photo:
kevin westenberg |
Chemical
Brothers
Paul Oakenfold
Sasha & Digweed
Chicago, IL
venue: Allstate Arena
show date: 04.20.02
|
Feel What
They Feel
by:
tom reiter
Music-Critic.com
attended the Chicago stop for the Chemical Brothers' U.S. tour,
held at the Allstate Arena (more about that later), where Paul
Oakenfold and Sasha & Digweed also performed.
The evening
began waiting in line for an hour+ in sub-40 degree weather while
patrons were slowly ushered in through a single door. Yes, that's
right, organizers and security only had one door open to allow
people in. During the wait, at least one person was rushed away
in an ambulance bundled in blankets.
Once inside,
we attempted to make it to the floor to start dancing...'attempted'
being the key word. We found out the hard way that only a certain
number of tickets were issued with floor access, all other ticket
holders were forced into the seated portion of the arena. The
floor size was relatively small. Normally the size of a hockey
rink, a stage was set up on either end where the goals would be,
and a sound booth in the middle. (Talk about an asinine set-up
for an electronic dance concert.)
Paul Oakenfold
began the night's adventures, and the crowd instantly responded
to his energetic mix of trance and euro-house. Oakenfold's emotional
selection of tracks coupled with video-art of several U.S. cities
made for a dramatic dance experience. But that was just the beginning.
After a quick
filler set by S & D, the Chemical Brothers took the stage.
They were set up on center stage in a 'cockpit' of equipment.
From this cockpit they controlled an extensive array of electronic
music equipement, and the crowd. Digital images were projected
on the front of their cockpit and on a circular screen hung above
them.
The Chemi's
mixed an unbelievable first set of their music. At the beginning
of their second set, a large curtain revealed a huge screen behind
them, onto which more imagery was projected.
The Chemical
Brothers performed two extensive sets of their own music, as well
as an encore presentation that left onlookers in awe. They ended
their performance with a demonstration of the awesome capabilities
of electronic equipment, showing their roots in the industry as
true electronic artists.
Ending at
about 11:30 P.M., it seemed a little early for the events to be
over. Sure enough, Sasha & Digweed took stage for an extended
'after party' session. They mixed house music on into the night
for people to dance...too bad only those on the floor could really
enjoy it.
Is paying
$50 for ticket, stand outside for an hour in the cold, and be
stuck in seats in order to see the Chemi's worth it? Hell yeah.
22-Apr-2002
10:00 PM
If you
liked The Chemical Brothers...
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