I always feel so good after I see the Chemical Brothers! Since I am sitting here basking in what has previously been coined on the forum as “The Chemical Afterglow” I thought I would seize the moment in as many descriptive words I can, as the memories and rushy feelings of joy are still fresh.
After what seemed like an eternity of a Sunday morn, we packed up the car and headed on up to L.A. The Hollywood Bowl was right at the freeway exit, so greeting us at the off ramp was the giant marquee out front with the Chemical Brothers written on it. Down the street about 2 blocks was our hotel. We met up with Jim’s sister and her husband at our room and hung out for a bit, and the moment of mass exodus finally arrived. We stepped out of our hotel and in line with the streams of people heading up to the venue. Some carrying coolers and picnic baskets, others with backpacks, and people carrying grocery bags filled with food and booze. There were young folks who looked like they were ready to rave, and older folks who I hoped had some dance moves left in them. The sky was still bright but hinted at that inevitable moment when the sun begins its descent as we trekked onward past the traffic cops directing cars that were crawling into the parking lots.
Before last night, seeing a performance of any kind (whether it be a symphony or rock or electric act) at the Hollywood Bowl eluded me despite having lived in Southern California most of my life. Yes, there are curfews. And there are noise ordinances that need to be enforced. I expected these things. But this venue is a huge deal! Hollywood has a relatively short history in the grand scheme of things - it’s not exactly a bastion of rich and enlightening centuries-long culture, but still. The Bowl has been and always will be a symbolic venue that encompasses the golden age and inspiriational spirit of Hollywood. Curiously I find it a bit ironic that John Williams performed on Saturday with his orchestra playing movie scores (Star Wars anyone) and the Emmy awards went on the night the Chems played… Anyway I can’t imagine the lengths the Chems people went to in order to book them there. I’ve always wanted to go to the Bowl, and seeing the Chemical Brothers arrive at an exciting time in their career that allowed them to play such a legendary venue presented the perfect opportunity.
That said, I was curious what the crowd were going to be like when we were inside. A lot of people that go to the Bowl are season passholders. The Hollywood Bowl was originally built to showcase symphonies. For a season passholder, bringing a cooler with a bottle of wine and a block of fine cheese and a baguette to the Bowl is what they do on a lovely weekend.
Once inside the gates, we proceeded to purchase merchandise: I got the Swoon baby doll shirt, and Jim and Connor got the Horsepower, electric blue swirl, and the Chemical Brothers font tee (on front) that had Remember To Fall In Love, Hollywood Bowl 29th August 2010 on the back. Connor needed some back to school clothes anyway so now we’ve got the shirts covered.
We bumped into inchemwetrust and had a nice chat for a bit, then we all proceeded into the seating area together and were consumed by the largeness of the venue. What was odd (though expected, considering the venue) were the people in the box seats eating their 4 course meals, the aroma of food hanging in air as we strolled to our section before getting situated. We were in section E, up the 3rd row (toward inner isle) to the left side facing the stage.
The night hadn’t quite begun when Yacht took the stage. I actually found them to be rather enjoyable and upbeat mood setters. Then Chromeo came on. I could tell quite a few people in attendance were there to see them, as there were little pools of excited yells that erupted during key parts of their set. They aren’t really something I would find myself rushing to listen to, but I have to hand it to them they are good performers who communicated with their audience. I thought they played for quite a while for an opening act, and perhaps they did – but those thoughts were amplified by my readiness to see the Chems hit the stage and get the show on the road! Chromeo’s set ended, and the Chems crew came out and quickly assembled and placed out the gear, did a quick visual check, and readied the stage. It looked like a crowded house and people were really starting to really pack in. There was a nice couple in front of us (season passholders) who had a bottle of chardonnay between them, and they were amped as all get out for the Brothers. They chit chatted with us a bit and were super friendly, so I was glad to make my acquaintance with my new neighbors for the show. Tomorrow Never Knows started playing on the loop and I knew it was coming. I looked over and told Connor to get ready. Finally the house lights dimmed out, and the lighted toys and glow sticks in the audience appeared to hover like multi-colored fireflies in the blackness of the venue.
