed would mix one record in and Tom would take over for the next 5.

Tom strikes the Jesus post a bit too much ;-)

We need to stop meeting only at Chemical gigs! Seeing you and everyone felt like a reunion, it really made the night what it was. :)



About Tom's shirt, hmmm... my husband reckons maybe he has more than one.



lol about Ed dancing like a middle aged man at a wedding reception! I noticed he didn't smoke (or maybe he did and I was in lala land and somehow missed it) and he did wander around quite a bit, sort of nonchalant yet controlled fidgety at the same time... sure signs of one who is jonsing for nicotine!!! And he was right to get Bad Boy Bill off the decks which was the que for the bored looking go-go dancer to follow suit! About Tom striking the Jesus pose - I saw him pull some fun, animated arm maneuvers and aerobic body bends (especially during Under the Influence) that would indicate he's more a sort of Party Apostle rather than snooty dj messiah... Remember, the "Jesus Pose" is trademarked by Paul Oakenfold. ;)

Maybe Ed didn't smoke because californians are anal about smoking inside. Also I'm sure Tom has at least one closet full of those shirts