Tickets booked for Manchester Lowry. Can't wait.

Plus Orbital have been anounced as headliners for Secret Garden Party.

Today is a good day

igorchete, on 31 January 2012 - 11:07 PM, said:

inchemwetrust, on 31 January 2012 - 11:26 PM, said:

Mumbo, on 01 February 2012 - 1:52 AM, said:

Stefan, on 01 February 2012 - 5:48 AM, said:

Aaaaaaah!!!! Major Head Explody!!!

Best Wednesday ever!

Csar, on 01 February 2012 - 6:35 AM, said:

That's a great picture!

Csar, on 01 February 2012 - 6:41 AM, said:

It is a continuous film that runs time like a concert. That said, there is a part during the show's interlude (where the sequences or whathaveyou on stage run for a couple of minutes... I guess that would be considered a sort of break for Tom and Ed) and that's where the film wanders off and follows the cute Japanese girl outside of the concert crowd. It's a great scene!

Yeaaah ! a new batch of Don't Think projection in France. All of them on February 22, in Mega CGR cinemas, in roughly 30 cities, with two projections at 6:00PM and 10:15PM. There are 3 around Paris, but in the far suburbs. I'll still go to at least one projection, I think...

Today's the day! Today's the DAY!!!!! 2 more classes, 1 assignment, pick up one of my best mates, and then it's off to the theate. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time considering I haven't seen Tom and Ed play 'Live' in 7 years now. Wondering if:

A. If anyone will actually be there.
B. If I lose my shit in euphoria (hopefully)
C. Will other people lose their shit in euphoria

Also excited by the DVD/CD details; even if just for Japan. It will be interesting to see if T and E have new tracks ready for BBF in June. Loved the videos from back in 2010.

Here is my emotion in a song, though not chemical brothers.

Imported Edition only
<Blu-Ray+CD> Release 3 / 26
Photo available in the future, Limited Edition will be released deluxe 10-inch size 4 / 4


OMG !!!!!!! That means it will be on HD and the best of all.... LOSSLESS AUDIO, I can only imagine a DTS-HD MA 7.1 or Dolby TrueHD 7.1 =O!

SUPERFLASH!!!!!!!!!!

I just got back from the theater. Awesome.

Tom and Ed (and Adam)..thank you for finally getting the show captured. It is likely I will never have the opportunity to experience you live, so this 7.1 / big screen event is the closest I'll ever get.

And I loved it.

:)

More later.

Superflash was <3

I hate focusing on negatives but the theatre I went to didnt have the sound up proper and they had the lights slightly dimmed as opposed to completely off. It was a blast anyway. They played an interview with adam smith pre-show and with a countdown timer - then post show it appears they displayed the same interview....Theatre seated about 200 ppl...I'd say it was about 10% occupied (sadface). Had people going up to the bathroom multiple times and also some stupid theatre person checking something in the far corner of the theatre every 30 minutes or so. I was hoping it was a turn the lights off or adjust volume thing but no...just a distraction.