Tom and Ed came out and our section erupted in whoops and yells, and I could hear commotion coming from other parts of the arena – though it seemed when they started in with Galvanize, the audience were taken by surprise. Sort of like a delayed reaction welcome, an ‘oh wait, so that’s who those 2 guys are on stage and now the show has started!’ I was up on my feet and I was determined to stay that way for the duration. The visuals from Galvanize were the fist-pump images from Push The Button, and the lights were an icy blue enshrouded in a smokey clouded mist that hovered over the Chems and their gear like the smoke coming off a freshly landed space craft. Galvanize is a good choice of show opener. It’s familiar, it’s an anthem. It is intended to immerse the audience, bring them to their feet as a battle call to arms at the beginning of a show. However at this time, and this is so odd - the people in the boxed seats were still trying to enjoy their meals so there were stationary pockets of sit-downers. God bless the handful of people in the pool circle at the very front who were up on their feet and giving it back to the Chems!
Next up was a perfectly transitioned Another World. I read some extremely positive feedback on this song from the Roundhouse reviews, but I hadn’t watched any youtube videos, so I was really excited to finally live this moment. It was everything I wanted and exceeded all my expectations. The song felt full and wide open, and it sounded like there were more melodic twinkling sounds added to the mix to give it a more rounded out and atmospheric sound. It was achingly beautiful. The bass was thick like a pulsating electric current. Connor leaned over; his face lighted green from the bright emerald shining from the stage, and said “I can feel it in my chest!” I told him you can’t beat it, you have to move with it. Welcome to Introductory Rave 101, son.
Funny enough, as the emerald lights and lasers bathed the venue, another kind of green clouded up on the breeze. I’m not bothered by pot smoke, and I really don’t care what people are doing as long as they are being as safe as they can, as considerate as they can be and are having a good time. But I must say I literally have not experienced such a large concentration of consistent rope burning since I saw Jerry Garcia over 16 years ago.
Anyway, the song shifted gears and the familiar image of Caroline our Further Girl started walking across the giant screen, leading us into the next part of the journey which was Dissolve. This song is big on a stereo or in a pair of headphones, but it is a galaxy more immense in a live setting and in person. The song swirled in a kaleidoscope of melody and ruptured in a fuzzed out blaze of sound that teased and danced on the edge of distortion. I remember tearing my gaze from the visuals and looking out in the crowd as they were illuminated by the lights coming from the stage. It seemed more people in the front had finished their meals and were dancing about, and people in the stands were getting into the groove, loosening up and enjoying the show.
Speaking of people getting their groove on. Tom and Ed seemed to be in exceptionally good spirits. They always are when I’ve seen them, but last night there seemed to be an eagerness to get a rise from the crowd (it must’ve been tough, as I’m sure it’s hard to contend with the 4 course meals and symphony set). But as the years go on and with each show I see, Ed becomes more and more… acrobatic and animated. Last night he was bounding all over from behind the gear to stage front, left and right. Now Tom and Ed aren’t really known to be rockstar-like show men with glitzy stage antics, and they may have racks of stationary gear, but these days it doesn’t seem like they feel restricted or like they have to hide in a paralytic state behind a wall of equipment. Tom wiggles and nods behind his decks (I couldn’t see his face so I have no idea if he was making mad scientist faces a la Hoops style) and Ed has assumed the role as MC, raising the invisible roof with his hands, reaching for that response.
