From the Los Angeles Times 2/11/02
Did anyone catch Alex Saturday in LA? The notice was a bit short and I had my money sunk into Thievery Corporations LA stop at the El Rey with a bunch of friends on Friday. They were the bomb! Just couldn't do both this time around. Hope Gavin got the hot tip and the Orb do tour again this year. Proper here is Southern Cali. This review appeared in the Times this morning. Huh, all those time's I've attended his DJ gigs and no review. Edward "Orb's Paterson Comes Down To Earth In Engaging Show" By Steve Baltin POP MUSIC REVIEW (??) Though Dr. Alex Paterson has been called everything from genius to eccentric by the electronic community, he has never earned such descriptions as warm or inviting. One could even argue that since 1989, this member of the Orb has symbolized the idea of electronic music as cold and detached. So when the seminal UK dance figure came into town Saturday for a deejay set at the Knitting Factory, it was difficult to know what to expect. Would be play the kind of spacey, expansive ambient sounds-hardly dance music, really- that he has produced with the Orb? Or would he show a different side? Paterson started his set a little after midnight with Orb sounds, but his two-hour stink definitely showed an unexpected side. it wasn't so much the all-over-the map musical selections-which ranged from metallic synth version of the Smiths' "There Is A Light" to a sample of Paterson's own hit "Little Fluffy Clouds" and included House, Dancehall and pure Techno in between-as it was how animated Paterson was on stage. Dancing, jumping, smiling and waving his arms, Paterson was downright engaging. And as he settled into a groove roughly 40 minutes in, he even became a but playful with the audience, egging on the dancing fans with his motions. Also unexpected was how technically adept he was. True, Paterson has been performing as a deejay since the late 80's, but since most associate him with his own productions, his slick transitions and well-developed style were a bonus in a night full of pleasant surprises.
Ed wrote:
Proper here is Southern Cali. This review appeared in the Times this morning.
Yeah, no shit. It's been nearly *5* years since we've had a proper Orb show in Los Angeles.
"Orb's Paterson Comes Down To Earth In Engaging Show" By Steve Baltin
Heh. At least we had more than 50 people...indeed, the Knitting Factory seemed nearly as full as last time, which had much better publicity. Did anyone catch the name of the vibe-killing middle act? Damn, their mix was rotten. It is *not* a good thing when your archival film footage is more engaging than your live music. And what's up with nicking the giant inflatable orb; when opening for LX Paterson?
Dancing, jumping, smiling and waving his arms, Paterson was downright engaging. And as he settled into a groove roughly 40 minutes in, he even became a but playful with the audience, egging on the dancing fans with his motions. Also unexpected was how technically adept he was. True, Paterson has been performing as a deejay since the late 80's, but since most associate him with his own productions, his slick transitions and well-developed style were a bonus in a night full of pleasant surprises.
Heh. Did this guy see the same show the rest of us did? I like LX, and you like LX, but technically, he was worse than usual. The initial trouble with figuring out how the CD-deck worked in the mixer only presaged later issues. More than once LX crossfaded into dead silence, or into blatantly un-cued music. However towards the end, he did get into a real groove, and turned in his usual sort of slapdash mixing, but made it work in that wonderful way of his. As a selecter, LX did his usual fabulous job, indeed, I was quite happy with the number of BOBs played, as well as a couple of tracks from CD-R that I *really* hope are the fore-runners of new Orb tracks. Before the set, LX was wandering the crowd as usual, and at one point, actually went right through the middle of the pit, with basically no one recognizing him. I fought back the urge to yell out to him from the balcony. ;) Hi to the list-member that stopped and said "Hi", unfortunately, I didn't get your name, but hopefully you were able to buttonhole Alex. Despite any minor carping above, it was a good show; I'm glad I went, and definitely had a great time. Chris
participants (3)
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-> rachel -
Chris Johnson or Shannon Beets -
Ed