perfectionism, Toby.

Petition for GET UP ON IT!!!!

2nded?

actually if you check out the the lollipop (96? 97?) gig, the version of Get Up On It Like This is really nuts! lots of phase, lots of reverb, lots of loud beats!

I think it might not fit in with the new set, however..?

Pretty fair evaluation, Toby.



Agree about Star Guitar. It's amazing, esp. with Temptation, and though the set does need some "breather" time, I think it's time to be pulled.



Block Rockin' Beats could be dropped as far as I'm concerned, but only because there are so many other tunes I'd like to hear. I know it's one of their biggest hits, but maybe swap it for Setting Sun?



Agree completely about Sunshine Underground and Surface to Air. Hold Tight London, in a similar vein.

GLAKO-FAHN Escribi�:

actually if you check out the the lollipop (96? 97?) gig, the version of Get Up On It Like This is really nuts! lots of phase, lots of reverb, lots of loud beats!

I think it might not fit in with the new set, however..?

Hm, I guess you're right. Maybe they could remix it or something? I've never seen em live; I probably shouldn't be making suggestions as I doubt I ever will. It would be nice if sometime they just decided to play a whole bunch of their old stuff though.

Darkstarexodus Escribi�:

Pretty fair evaluation, Toby.



Agree about Star Guitar. It's amazing, esp. with Temptation, and though the set does need some "breather" time, I think it's time to be pulled.

Dude, fuck you.



And you too Toby.

Bosco Escribi�:

Darkstarexodus Escribi�:

Pretty fair evaluation, Toby.



Agree about Star Guitar. It's amazing, esp. with Temptation, and though the set does need some "breather" time, I think it's time to be pulled.

Dude, fuck you.



And you too Toby.

X-D



Temptation/Star Guitar live is amazing the bootlegs dont do it justice.

For me is a highlight live.

mippio Escribi�:

apparently on the come with us tour they were finishing with like a 10 min extended techy-house mix of the test - i missed these shows but mchebne said it was outstanding, im sure copies of these sets exist somewhere because i remember him playing me one.



would def like to hear it out.

Wtf???!! I'm seeing stars all around my head!!! A 10 minute number of The Test????? Oh My God!!! That would def. kick me out of my pants, right there, right on the gig! I would be naked and embarrassed then but who cares if you pass the acid test?! X-D

What about My Elastic Eye? It sounded really fantastic live as far as i can remember. Or Galaxy Bounce? Man, that would be a wicked dancefloor filler.

Flashback or Freak Of The Week FTW!!!

cor anyone would think they were gonna re-promote come with us for their next tour!



i'd rather have sunshine underground come back instead of surface to air, and drop galvanize. but more than anything i want bucket fulls of the new shit!!



maybe its about time the chems extended their set from the usuall 2 hours and add atleast an extra 30 minutes to accomodate there vast collection of tracks

sneakerbeater Escribi�:

cor anyone would think they were gonna re-promote come with us for their next tour!



i'd rather have sunshine underground come back instead of surface to air, and drop galvanize. but more than anything i want bucket fulls of the new shit!!



maybe its about time the chems extended their set from the usuall 2 hours and add atleast an extra 30 minutes to accomodate there vast collection of tracks

It isn't enough actually! At least 3 hours would be adequadly! Ohh that were so delightful! Sweating to a sea of beats and walls of sounds and in between getting an orgasm that sounds like an effect by the brothers!

average set length I think is 97 minutes... :P

obviously sometimes they only get an hour of stage time (or less!!) at festivals.

sometimes it's ~80 minutes..

sometimes they go on for ~105.

a 2 hour gig is a rare thing! and it's gotta be tiring, time consuming to prepare!! lots of hard work involved.

a 150 minute set would be absolute GOLD but it would be difficult to pull off and keep the crowd excited; they'd have to drop a lot of the playful bits and make it more song oriented, keeping the visuals an adventure and making the transitions very different from each other. A couple of tracks (like absolute dance STORMERS) would have to be developed as live exclusives to come in a ripe , unexpected moments when the crowd needs a little stirring.

well that's what I think at least.

Bosco Escribi�:

Darkstarexodus Escribi�:

Pretty fair evaluation, Toby.



Agree about Star Guitar. It's amazing, esp. with Temptation, and though the set does need some "breather" time, I think it's time to be pulled.

Dude, fuck you.



And you too Toby.

I know, I know, it's not fair for me to say that because I've seen them and you haven't. But to me it's one of the parts of the set that is sounding the most tired.



Truly I wouldn't like to see ANY of their current set dropped, but some tunes need to make way for the new stuff, and hopefully some interesting retreads of older material. Block Rockin' Beats and T/SG are my first shouts for getting the yank only because I think the Chems have tracks that can better fit those slots.