Horsepower. This is one for you all who haven’t seen them yet to keep an ear out for. I’m just putting it out there. This one blindsided me completely. I’m not sure what I was expecting but if I had any solid expectations on what I thought this would sound like, those expectations would have been crushed. As a result, this became an unexpected highlight from last night. This song opened like a gaping mouth and swallowed the atmosphere, creating this vacuum that felt like being fully consumed in a moment. I couldn’t tell if this song was thundering upward from the depths of hell to pound on the gates of heaven, or if it was heaven being pulled down into the depths of hell. Jim and Connor were in high gear at this point, and directly behind them people were raving in the aisles (one of them was wearing a pair of lighted blinking shades, rave on!). Up and beyond, there were patches of rhythmic quivering movement and bouncing lights in the stands. I’m not sure how else to describe this or the atmosphere, but what was coming from the stage was massive and twisted dark magic and it seemed we were helpless under its command.
As the song mercifully ended, we were embraced by the gentle loving Swoon reminding us to remember to fall in love. There were what sounded like sighs and ‘ah’s’ from the crowd when this song came into being, since this was such a welcome relief from the merciless onslaught of Horsepower. What was once dark was now light, and what was once held captive in an all-consuming vacuum was now released on the open air like a drift of fragrant flower petals on the wind (poetic, isn’t it
Sorry for the mush but that’s what this song felt like). The couple in front of us, the ones who had the bottle of wine between them earlier in the evening, were dancing along mimicking the floating movements of Further Girl and her lover on screen. It was actually very cute, to see this body language and these tender moments, out in the open with everyone else.
Swoon was gently swept into Star Guitar, my most favorite transition of the night. It was perfect, smooth, meticulous and streamlined - exactly how I hoped and imagined these 2 songs playing off one another would be. Star Guitar remains a gig staple and audience favorite. When I first heard this live during the Come With Us tour, it changed my perception of the song forever and hearing it again last night live, at this stage of my life where I’m in a pretty good place, things feel different and the perception has been tweaked (for the better) yet again.
Then the robots invaded. The green ones and the orangey-yellow ones, marching toward us on the screens. This was a funky, odd version of Under The Influence – it sounded almost like a new version of the song, or a variation (near deviation) from it. Very thick, heavy and rave-y. It’s the kind of stuff you’d hear from across the great expanse of a festival green, and you wonder what all the racket is. Things start to build, to rise above the racket to something more recognizable amongst the concert goers. And that song is Out Of Control, another crowd pleaser from the Surrender era that went off and proved though it may be a decade old, it still sounds fresh in their current set.
Setting Sun was an amazing treat! I’m so amazed and happy this has been weaved back into their live set!! We were jumping up and down, all 3 of us, laughing like loons. It was awesome, haha! The dancing in the aisles seemed to swell a little more and this cute blonde lady a couple rows in back of me was busing out some serious moves. I think at this moment the crowd was where it needed to be in terms of unison - all on that same plain and on the same wavelength.
Believe was just as enormous this time around as it was the previous times I heard it live. It sounded huge, larger than life, and somehow bigger than the confines of the open air venue. It grew and grew into the beast it revealed itself to be, then shattered into a booming wall of sound that seemed to crash down and flatten everything in the bowl. Believe is a personal live favorite of mine and remains one of my favorites after last night. I wouldn’t be surprised if this pissed off the neighboring residents. And if it did… well I’m all for people getting their peace n’ quiet and I’m almost ashamed to admit I’d feel a sense of satisfaction knowing this immense song was the straw that broke the noise ordinance’s back. So there I said it.
Escape Velocity. Yes, this is the one I was most waiting for. I couldn’t wait to hear this at ear blasting decibels again, this time in a live setting. And I couldn’t wait to hear how it fit into their set. I wanted to be taken up to those peaks and I wanted to be released in those rushes of sound that catapult the listener into hyperspace. I’m still speechless and blown away by what I was feeling, and I’m sure I made some ridiculous and embarrassing faces and unintelligible noises came out of my mouth for the duration of this song…. So I’ll just let it go at that. Epic thanks for this one, Tom and Ed. This song encompasses everything past and present that I love so much about where the music takes me.