So I'm just back from the show, and I'm pleased to say it was great! Here's a brief summary of how the night went:
My little sister came with me for the experience, and managed to make it the whole way through! (If you're wondering what she though of it, in her words: "my expectations weren't very high but the music was actually pretty good". So basically the Pitchfork equivalent of a rave review!)
We were running a little late for the show but I was still leisurely strolling in, hoping that they might have some sort of advertising nonsense before the start like a regular movie. I walk up to the theater door, hear the familiar opening strains of Another World and bolt ahead of my sister to make it in time for the drop! I manage it, and the "Don't Think" experience begins.
My sister's caught up by this point, and the first thing that strikes me is how incredibly energetic this song is as an opener! I'm glad they were able to capture this incredible live version in the film. I've got a huge grin on my face reminiscing upon the not-too-distant past when it was just a "Warm Vibe" from a bassed-out video of a DJ set (remember how we thought it might be an MGMT collab?). Warm vibes indeed. But soon the arpeggio goes solo and starts rising dramatically as some familiar vocals kick in, and an excellent segue is made into Do It Again.
I didn't really understand why they brought this one back for the revamped 2011 tour, but I have to say it was a real stunner live. Very effective between the airy Another World and the more aggressive Horse Power.
Speaking of which, the "Get Yourself High" vocals give way to horse whinnies and we're treated to the first real banger of the night! And what a banger it is. One thing I liked about the movie is that it gave an excellent sense of the way the set flows - I never really thought of Horse Power as a long track, but for some reason those 5 and a half minutes seemed to stretch out to an intense eternity here. Guess it's just a part of the concert experience!
After that intense eternity is over, the Chemical Beats synth line starts up. The transition between Horse Power and Chemical Beats was one of my favorites from the 2011 tour, and like many of the segues it seems like they made it even better for this show. At this point I whisper to my sister, "they're about to play an old one!". Setting a precedent for the night, she rolls her eyes. But it doesn't especially matter - we roll into some "fucking excellent acid house" and I'm overwhelmed by the fact that they made something as huge as this in their bedroom!
Just when it felt like things might be getting too intense the Bros. scale it back to the Jimmy McGriff drum loop, and the Swoon synth starts up. Again I'm given renewed faith in a track I didn't think was very exceptional live; this track is absolutely euphoric! (Though I still prefer the way it sounded in that first DJ set video where it was slightly sped up.) From reading the reviews I knew to anticipate the two lovers swimming over the crowd, and I was not disappointed! One of my favorite visual moments of the film. Speaking of visuals, I have a new appreciation for the background lighting, which is often as inspired as the visuals themselves! Take for instance the fact that the spotlights during Swoon only light up when the image of one of the lovers in in front of them - I thought that was a nice touch.
I'm surprised by how photorealistic the butterflies look during the Swoon Arpeggios, but soon I have something else on my mind: the "Flight To Venus" sample kicks in and we're thrown headfirst into Star Guitar! This one was really great - I mean, what can you say is bad about Star Guitar? Though it did make me wish there were a few more Come With Us tracks in the setlist... can't have a four-hour concert film though, now can we?
After Star Guitar comes the excellent Three Little Birdies Down Beats transition, changed up a bit for the show with an extended drum outro. The segue into HBHG here is great - they go almost immediately from pressing the "HBHG" button to the drums cutting out, leaving only that incredible fly-buzz synth and the cheers of a massive crowd of Japanese fans! When Hey Boy, Hey Girl drops properly, forget about it. I can see why the Arclight audience got up and started dancing around this time - hell, I was tempted myself. Easily the "danciest" moment of the show.
Though, after the Galactic Phase Shift Interlude, it faces a real contender in the film's "title track", Don't Think. Again I'm just filled with happiness remembering when it was "After Sunglasses" and I had made it my mission in life to constantly talk about it in anticipation of the day when it joined the ranks of the really "special" Chems tracks. There were some mishaps along the way (a bonus track? Really?) but I guess in the end it finally made it, what with the Black Swan appearance, the surprise addition to the setlist, and now a concert film named after it! You've come so far, Sunglasses... *sniffle*
One slightly out-of-time drum fill later, we've moved on to Out Of Control! The dancing figures (made up of footage of bubbles, I now notice) are entertaining as always. Fun to see Tom mouthing along to the dubbed-out vocals too. I still feel like they could cut the segment with the Noel Gallagher vocals and spend some more time on Setting Sun proper, but nonetheless it's great while it's around. I enjoyed the "bleep jam" and the montage of the visual characters wandering around Fuji Rock that accompanied it ("Tigaah! Mraaowr!"), and for the first time I felt like the transition into Saturate actually worked well.
Although I like Saturate I wasn't expecting it to be much of a highlight for the film, but was I ever wrong! For such a slow track it worked really well in the festival atmosphere, and accompanied by the colored balloons the crowd was bouncing around it felt like everyone was just basking in its glory. Spectacular.
Of course we know where this is going, though, and the tranquility is shattered by a drum fill and Kele's vocals as Believe starts up. What can I say? Believe works wonders live and they did an excellent job of capturing it. The editing here got lightning-quick and I felt as if I was soaring, not only through the church blueprint, but the audience. The siren breakdown actually gave me goosebumps, and they proved to be merited when the track dropped again! The blueprints suddenly turned into real footage, "it's the lifestyle we're living" could be heard in the background, and then BAM - teapot explosion. So great.
I guess we know now why they added those new arpeggios to the Escape Velocity intro! I loved the accompaniment with the girl roaming through the forest and being spooked by the clown characters; my favorite of the interlude sequences. I turn to my sister again at this point: "they're about to play that one from the record that took forever to get here! You know, because of the volcano eruption?" More eye-rolling. Again, though, it doesn't matter, as EV starts up and just doesn't stop! They did a great job again weaving the visuals together with the audience, and you got a real sense of the euphoria this track creates live. I see a tunnel of light, and, remembering Whitenoise's summary, am suddenly inspired. "I'll be right back" I tell my somewhat startled sister, and I rush down to the front row. I sit there humming along to the synth solo, bathed in blue light as a fuzzed-out cross dances around the screen. I remain there for the drop and the next breakdown, eagerly anticipating my EV moment - the robotic Golden Path vocals start up and I begin mouthing along religiously, seeing that, again, Tom's doing the same. Then - "help me lord! I've found myself in some kind of Hell!". And all hell breaks loose in the audience as I rush back to my seat, waiting for what I know is coming next...
More whispering, "this one hasn't come out yet!". I think by this time she's tired of rolling her eyes and simply lets out a weary sigh. The rumbling bassline of Superflash starts up and I'm overwhelmed by the feeling that I need this track immediately. I don't care if it's on a wax cylinder, Bros.! Just get this absolute stunner out into the world somehow! The cuts between the audience and the flashbulbs were great; I feel like it really spoke for the emphasis that the movie placed on the people in the crowd.
As Superflash dies down the Cherub Clown Harmonies begin, and some baffled expressions arise both in the crowd and in some of the audience members in the theater. These turn to absolute shock when the Acid Children vocals cut through, resulting in a rather emotionally powerful moment (my mostly-lukewarm sister later quoted the line to me). Some neat visual trickery followed - I think it might've been confetti falling? Regardless I hope it shows up in the live visuals at some point in the future, it looked great.
The opening vocoders of Leave Home break the timestretched gauze left in Acid Children's wake, as do, rather suddenly, the Galvanize vocals. Wasn't totally sold on this mashup when they first started playing it (one of the less interesting ones from DJ Hero, in my opinion), but it was great here. The flock of birds surrounding the audience might've helped, though. That looked great.
We go from "don't hold back" to "back with another one of those Block Rockin' Beats" and I realize how far we've come. I savor every last moment of their closing number, and when it gives way to an incredible Kitten solo, I am content. The audience applauds as I hum along to the stripped-down version of Das Spiegel that plays over the end credits.
As for the experience, I'll return for a moment to this conversation:

