Being it was Monday, cold, and a Too-Soon-to Be-Fall night in Chicago, I expected the Riveria theatre show setting off Underworld‚s American tour to be a quaint and relatively personal affair; for only die-hard fans who‚d have to mingle past the crack dealers below the gritty rusty urban 'L' train tracks to gain entry to the show. I couldn‚t have been more wrong; not only was the show 10,000+ people sold out, but the line went around the block, showcasing Underworld‚s diverse and often urban/professional 30 something audience with only a few grey hairs and green-haired „ravers thrown in for standard measure. (Honestly I considered purchasing some of the street peddler‚s faire as Underworld shows are often part of two-day European rave-like events and often synonymous with mind-altering substance use. The show provided all the energy one could need or desire.) I went with a certain nostalgia for mayhem as Underworld was my personal hero of the mid-90‚s Rave scene; my first experience hearing an Underworld tune was as at an all night warehouse party breaching dawn ˆ the DJ culminated the event with 'Res', an all-spirit encompassing anthem that reinvigorated not only the entire remaining ravers, but the chemicals in us. Afterwards, I inquired as to who or what created such a soundscape; and after purchasing all of Underworld‚s music, I found electronica and rave anthems to be only a minor part of their repartee.
So, seeming decades but actually just a few years later, it was refreshing to see yet again a new album out, but better; a show of theirs I could attend. Underworld‚s performance at the Rivera basically described their new album, A Hundred Days Off: the 40-something band members, who started out in the 80‚s, love electronica and more importantly, love experimenting with it, coercising as best they can melody and traditional songs from it while still putting their own unique stamp on it. Never has Underworld repeated a song formula or had any two tracks you could say sounded alike for they are always experimenting.
Underworlds‚ founders and main songwriters, Hyde and Smith, are now the only two true members of the band. Darren Emerson departed for a solo DJ career after 'Beaucoup Fish,' and for the new 'A Hundred Days Off'. The new duo edition of Underworld definitely takes up less space, musically as well as physically, but at the Riviera Monday night Hyde and Smith did their best to remedy the latter situation. Their energy and stageshow was beaming, as was to be expected, and even with their soundsystem and computers going on the fritz a few times, they managed to show what 20 years of working together gets you; grace under pressure. Instead of relying on DAT machines to supply the multiple track sounds that are Underworld tunes, Hyde and Smith literally ran franticly about the stage to produce the evolving grooves and man the many machines that allow them to produce their trademark soundstyles.
The new album tracks are a bit refined and minimal compared to old, but each strive for the love and light of the old rave-esk culture where their American audience first tuned in. Ironically, Hyde and Smith have recently said they never delved deeper than a pint of beer in the recreation department which should strike Underworld fans as a bit odd, but also highlight the purity to their spirit and enthusiasm to create music that almost feels like a drug. If you are familiar with Underworld past the Trainspotting 'Born Slippy' track, I strongly suggest the new album, but for the uninitiated, I'd listen to a few tracks on their website, www.dirty.org, where one can hear just about all of their 20 years of music for free and discover their other diverse interests and their advertising agency Tomato that delves into everything from movie titles to art schools.
|