no i wouldn't say i had any expectations for it at all, but if you read most of the pre Olympia topics then there definately a big buzz to the whole event which the show didn't live upto in that respect- but as i wasn't fussed about the pre gig buzz then that isn't my opinion at all. I really enjoyed the gig and thought the venue was amazing (reminded me off Wolverhampton civic but a lot bigger). The sound and visuals were spot on and a lot of energy was carried off. In relation to any other gig on this tour though i don't think there was much of a differene, not that this is disapointing in any respect.

Yer i was standing next to those clowns- Ryzmm most likely. I was wearing my Skint T-Shirt so if anybody behinded me saw a cool star flashing with the strobes then that was me (I'm also 6'5" so you probably would have seen me regardless)

Was disapointed about not getting into The End- never heard off it before. Fabric was quite alright (was that sasha playing then???)

Still in London and writing from the apple store right now. The gig was great. Loved the people and clown lookalikes. The show was great as always, of course a lot better because of the venue and London itself. But I was expecting a little more.... (No hold tight???). But your crazy sound tweaking was terrific!!!

Pooter, such a shame i messed up your phone number. Just realized it when I was about to send you a short message... Mippio, didn't get the chance to meet up with you :-(

Did anyone of you see a guy, wearing a black shirt with a yellow moog lable on it? It was me.

Anyways - London's one of the greatest cities ever! You Britons rock big time!!!!!!!!!

Ah, FINALLY I get to review this. I'm in Florence right now, and I haven't had a chance to slip into a net cafe to throw my bit up about my Olympia experience.

First off, I'll go ahead and state with complete assurance that this was my most memorable, favorite Chemical Brothers show to date. I think that Tom & Ed brought with them a last hurrah for this tour that every person there felt. The energy was absolutely incredible--I can only equate it with being able to go see your favorite sports team play on their home turf. The familiarity of it all almost felt like home, and my only regret is that I'm not going to be able to see them again probably for quite some time.

The venue was pretty remarkable, and I loved the way that it let the light from the remains of the day fall into the open space. I had been in England for three days, and each day had been, without fail, absolutely, depressingly cloudy. But on Saturday, as I woke up at Mippio's (and btw, Mipps, you're a fucking legend for letting me crash with you), I was greeted by an amazing blast of sunshine. I couldn't help but smile, knowing that it was all going to work out. So we got to the venue under blue skies, and grabbed a bite to eat before heading inside.

Erol Alkan is an awesome DJ. I really thought he did a great job of tearing it up, but his slot as an "opener" left him mostly unappreciated. Highlights for me were when he dropped H.I.A. and when he ended with the Soulwax Remix of MGMT's "Kids." The only reason I don't have more highlights is because I just simply couldn't ID the amazing, gripping moments he managed to string together in his set.

I don't even really recall James Holroyd spinning. p.s., the pills started helping. My girlfriend and I each had a stash of pure for the two of us which we smuggled in from the States, and it started to kick in as we were awaiting the awesome bass tones of Tomorrow Never Knows. And without fail, it started.

Oh fucking hell--the acid riff on Galvanize absolutely blew me away. I have heard bits and pieces of it from recordings of other recent sets, but it was an awesome rise. I was front and center, and there was a lot of room, which I found perfect. I was able to leap and frolic with the vibes, not to mention hug my girlfriend as she looked to me with wide, amazed eyes. And when the vocals for Galvanize started in, everyone around us was -screaming- "PUSH THE BUTTON!!!"

And then into Burst Generator. I will never, ever get tired of the amazing peaks in that track, and seeing it live is an awesome event. I was really happy that my girlfriend was digging it, because when we saw the Chems' show in Amsterdam last year, this was the point where I met absolute disappointment when I realized that the energy just wasn't there. But those amazing snare rushes were met with nothing but screams and cheers from everyone, and I felt the crowd coalesce into a uniform, uplifted mass. It wasn't so much a plane taking off as it was a rocket shooting past the stratosphere.

My girlfriend is a big fan of We Are the Night, and she was stoked to hear so many tracks off the album. So we were able to sit there and make faces at each other while shouting "DO IT AGAIN!" over and over. ;-) Ah, the gurns began. And all the rips and funkiness of the Fatlip infused track caused us to jive.

And then two things happened.

First, the Do It Again lyric came on, and people cheered. I've listened to this set probably more than a hundred times, and it fits so nicely in with the end of Do It Again, but I hadn't felt it like this before. But when the Hey Boy Hey Girl riff came on, Olympia EXPLODED.