WhiteNoise, on 29 January 2012 - 3:59 PM, said:

There was more of a turnout than I expected, and a few people showed up even later than us. There was some guy in a green beanie who appeared to be live-blogging the film (hipster), along with his dad who spent the entire time texting. A young couple was there (making new memories of fuckin' excellent acid house), as was a middle-aged one (sharing memories of fuckin' excellent acid house gone by). Not too shabby for some random movie theater on a Wednesday night, although I must admit there was no need for glowsticks (I thought that the man entering the theater midway through carrying a glowing green light alongside him might be a hardcore fan who ran out to get the proper equipment, but it turned out to be an usher with a strangely-colored flashlight). During the credits I noticed that Ali Love was credited as appearing in the visuals, which I thought was pretty neat - at what point during the Do It Again sessions might they have done that? And the interview with Adam after the credits (set to a rather sluggish version of Chemical Beats) was rather interesting, although it dragged on a bit.

So do I like the movie? Short answer: yes. Long answer: YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS

Loving the responses so far. Champi, I was really looking forward to reading about your experience! The love you have had for the song Don't Think from the very beginning is unwavering! I am really happy you got to see this movie and its cool you took the time to share so much (and so quickly after the show, did you rush right to your computer upon coming home from the movies? )

Reading Whitenoise's and Champi's reviews and thinking back on my own experiences got me thinking. What is interesting is how the perception changes when something is experienced 'live' as opposed to bootlegs and YouTube clips. There is nothing wrong with those other mediums at all, they are fun - but in some ways they are more flickers of moments caught in time and not always to scale, and do not always paint a whole picture. I think that is what Adam Smith touched on in the pre-movie interview when he mentioned Ed being against the idea of putting their live show on film. Anyhow... seeing a live show or in this case seeing the movie explains in full scale of sound and vision, what works in their set and why. It's kind of hard to get something like that across, unless it's a first hand experience. And that is why this movie is as good as it gets to actually being there. And everything about this movie was done the right way - the way it was filmed, the crowd, the festival grounds, Tom and Ed up there on stage, the eye melting visuals. It's just awesome that their show and the experience is now becoming accessible to people who couldn't make it to a gig.

