DMW: Digital Music W...

Here's that story I've been meaning to push. Its been a week and I can still vividly remember the sights, the smell and the incredibly honest performance of Alison Goldfrapp.

Alison Goldfrapp, photo by Amanda Nanawa

The last time I was at Roseland Ballroom was 1999. The place is just ok. It's not Nokia Theatre Times Square but the place does have ambiance. There was a security guard I recognized from way back and it was amazing to see that he was still there - checking the attendees and confiscating questionable items.
That night marked the last stop of the Supernature tour. Everything culminated to this place on W52nd Street where people traveled far and wide to get here. The evening in the city was just right - not too cold and not too warm. Prior to doors opening, there was a long line that wrapped its way around the street and onto Broadway. It stretched past the entrance of the Ed Sullivan Theater and kept going. Kinda hard to believe that the show wasn't sold out but it must've been close as more people bought tickets at the window. It was funny to hear some scalper outside trying to sell "seats" for this show. First of all, there are no seats at Roseland (except for the balcony area which was accessible for VIP attendees).
Upon entering the ballroom, the bar was overflowing with Red Bull and other hard liquors. The bartenders were making some strong mixes as the aroma from the drinks wafted through the vestibule. It was going to be that kind of night.

The opening act was a duo called Ratatat. They started out alright with their DJ set. The crowd gave them a kind applause. But as the set waned on, the audience went from nice to downright rude. Ok, they were on the stage for a little over an hour but that doesn't give people the right to throw things at them. Its one thing to yell out, "You suck!" Totally another when you yell out, "You suck!" and throw things at them. I will admit, I was bored by their set. I caught myself yawning four or five times. The people around me said some amusing things like, "I could've gone up there and done that DJ shit myself" and "This is painful." After Ratatat left the stage, the sound people began prepping for Goldfrapp. Actually, during the DJ set, I was able to get a glimpse of the holding area which was behind the stage. The dancers were there warming up and this one other woman with curly blonde tresses was speaking with them. Could it be that I just caught a glimpse of Alison herself talking to the dancers?

During the setup, people (already drunk with euphoria - figuratively and literally) pushed their way to the center hoping to get the best possible view. At one point, this very loud and drunk group formed a "wall of resistance" making people walk around them. Yes, the alcohol flowed freely that night. I amused myself by watching the roadies set up the electric fans and placing drinks in their strategic positions for the band.

Alison Goldfrapp, photo by Amanda Nanawa

As soon as Cerrone's "Supernature" filled the ballroom, the place went wild and the band came on stage. Alison opened the show with "Utopia", a stand out track from Felt Mountain. Her voice soared to sopranic opera levels as Davide Rossi (violin, keyboards, keytar, backup vocals) plucked the opening notes. She opened well. Next up was "Lovely Head" from the same album. Alison was not holding back. She was emotive and wasn't letting anything bother her (I think she liked the fact that there was only one photographer in the press pit). Her facial expressions while performing the song didn't betray her emotions of the evening. She looked possessed and charming; flirtatious and playful.

"Train" from Black Cherry came on and showed the most glaring technical SNAFU of all - the case of the missing Theremin. When Alison was done singing her bar, she turned around to find that there was no Theremin for her to grab. She had to improvise somehow. She danced it out. But, this stagehand appeared and tried to hand off the Theremin to Alison where at that point, the dancers in Wolf Lady costumes were almost done with their routine. Alison basically waved off the stagehand from stepping on stage and just signaled to Rowan Oliver (percussion) to end the song - like now! Alison turned to the audience, smiled and the Wolf Ladies struck a pose with her. Oh, but the feint smile Alison just gave was priceless. She looked a bit steamed. Right after the song, Alison walked off stage for a bit. I can only imagine what transpired.
A few minutes later, Alison acknowledged to the crowd the technical difficulties. A trademark of a Goldfrapp concert. She smiled and kept saying, "Hello NY!" I'm paraphrasing now - "This is our proper gig, no matter what you read about last night." Alison was alluding to the Hennessy event the night before which was at the Capitale in lower Manhattan. I'm glad I wasn't there. I heard the event sucked.

The good thing about this show was that she didn't point to her ear monitor for sound too often. She made some other signals (tugging at her side to the soundboard man is one example). Her dress was something to behold. I couldn't tell if it was inspired from Blade Runner or what? It was a short red dress with buckles and two large O-shaped rings; one in the middle of her chest and the other one further down around her stomach and you-know-what area. They held the straps that adorned her torso. It wasn't holding the dress - I don't think. It looked more like an accessory. But the dress was mighty short and that was mighty fine for the guys (and gals) up front who didn't mind Alison's flash of underpants brilliance. The band opened "You Never Know" with an instrumental track. It was refreshing to hear it that way live. I didn't hear that at the Nokia show. During "Fly Me Away" she did her little rag doll/going to try and fly/quasi robot dance routine. That's my favorite part of watching her live.
During the opening tracks of "Ride a White Horse", a mini mosh pit was starting to emerge. Thankfully, people had the sense to stop pushing and call for security before any of that started. Yes, a mosh pit at a Goldfrapp show. Have you ever? They ended their set with "Ooh La La" where Charlie Jones (bass) shined through clearly. Alison was having a ball. At one point, she crouched down and turned her mic to the crowd eliciting them to sing.

Alison Goldfrapp, photo by Amanda Nanawa

Now here's where things get really interesting. The band comes back out for their first encore. They start off with "Black Cherry" from Black Cherry. Everything was fine until Alison stopped singing in the middle of the song. She didn't complete singing "Excite Me - Ignite Me". She just stopped. Meanwhile, the band kept playing as Angie Pollock (keyboards, keytar, backing vocals) continued to provide backing vocals. I don't think people realized that at that very moment, Alison was letting all her emotions take the best of her and what we witnessed was a truly human performance. She was fighting back tears and didn't want to run off stage. Not here and not now. She soldiered on trying to gain composure but every time she wanted to sing the verse, she stopped and tried to bring herself back. When she turned to Angie for guidance, I noticed some of her mascara and eyeliner was starting to run a bit, darkening her eyes more than ever. The crowd suddenly realized - "Oh my God! She was crying?" - and began to encourage her on. The crowd realized too at that moment that this show was one to remember. It's just too bad that the crowd didn't do a sing-along to uplift Alison's spirits (on second thought, she might burst out crying from complete overwhelming affection from the crowd). At the end of the song, she smiled and politely said, "Thank you."
She reminded the audience that this was the last gig of the tour and that ending it in NYC was the best place to do it. What puzzled a lot of people is the fact that the Supernature tour for the US was lacking. If you think of it, they did most of their US "touring" in NYC.
Their second encore was "Strict Machine/We Are Glitter mix" from a b-side of Black Cherry. This sealed the evening. Alison bade us a good night and said, "See you next time." The band was on stage for a while, waving at the crowd as they walked off stage until Alison was left standing alone on stage. She bowed, curtsied and waved to roaring cheers.
Despite the lack of the Theremin, the emotional breakdown and no "Deer Stop" (from Felt Mountain), it was still a brilliant show. It wasn't perfect. It was real. It was human.