The visuals for that track never impressed me, but they did a fair job of keeping the energy going. All I know is that I danced like I never danced before, which is to say that my arms flailed and my body was lost to the rhythms. Amazing. I rode that track like I had never before, raving and cheering.

One of the biggest surprises ended up being Midnight Madness. I had always been a bit annoyed by the lyric, feeling it a bit too cheesy. But the one thing it has going for it is when it gets chopped up into a peak and shot off into that great vibe accompanied by the high pitched guitar-sounding riff. Ooh, what a fuckin' ride this track was live, though. T&E pulled and ripped it into something else that evening, and I loved it.

The always-a-unique-moment award goes to Don't Fight Control. The ripping, tearing synth that Tom jumps on in the middle of the track is always impressive, and this time to say that would be saying the least. What a fucking explosion.

Star Guitar was standard and a blessing while I was rushing, and I was laughing as I turned to see my girlfriend smiling, eyes closed, mouthing the words "You should feel what I feel, You should take what I take."

Time passed by much, much too quickly. I couldn't believe it was already midway through the set, and I was simultaneously morning that fact but reeling at the energy, thankful it was so fucking good. Surface to Air is a wonderful comeback track from silence to chaos, and it was euphoric as always this time around.

Under the Influence went by pretty quickly, the robots charging down, making me smile, and I'd say that the next notable moment was when everyone went off when the track went out and Saturate came in with the "bum bum bum" of bumping synth line. Everyone cheered with the explosion of paint balls, and I was a happy man.

The highlight of the night for me ended up being split between Believe and The Sunshine Underground. With the last tour, I was uber-impressed with the way they brought Believe to the live set and created this awesome, amazing peak with it. I was awestruck when they managed to make it even more immense on this tour, and when it hit on Saturday night, every single molecule in the air was screaming through that church schematic. The visuals for that track are definitely my favorite.

And with that peak came a great comedown--The Pills Won't Help You Now was a fucking fantastic moment. I definitely appreciated the calmness and serenity of it.

I was really disappointed that they didn't bring in Hoops, but my disappointment was barely recognizeable when compared to the experience I was having.

I was forgiven with The Golden Path, shot into space with FUCKING EXCELLENT ACID HOUSE in Chemical Beats, and that point where the acid clown comes out was appreciated by all, of course.

I was eagerly anticipating the encore, and though I was also a bit disappointed to hear the Come with Us intro without the actual song, I was dancing my ass off to Brothas Gonna Work It Out and Block Rockin' Beats. It's amazing how much energy those tracks still carry after all of these years.

But thankfully after all was done, the white sparkles of the visuals of The Sunshine Underground came up with that awesome atmopsheric high synth, a nice opening and invitation into what will become the most awesome peak in The Chemical Brothers set.

Those fucking faces always do it to me--the visuals trip me out more than anything else. I think it holds something for everyone, and as the song rises, as it rose that night, it carried everyone into another place, creating an internal journey for all that were there. I was having an absolutely fantastic one myself, and I carried it with me, throwing my arms in the air as the tribal rhythms carried into that heavy, fantastic "chorus" beat.

That was only the halfway point, of course. The actual peak of the track after the silence before seemed to me to be felt by all there like it never had been felt before. I think T&E might have felt it, too, because the end of The Sunshine Underground was longer and more intense than I had heard before.

And how George W. Bush fit in with the experience, only God knows...

I almost cried at the end, indeed, and the only reason that I didn't was simply because of the knowledge of what I had experienced. It was my best Chemical experience of my life, and I was absolutely satisfied that it didn't disappoint.

Tom and Ed, thank you so, so much for making this a memorable goodbye to this tour. I can only hope that you'll carry on in the future to create more beats, funky music, and ethereal soundscapes to carry us all.

it was a brilliant gig.dont know if anyone saw me but I done a mega high jump and landed in one of those massive blue industrial bins at the back of the gig. dont ask me why. it cuda been something to do with MDMA. who knows! but what a bummer,our plane going home was delay'd for 5 hours. we had to sit on the plane all that time aswell. I was twitching like a maniac and having panic attacks. but it was well worth it. my 13th chems gig and still loving it!!!!

My first post, and my first ever Chemical Brothers gig. Been into dance/electronic music since I was 10 (no lie! scared my parents to death) DJ'ed a fair bit until we had our first child way too young, kept in touch with the scene and DJ'ed sparingly. Now finally at a stage in our lives to enjoy the finer things in life again...and child #2 arrived!!

