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Review Wed Sep 19 2007
Review: Simian Mobile Disco @ Empty Bottle, 9/18
First of all, Transmission would like to extend a big thank you to Flavorpill, Empty Bottle, and the acts last night for putting on a show that was over in just under three hours and before midnight on a weeknight. Of course, the flipside to that was short sets that left the audience wanting more. A case in point would be Simian Mobile Disco's 45-minute set that was heavy on groove and blinding colorful strobe lights.
Unfortunately, the headliner's brief set came up short on songs from their Attack Decay Sustain Release LP. Instead the setlist was comprised of older (and maybe some newer) music. Singles "It's the Beat" and "Hustler" drove the night into high gear as the Empty Bottle split into two parts - gawkers and dancers. When the crowd's enthusiasm calmed, James Ford, whose resume also includes production for Arctic Monkeys, Klaxons and Mystery Jets, yelled out and demanded applause to recharge the room.
Perhaps most notable about Simian Mobile Disco's stage setup was that their gear was on a round table that Ford and his cohort, James Shaw, rotated around, which gave the audience a clear view of what they were doing to create the music. At a time when electronic music acts tend to rely on obscurity and privacy live (see: Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers, et al), it was refreshing to see a group making their music out in the open rather than behind a screen. Hopefully, the next time Simian Mobile Disco comes around will be in a venue big enough so that it doesn't seem like the performance takes place inside a supernova. (Seriously, it was really bright.)