Being eased down from the cosmos and back to planet earth was k + d + b. I could feel by now the set was starting to wind down, but I dared not check the time (my phone was barely functioning at under 20% battery left). After the rush of Escape Velocity this song was a welcome breath of release and joy. As the mass of birds swelled on the giant screen, my eyes gazed upward in hopes I would see them trailing off into the clear night sky. Even though there was too much light from the Bowl and the city to see a great deal of stars, there were some that managed to break through and shine down on the crowd. This was such a wonderful moment. It even felt a bit intimate. Connor was taking another breather here, and a nice tall man from another group in front of us turned around and got my incredibly shy, brohawked young son to high five him. I realized at that point I didn’t see another person my son’s age at this show and it reminded me of my first concert my brother took me to – I may have been the youngest person at that one also…
Chemical Beats closed out the evening. Once it started I knew we were near the end (I knew I shouldn’t have looked at the setlists from previous shows!!) But it felt so good to hear this again! I never heard this as a final song, and even though we didn’t get an encore for whatever reason, I’m perfectly fine with that. This song is old skool Chemical Brothers, and hearing it as the closing song during this particular set, in the year 2010 – it almost acts like a musical bridge between the past and the present. Then there’s the wink from my husband during that part with the Excellent Acid House sample. That gives me a chuckle every time I hear it.
The insane sputter of gurgling sound courtesy of Tom’s shenanigans on the octave cat sealed the show. Tom and Ed walked out locked hands with a smile, bowed and waved to the crowd and bid farewell, then exited the stage. We waited a bit and the house lights came up slowly and that was our queue to gather our belongings and exit the venue. I’m not going to complain about the set list or the set time, or how it could have/should have/would have gone on longer if only <insert reason here>. The Chems could have played an hour or 4 more hours and it still wouldn’t change the fact that all good things have to come to an end, it’s now August 30 and the show was the 29th… the good conquers the bad, if you let it. This set was powerful and strong, with truly beautiful and touching moments. And now it’s a beautiful memory…
I’m really freakin exhausted, so I’m going to wrap this review up before my fingers fall off in a bloody heap on my keyboard. If you bothered reading this far , thank you kindly for putting up with my babble. I know I left so many details out, made some grammatical errors, and likely left out some songs too. The big thanks go to The Chemical Brothers, their people for making this a reality, my family friends and everyone here, there and everywhere for this wonderful and amazing show.
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'Introductory Rave 101, son' - nows theres a song title!
) and two other guys got him in a head lock trying to stop him from smoking and they all were knocking over beer bottles in their drunken anti-smoking fight, so that there is this waterfall of bottles of trashy angry-dude beers going down the steps. I think it was really cool that the HB let people bring drinks rather than pay $8 for a small beer, but honestly that felt more like a drunken soccer / football game. I'm sure when it's 4 adults splitting a bottle of wine while in the diner section for a Yanni show it's cool, but back where i was there were people drinking wine right out of the bottle, one to a person. I think if I ever do a HB show again, I'll fork out the money to be in the near front by Frodo, where things seemed bit more on the ground. Anyways, I hate to stereo type but Bay Area shows had a good warm intimate vibe and then the LA shows are always a bit rough. Last tour had some crazy ravers (might be better than drunks) on more drugs than all of us forumites combined, one of which was lecturing Bosco and I (maybe Pooter too?) about how he was raving way back in the early 90's (yeah, ok we get it, we were in kindergarden and you were high then). We all know people asserting their legitimacy to strangers at an LA cross walk intersection at 1 in the morning is someone of high character. But in all fairness, the LA shows were a great experience in ways the other ones weren't. It's so awesome to see thousands of people in the US can easily get together and have a damn good time. AAAAAnyways, after the show I was luckily enough to hang out with Whirly/Stash and all. Stash, Connor, and I went to this Jewish deli at like 1 in the morning, which was awesome, in itself. It was really an awesome weekend and I am suffering such withdrawal today that it's not even funny. Thank you Tom and Ed for putting out such amazing music and for traveling so far, I cannot emphasize how great of an experience it was.