Anyway enough of the life history, bottom line is we can finally go out and enjoy ourselves and boy what a night to do it on.

Was reminiscent on many a dark night clambering through a window in some empty warehouse and setting up generators. Had a proper old school dirty warehouse feel to it. I was expecting some clean corporate style event but oh boy they came through on that score.

One thing I learnt straight off listening to the warm up was that I'd gotten weak in my dance music listening styles, too much Hed Kandi and not enough HeadFu*k music!! I'd gone from hardcore to happy clappy soul music so this was a wicked way to update myself in one easy step.

How had I missed all these epic epic tunes, and how on earth can I find out what they are!!!

Chemical Brothers was about as hard as I've listened too recently such was my suburbanite parental listening capacity!!

Anyway the show...well after the DJ had finished warming everyone up good and proper, the Chemicals arrived, to me it was a bit of a sombre entrance, I at least expected a sheepish hello from the two knob twiddlers but what the hell they more than made up for it with the complete epic-ness of their sets.

Every single track we consumed and felt reverberating throughout our bodies, all the old memories came flooding back. The atmosphere was absolutely top notch, we had none of the old memories of someone whispering various substances in our ears which was the main concern. We're the 'get high on the music' kinda people ;)

Anyway awesome awesome night, the finale tune was of such epic proportions I was expecting Frodo and Gandalf to appear with a ring and proclaim the stage their own. The clown...oh the clown...YOU ARE ALL MY CHILDREN NOW!

Seriously seriously top drawer entertainment, please I implore you release a DVD of that night because our puny camera and mobile phone videos will never ever recapture that level of sheer aural and physical delight when the bassline kills your internal organs!!

All the best and much love, we promise to worship more at the altar of bass and acid!

Matt & Abi

WGC

This thread gives me the warm fuzzies. Thanks Again and AGAIN, everyone. You all rock so damn hard! Pooter, I could hug you - you're colorful and descriptive review is so awesome, fucking excellent acid house, hehehe!

Welcome nighthawk999 - sounds like your night out to Olympia was well deserved! :)

Pooterman - you the man! the best review i've ever read! chills down my spine! i can't wait for my first gig and it's been 10 yrs already!

nighthawk - welcome to the club! we'll be glad to educate you on the tunes, but u lived the moment - cheers!

MP...you are the devil's spawn...awesome review...but exactly what I just DID NOT NEED TO HEAR!!! :(

Am very happy back in the bosom of ChemsNess listening to the EBWs at 5am on a Tuesday morning in Oz having avoided all contact for 3 months, only hear Midnight Madness once before tonight (on Triple M chart show) and god I wish I could have seen it live...reminds a bit of that tune at the beginning of Lost Boys in places...weird I know...oh its good to have them back in me life...now for the ultimate Ozzie road trip with them pumping from the stereo...any suggestions for best tune for when dealing with an endless red landscape???!!!

Hmm..I know...IT DOESN'T MATTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well ya know what I mean! ;)

Pooter - that was an awesome review. Captures the essence of a Chems gig to a T. Nice one.

Man, sounds like it was a wicked show! I gotta check out some of the videos soon!

@Pooter- Glad you got your energy back to write that OMFG review!

Most excellent choice of words in your description of the best Chems show ever! What a total eargasm to a crowd of 10,000 prople screaming to HBHG, and the blaring of the drums to the acid masterpiece Chemical Beats! Dying to see your pics Bro!

And kudos to you nighthawk999! Glad that your first gig won't be your last :) And 'The Altar of Bass and Acid' sounds like the title to the next Chemical Brothers album!

As always, 'Welcome to the Brotherhood!'

Even more gutted I didn't go now. :-(

There are lots of vids up on youtube now! I took a few which are on there now, but i was a tad wobbly as the night went on!

I've seen most of the vids! But not much pics of the show around the net, unless anyone has good links to them!

Anybody seen the Chemical Clowns?

There are some more pics up on http://www.dontstayi...30/event-183480

now

Might be worth having a look on Harderfaster too, they usually have a lot more london based events tagged on there

I'll read your review pooter as soon as possible!

Btw, it was the best birthday I ever had in my whole life!

Just coming round after it............ BEST I'VE SEEN!!!!! Tom, Ed thank you so much XXX

can you tell me the setlist from the olympia????

or what about some bootleg????

did anyone buy me a lithograph?! :(