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The last time I saw Goldfrapp perform, she was chatty and cursing like a sailor. Friday night at Radio City Music Hall -- which is the largest venue the band has ever performed in the city -- I wondered what kind of surprises the live show would have. There was already talk about no dancers on the 2nd US tour, which meant no pole dancing. So the likelihood that a full choir would make an appearance on this large stage was practically zero on the chance scale. It seems that Mute just poured out their budget on the proper UK tour and skimped on other stand-alone tours outside the UK. The sad trickle down effect from EMI. So what was different about this tour? Let me just outline and then I'll write up some snazzy paragraphs.

What was different:

- No wicker squares used as backdrop
- Theremin broke
- One song encore
- Less chatty Alison
- Only sang one song from Felt Mountain (yeah, really)
- No dancers
- Performed "Clowns" live!!!!!!!!

The stage setup had the stag head topped pole with streamers and bunting all around. There were a couple of stuffed owls and the background scrim was this silk screen with diamond-shaped patterns. Gone were those tasty looking wicker squares.

The band opened with "Utopia" from Felt Mountain and it was stirring. Radio City has amazing acoustics - one of the reasons why seeing Goldfrapp performing in this venue is well worth the catch. Needless to say, one of the biggest drawbacks at Radio City is the lack of stadium seating. There were various people standing up during "Utopia" (a slow dance shuffler that can elicit people to sit rather than stand). Problem is, in a seated venue people just want to sit during a slow number. But these two guys - drunk beyond belief - were whooping and dancing their martini-soaked asses off. And worst, they were sitting in the Orchestra Pit section so everyone behind them were affected by their obstructed view. Very bad. Not a good way to appreciate the song or Alison's operatic voice.

The setlist featured a menagerie of tunes from Supernature and Seventh Tree but it seems most of the tunes from Seventh Tree were played. After "Utopia" was "Cologne Cerrone Houdini" and it was sensual. You can hear each instrument making a contribution to the live set - Ruth Wall on harps, Davide Rossi on electronic violin & keyboards, Angie Pollock on keyboards, Alex Lee on guitars, Charlie Jones on bass and Ged Lynch on drums/percussion. They sounded like an orchestra of a 100 but it was just them. That's amazing.

"Satin Chic" made it on the setlist but Alison didn't do the ragdoll robot dance. "Number One" got people really into it. Biggest improvement of all the songs on the setlist was the extended live "Little Bird". When last performed at the Beacon Theatre earlier in the year, the song kinda fell short existentially. But at Radio City, the song was alive. The psychedelic imagery that accompanied it was brighter for some reason too.

"You Never Know" also improved since the Beacon show. It was powerful and spellbinding. That was the Alison Goldfrapp I expected to hear. Those vocal acrobatics returned and thats what always made this song a great live song.

During "Happiness" everyone danced and bounced up and down like in the music video (that was an homage to an MGM movie -- which Peter Wolf also paid tribute to in his "Come As You Are" video). That was fun. And what's a show without "Ooh La La"? This is the electro-stomp version, not the Hillbilly version they experimented with at the Beacon. "Caravan Girl" made it back on the setlist. But the one I've been curious to hear and see was "Clowns" performed live and it was worth the wait. It was gorgeous listening to this cheeky quiet song in the flesh.

The song "Train" came on and everyone got really crazy and started hip grinding with people (some others were....er...doing things I don't want to even recall). The last time she performed "Train" in NYC was at the infamous Roseland show -- the same show where Alison broke down in tears while singing "Black Cherry" -- and at that show, the Theremin was missing. During the Radio City show, the Theremin was on stage but when Alison went to turn on the volume, its pitch was so high that it never got under control. Alison, frustrated at the Theremin's non-cooperative spirit, threw the Theremin to the floor like an angry child that couldn't get its toy to work. Amazingly, it didn't shatter to pieces but to Alison it was no good and worth throwing in the bin. So during this angry session, the song was still in its instrumental phase and once again Alison had to improvise. And again she danced it off... angrily. With no dancers to dance the tune with, she started to do some crazy hybrid shadowboxing dance moves. She was pumping her fists high in the air as if to punch the living daylights out of the Theremin god that failed her. When the song ended, she was livid. She started pacing toward the monitor technician but didn't approach him. She was just beside herself.

"Strict Machine (We Are Glitter remix)" came on and the light show that accompanied this song was definitely inducing hypnosis or epilepsy. The strobe lights just kept going and my eyes just kept dilating to the point where I had to shake my head and get my focus back.

For an encore, the band came back to play one song, "Some People". It got everyone to sit down and soak in its soothing sound. And then she said, "Thanks. That's it!" Afterwards, Alison took her glass of wine, held it up to the crowd as if she was saying "cheers" and took a sip. She did this on both sides of the stage. She then asked the cowd to thank the live band that supported her.

You know what I said after she said "That's it"... I said out loud... "Awe c'mon! You gotta be kidding me!" When oh when does Alison get to overcome this feeling of ambivalence to sing "Black Cherry" live again?

Before I conclude, I must write about Martha Wainwright. She rocked! It really surprised me that she was opening for Goldfrapp but that's ok because it was a great performance. Of all the opening acts I have seen open for Goldfrapp so far, Martha was the best. Oh hell, she's on a different stratosphere than all the other openers anyway. But she truly warmed up the crowd. And her rousing duet with her mother, Canadian folk singer/songwriter Kate McGarrigle, was amazing. Martha sang in French while her mother was on keyboards and backing vocals. Its too bad her brother Rufus didn't make it, but that would've been too much!

There was some drama after the Goldfrapp show... What was it? Click below to read the rest.