GLAKO-FAHN Escribi�:

average set length I think is 97 minutes... :P

obviously sometimes they only get an hour of stage time (or less!!) at festivals.

sometimes it's ~80 minutes..

sometimes they go on for ~105.

a 2 hour gig is a rare thing! and it's gotta be tiring, time consuming to prepare!! lots of hard work involved.

a 150 minute set would be absolute GOLD but it would be difficult to pull off and keep the crowd excited; they'd have to drop a lot of the playful bits and make it more song oriented, keeping the visuals an adventure and making the transitions very different from each other. A couple of tracks (like absolute dance STORMERS) would have to be developed as live exclusives to come in a ripe , unexpected moments when the crowd needs a little stirring.

well that's what I think at least.

But if Fatby can, why not the brothers? Mabye at least one gig at that length, something like a special forum-thank-you... Ok these are wild dreams which won't come true...

haha, a 150-180 minute set just does not appear to be practical whether or not it'd be the best thing ever.



So Star Guitar hasn't changed at all in 4 years live. Block Rockin' Beats is at least retooled every tour, it seems. Compared today's to 1997's and you'll see what I mean.

I liked the Sunshine Underground in the middle of the set, it was beautiful and elegant and yet didn't slow down the show one bit, because after it takes off it just gets WILD! the break down with the kick drum, hi-hat, and the echoing synths is dance dance dance. actually I think hoops coming out of that was as good as from Surface to air if not better...?

Sunshine Underground might not fit anywhere in the new set though... I mean it couldn't go before or after surface to air, as both tracks need a slowdown before they begin -- right after star guitar has been perfect (though right after out of control or got glint? was pretty intense)

GLAKO-FAHN Escribi�:

haha, a 150-180 minute set just does not appear to be practical whether or not it'd be the best thing ever.



So Star Guitar hasn't changed at all in 4 years live. Block Rockin' Beats is at least retooled every tour, it seems. Compared today's to 1997's and you'll see what I mean.

I liked the Sunshine Underground in the middle of the set, it was beautiful and elegant and yet didn't slow down the show one bit, because after it takes off it just gets WILD! the break down with the kick drum, hi-hat, and the echoing synths is dance dance dance. actually I think hoops coming out of that was as good as from Surface to air if not better...?

Sunshine Underground might not fit anywhere in the new set though... I mean it couldn't go before or after surface to air, as both tracks need a slowdown before they begin -- right after star guitar has been perfect (though right after out of control or got glint? was pretty intense)

Good points Glako! But looking back to previous tours and the new stuff they'll play on new shows they've got a fucking multitude of tracks that make you wanna dance instantly or constantly, whatever you like! I believe in such a 3 hour set there wouldn't be moments of boredom at all. Regarding to the structure, yeah, that could be a bit tricky to manage. But they're the Lords of the mix desks and resourceful in whatever they do musically. They'd find a solution to fix that issue.



Well yes, most of the current structures and orders of tracks i would maintain as well. Not least to mention the 2002 version of Temptation/Star Guitar and the new Block Rockin' Beats intro, which are drinving me nuts all the time!!! PLEASE KEEP IT IN!!!

mX. Escribi�:

Flashback

I am here to tell you this song is insane, live. Insane. It sounds like it's pulling your soul out of your body. I hadn't heard this song before I heard it at Coachella in 1999. I loved the Chems by that point but hadn't gotten into the single-collecting stage. I remember thinking, "oh my god, what song is this??" I got the Hey Boy Hey Girl single a couple months later, heard the song and nearly wet myself. It's evil, in a deliciously sinister way. But the layers of sound and overall production value is gorgeous.

GLAKO-FAHN Escribi�:

haha, a 150-180 minute set just does not appear to be practical whether or not it'd be the best thing ever.

I was happy and got what I could ever want from the slightly truncated festival gigs, although it would be great to see them do the full on 2 hour set. 2 and a half hours... maybe as their farewell show. But that's a long freakin set. Tom and Ed really give it their all on stage, they're up there moving around and breaking a sweat and screaming at their gear and stuff. I think one of them collapsing from exhaustion wouldn't go over too well! X-D I don't know how people like Bruce Springsteen go about these 4 hour mega gigs at each stop. It's good for the fans but that's crazy!

GLAKO-FAHN Escribi�:

I liked the Sunshine Underground in the middle of the set, it was beautiful and elegant and yet didn't slow down the show one bit, because after it takes off it just gets WILD! the break down with the kick drum, hi-hat, and the echoing synths is dance dance dance. actually I think hoops coming out of that was as good as from Surface to air if not better...?

