DMW: Digital Music W...

I drove to Brooklyn yesterday for the Chemical Brothers show at McCarren Park Pool. That was the first time I ever drove to Greenpoint. I usually take the subway from Manhattan but since its a Saturday and side streets are usually free to park, I went ahead and drove in. I parked right on Driggs St. and it definitely worked out. I especially liked the fact that there were a significant number of NYC cops on patrol.

The venue was once a public pool in its heyday. A couple years ago, the community was trying to figure out what to do with the empty lot. Apparently, corporate sponsors stepped in and presented a plan (or $$$) that would help revitalize the neighborhood. In their great wisdom, the community approved the plan. Summer of 2006 was the first time the pool opened up as a public performance venue and so far, the attendees are ok with it. Of course, the neighborhood thinks its noise pollution - expensive noise pollution. But hey - its better than turning the place into another million dollar condo; which there are plenty of those cropping up around the park.

I arrive at the park at 5PM and the gates haven't opened yet. We can hear soundcheck going on inside the pool and it was Ladytron on stage. Yay! Anyway, at around 6PM the line started moving and I walk up to security check. Now, I've been to enough concerts where I'm now used to the fact that security checks is a way of life. But, I still can't get over the fact that one line had people being body frisked while the other line just had bag checks only - no frisking of any kind. Strange. Once inside, you get a feel for the venue and yes, its a pool that is badly in need of real renovation. It still has that weird chlorine pool smell in some dank places. It rained earlier in the day so parts of the pool had small puddles but not around the stage.

The Rub started things off with their Brooklyn-style DJ and let me tell you, they are good. They do know how to mash eclectic sounds to make one sweet sounding track. I found myself grooving and really getting into it. At one point, they played a mix of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" with a layer of funk as well as The Clash's "Rock the Casbah" with some reggae. It sounded brilliant.

DJ Eleven on the left. DJ Ayres on the right. Photo by Amanda Nanawa

Mira Aroyo, Helen Marnie, Reuben Wu of Ladytron. Photo by Amanda Nanawa

At around 7PM, Ladytron steps on stage and the venue started to fill up. They kick things off with "High Rise" from Witching Hour. I was slightly disappointed not to see Mira Aroyo in that long choir robe get up that she had on last year at Eden Festival in England. But, her outfit was interesting none the less. The thing is, the band seems to always wear black while performing live. It does a number on photo taking especially since the lighting use is mainly dark blue or purple hues. Helen seemed to have trouble with her mic bascially for almost half their show. That wasn't good. I could tell that Mira was annoyed by that and knew that the crowd wanted the sound tech people to do something about it. Sadly, the techs don't work for Ladytron, they work for the headline act which is Chemical Brothers. At one point, the fan up front was making hand gestures at the tech to boost up Helen's sound and the tech just shrugged at him.

Mira Aroyo of Ladytron. Photo by Amanda Nanawa

They did manage to perform other seminal fan favorites such as "Seventeen", "International Dateline", "Witching Hour" and (I think) "Playgirl" - not sure but I swear they performed that song. Mira started singing "Fighting in Built Up Places" and she definitely looked like she was fighting in built up places. She displayed her anger by nearly screaming the lyrics of the song, which she sings in Bulgarian, and stared straight out to the sound board people in the middle of the venue. At that point, the sound techs had fixed Helen's sound and we could actually hear her do her "Ahhhs". But that wasn't the best part. Oh, no. The best part was watching Mira dancing and actually coming out from behind the two Korgs she commands. She was doing some crazy Bulgarian jig and showing some leg. It was great.

Mira Aroyo & Helen Marnie of Ladytron. Photo by Amanda Nanawa

Daniel Hunt of Ladytron. Photo by Amanda Nanawa

At that point, we nearly reach the end of the show and they end it with "Destroy Everything You Touch". At the end, Helen screams out "Destroy everything you touch! We'd like to thank the Chemical Brothers - they're up next. We are Ladytron!"

The Rub come back on to provide ambient music while the roadies switch out equipment and unveil the Chemical Brothers' synth set. Their synth equipment seemed somewhat simple yet complicated. They also have a laser light projector to help get us into that rave party mood.

The Rub. Photo by Amanda Nanawa

Roadies setting up Chemical Brothers equipment. Photo by Amanda Nanawa

Some time at around 8:30PM, the Chemical Brothers (Tom Rowlands & Ed Simons) step on stage and beckon the crowd - which swelled and seemed to have surged forward towards the stage. They start with "Galvanize" from Grammy Award winning release Push the Button. The lighting scheme and the background used for their electronic animated imagery was overwhelming. Talk about sensory overload, you get a mix bag of strobe light effects on top of animation and smoke machine to get the laser light projector work its magic. The crowd was pumped, drunk and probably epileptic since this set turned into a rollercoaster ride of sound.

Chemical Brothers. Photo by Amanda Nanawa

I didn't realize that when attending a Chemical Brothers live show, you would expect to see (or have) sex. If you are looking to rub up against a total stranger, a Chemical Brothers live show is the place to do it (literally). I witnessed three dry humpings, two lesbians making out (they weren't hot, btw), and a straight couple that appeared out of nowhere to start having pelvic grinding sex - all at the front stage. I'd say I got my money's worth.

Chemical Brothers. Photo by Amanda Nanawa

I'll try to recall what tracks they played... "Do It Again", "The Big Jump", "Star Guitar", "We are the Night", "All Rights Reversed", "A Modern Midnight Conversation", "Burst Generator", I think a remix of "It Began in Afrika" and "The Boxer". For their encore, they played "Saturate", "Believe" and "Block Rockin' Beats". I am a little scatterbrained but that's what I can recall. I know they didn't play "Come With Us" or oddly enough "The Salmon Dance". You would think that since "The Salmon Dance" is the second single off of We Are the Night they would play it and have the entire venue doing the dance. But to my chagrin, they didn't.

At the end of the evening, I learned a few things. I learned that Mira Aroyo can dance, smile and have a good time; that a Chemical Brothers live show is more decadent than a Goldfrapp live show - in terms of public sex and orgies; that I should catch a proper Ladytron live show next time; that Alison Goldfrapp is right - its the attendees that make the show - b/c if you set aside the laser lights, the fog machine and fancy electronic background you just have a glorified DJ set. And why the hell didn't the Chemical Brothers play "Come With Us"?