I saw this tonight with a small posse that included one of my oldest friends and her husband. We used to go clubbing, back when clubbing was how we spent our weekends. There was a bit of nostalgia talk after the movie (and beforehand). It was fun to show them what I've been blabbing about every time I come back from a concert and try to explain what I just witnessed, haha

Anyway. We were the first ones in the theater tonight. It was a rather modest crowd although it was midweek. Mixed ages. Before the adam Smith interview and the movie, there was a Chemical Brothers Q & A (trivia questions on screen like, 'Where did the Chemical Brothers go to school?' and 'Who was the actress in Out Of Control?' and 'What video did the Chemical Brothers appear in that wasn't a cameo'...) I thought that was kind of fun.

Not a bad Wednesday night at all. It wasn't as rambunctious as the advance screening - so no screen rushing and dancing and film stopping drama thankfully - but it was still as nice seeing it close to home. It was nice to take it all in a second time and catch some things that slipped me by the first time. And the volume was super loud tonight!! Much louder than it was at the Arclight.

Keep the thoughts coming, everyone!

I got back not too long ago. I have been up since 6:30 and spend the whole day walking to errands (7 miles total) while kinda sick, so not a fun combo. But I did sound like Jeff Bridges from the sore throat so that was fun.
 We (Me and soon-to-be Ms. Biff) got to the theatre and the show was amazing! I love how well they did it, really cool to have the film about the audience as well as the brothers. It was a really good experience. The theatre wasn't too crowded (not a real major electronic music scene in San Jose as the surroundings consist of the headquarters for Apple, Netflix, etc and no clubs). I really enjoyed the camerawork and getting to see a set w/Another World as the opener, I was very excited for that. Believe was awesome too, I felt like the chairs should've been moving to the cathedral visuals ala Star Tours. I also thought the little sub-plots were a good idea, especially since the portions they placed them in we're good since they were during some of the long builds. The high button was epic and I spotted a new synth (Future Retro XS)!
That's all I have the energy for right now, I had a 40 minute drive through winding mountains to get home. Between that and the concert I wasn't able to hold down my thera-flu. Poor Biff. In all seriousness, I had a fun time despite the odds and would do it again (no pun intended). I'm definitely glad a DVD is in the works as I have a projector, studio-grade monitors, and am moving soon to a place isolated so no noise complains!

*hbhg not high button, damn autocorrect

"And the volume was super loud tonight!! Much louder than it was at the Arclight."

Daaaamit!!!

haven't caught up with ^^^ yet but I just watched Don't Think a few hours ago and it was just!!....I can't describe the feeling. I'm speechless...

All I can say is that it was even better the 2nd time around. There is a new bar that all concert films must now live up to and The Chemical Brothers have set it. Plus, they had the volume CRANKED last night too.

My favorite shot in the film is towards the end of Saturate when the camera slowly zooms out from the stage to reveal just how massive the whole entire spectacle really is. And just when you think the camera is going to cut to a different shot, it keeps zooming out even further and makes you forget to breathe. Brilliant direction. Brilliant editing. Brilliant Chemical Brothers.

satur8, on 02 February 2012 - 5:23 AM, said:

Adam IS George
Flat Nose George = Adam Smith

I stopped at two delicious beverages and enjoyed every minute of the screening. I brought 5 people and they all left in awe. We all stopped for a second and said, "Is anyone else asking themselves what the fuck they're doing with their lives?"

None of us want to be performing music on stage, so it's a sign that the Chemical Brothers show you what happiness feels like, and you want to go after it again.

The moment between the guy and the girl where it sounded like he said "This is for you" when Swoon started, had me choked up. It's the way they connect with us in a level that no other artist can, that makes these guys two of the greatest minds in the entire recorded history of music.

Trust that I will have a very long review written within the next couple days.

"Where Do I Begin" #NowPlaying

By the way, no trash can fights this time.