I've heard it twice live. They closed Coachella with it in 1999 and played it during Come With Us. What I liked about Sunshine Underground's placement when I saw them for Come With Us is that it was smack dab in the middle of the set. Like it was being showcased, almost as though every song before and after were 'framing' it. From what I remember, that was the song where Tom really took the reigns, like that song was his baby. It was also a chance to give the crowd some much needed breathing room from the high energy beforehand - and the way the song builds and builds is a good way to sort of lift you out of the near relaxed state the song put you in. The song began with this deep low frequency hum that made my hairs stand on end. Then as the song built up layer after layer, it brought more intensity and energy... and these spasms of bass were interjected in intervals and I vividly remember it feeling like electric volts coursing in my blood. It really was incredible, it ebbed and flowed so beautifully and you could swear you could breathe in the music with every breath you took. And no, it's not because I was loaded!! X-D

GLAKO-FAHN Escribi�:

Sunshine Underground might not fit anywhere in the new set though... I mean it couldn't go before or after surface to air, as both tracks need a slowdown before they begin -- right after star guitar has been perfect (though right after out of control or got glint? was pretty intense)

You never know. I'm of the mind that the Chems can make anything possible with the wide array of tunes they have to choose from. They closed out their Push The Button tour with Sunshine Underground (if memory serves me correctly)... I think in all of this, with as much as we might want to hear certain songs, the most important thing is that the Chems move forward and arrange their gigs accordingly to promote the new material.



Sorry for the monster post but there's a couple more things I want to touch on. I don't know if I can accurately describe this so bare with me - the way they've mixed their songs from Surrender to Come With Us to Push The Button have somehow felt different each time. And this is just a truncated-festival-set perspective so I don't know if this applies to full length gigs. But from where I stood, Surrender and Push The Button moved from song to song rather quickly and with streamlined direction. But what really stuck out was the way the songs were mixed during the Come With Us set. There were these huge, epic intros where it sounded like the Chems were almost dj mixing these sounds and snippets from various songs in their catalogue. It really kept everyone in our posse on our toes because we'd hear these sirens and think, "Oh, they're gonna do it! They're gonna play Song To The Siren!" and then something else would be thrown into that mix and the song would move on in a new direction, more snippets thrown in and all of a sudden you find yourself riding the wave of a brand new song all together. The effect was brilliant, because there was so much going on and you could say, "Yeah, I could hear a bit of Loops of Fury in that set, yeah, they played a little bit of Song To The Siren, yeah there were bits of Chemical Beats thrown in." It was yin-yang; it sounded off the fly but at the same time meticulously planned. I can imagine that kind of planning must have been painstakingly tedious and I hope I can convey how rewarding the efforts were... But I'm on a tangent now and these are more observations (and a chance for me to look back fondly) rather than criticisms or demands for upcoming shows.



Finally. A criticism I've heard from from fanbases of bands that have a considerable back catalogue is that not enough obscure or older songs are being played, or the band focuses on too many "hits" or whatever, or the set list doesn't change enough. I don't know if those are fair criticisms to make and I'd hate to have anyone here or elsewhere to fall into those critical trappings. There's going to be newcomers and first timers and casual fans and a lot of cities to cover, so there has to be some familiarity within the framework of the gig. There will be hits and there will familiar tunes and there will probably be snippets and chunks of songs sprinkled here and there to appeal to the Chemical trainspotters. As the tour progresses, things will get shaken up and tweaked a bit. We'll see (and hear) how it all pans out. We gotta have faith the Bros put on on elecronic and hard (and fucking loud!!!)

I have to agree that the new live tour needs to be refreshed both visually and offcourse with the structure of the tracks.

I terms of visual presentation, i was always a fan of the 'Come With Us' stage look with the images projected on the 'booth' below their equipment as well as the screen behind and above them.



When it comes to tracks, i always thought that 'HBHG' had greater impact when placed in the middle of the set, rather then the usual beginning. It is more than likely that, with the new tour being in the support of the new album, there will be more older tracks 'cut off' in order to make place for the new ones. So the idea of bringing more of the older 'Come with us' tracks is highly unlikley.



The tracks that will stay in the setlist - they will most likely be HBHG - BRB (it is getting older, but they will probaly remix it for the new tour), Out of Control and TPPR (although this might be a question mark)



The tracks that i wouldn't get too upset if they decided to cut them off are

-Galvanize (a part from a cool intro, i still feel like this song just doesn't 'fit' in the flow of the entire set)

-It doesn't matter/Under the influence; ok i know that a lot of people will disagree with me on this one, but i always felt that this was a sort of 'filler' for the middle of the set that chems have been using almost unchanged since 1999. It woul probably be much better to replace this with the full 'elektrobank' track.