-I- Let's review BT!
Midnight Tree Bandit
Skies and Talula...
The biggest disappointmet of the BT show at DC's 9:30 Club was its brevity.
Too damn short, clocking in at 45 minutes for the main set. The encore put it
just over an hour. I thought this was atypical until I started reading the
message boards at bt-network.org. The crime of it was that he walked out
right at the point where ther crowd's energy level was reacing its peak. If
he'd stayed just another 15 minutes, it would have been less disappointing.
As it was, the audience, for the most part, just stood there for 15 minutes,
with a stunned "nah, that can't be *it*?" look on their faces.
But that hour still kicked major ass. In an interview a few years ago, BT
said hell yezh, he'd like to be a rock star and not just another faceless
electronica artist. A set list would be misleading because it doesn't tell
the story of the many snippets from Blue Skies, Fibonacci Sequence, Orbitus
Terranium, Flaming June and many others that appeared between and within the
four full songs he did (which were, in order, "Love, peace, and Grease,"
"Mercury and Solace," "Godspeed," and "Dreaming." The encore was "Never Gonna
Come Back Down" which rocked the house). There were also times that bits of
the main songs played invaded others... Love Peace and Grease made a visit in
the middle of Godspeed. And that is how BT showed the real potential of this
kind of MIDI driven live electronica is supposed to work. Put it all in a
blender and see what comes out. It's not strictly necessary to play a song,
talk, play, and so forth. This was a live mix, with keyboards and a CD deck
(which, I think, only contained the vocal samples from Kirsty Hawkshaw, Jan
Johnston, and M Dougherty, plus other recorded sounds), a mix in the truest
sense. The effect was brilliant. We danced, and we rocked, and we were
almost satisfied.
BT is most certainly almost a rock star. In order to *be* a rock star,
though, he needs to learn how to work with the audience, and not leave them
stranded on the high of a show that isn't quite finished.
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Megasus
Midnight Tree Bandit wrote
> The biggest disappointmet of the BT show at DC's 9:30 Club was its
brevity.
> Too damn short, clocking in at 45 minutes for the main set. The encore
put it
> just over an hour. I thought this was atypical until I started reading
the
> message boards at bt-network.org. The crime of it was that he walked out
> right at the point where ther crowd's energy level was reacing its peak.
If
> he'd stayed just another 15 minutes, it would have been less
disappointing.
> As it was, the audience, for the most part, just stood there for 15
minutes,
> with a stunned "nah, that can't be *it*?" look on their faces.
No kidding! But I think all concerts are left with that feeling. Tori was my
firstconcert last year (can you believe that? i'm probably the only person
here who's ever been to one concert in my life.) and everybody was still
standing around even after 2 encores. nobody would leave. the lights came
on. nobody would leave. ;)
<snip>
Man, I really need to get my hands on the new album. I have Ima, and I
didn't really pay much attention because I was off in Tori-land, buying all
Tori stuff (that's how I ended up with Ima... *grin*) but I soo want to get
ahold of the newer stuff. And I'm sure seeing him live was awesome... :)
Thanks for the review! Where did you find out about the concert? I looked at
nettwerk, and got a listing of one whole concert on the 19th, and nothing
else. :( Was he in the Seattle area at all? Is his tour over, or was it not
really a tour, but just a few random shows?
> BT is most certainly almost a rock star. In order to *be* a rock star,
> though, he needs to learn how to work with the audience, and not leave
them
> stranded on the high of a show that isn't quite finished.
:O well, drop a comment in his comment box ;) i'm sure he'll get the hang of
it. sounds like the show was awesome anyway. and i need to go get my hands
on that album asap. :(
Again, thanks muchly for the review.. I hope to see him someday. As well as
Oakey.. I have a dream to see Oakey with my friend at a rave someday, but if
I showed up at a rave right now I'd probably get laughed out. Ah well. :)
~Meg, who has alotof personal things to work through before she's
comfortable anywhere
Midnight Tree Bandit
cried out in the night, letting loose a great wail, followed by the following
rational thought. It was kinda wierd.
:Man, I really need to get my hands on the new album. I have Ima, and I
:didn't really pay much attention because I was off in Tori-land, buying all
:Tori stuff (that's how I ended up with Ima... *grin*) but I soo want to get
:ahold of the newer stuff. And I'm sure seeing him live was awesome... :)
He's changed since Ima. A little anyway. He doesn't want to be known just for
the progressive house style he pioneered (some have called it "dreamhouse"),
and he wants to emphasize that he's a trained musician, not just a knob
twiddler. I enjoyed ECSM. I love Movement in Still Life. I prefer the UK
version over the US version. The UK version mixes the tracks together, and I
think there are slightly different mixes of the tracks that are used. The US
version separates and re-orders the tracks, and four tracks from the UK
version have been replaced with four tracks thast BT and Nettwerk probably
decided were more "accessible" to the US market. One of those tracks is
"Never Gonna Come Back Down" (vocals by M Doughty from Soul Coughing), which
is the current single. Heck, if you have the money, get the US version and
the limited Asian release which is a 2-disc set... the second disc has mostly
the same tracks, "extended and un-mixed", plus "Fibonacci Sequence." CDNOW
has the Asian version for $23. Tower's currently selling the US version for
$10. Here's a review by a former rmta regular:
http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/b/bt-movement.html
:Thanks for the review! Where did you find out about the concert? I looked at
:nettwerk, and got a listing of one whole concert on the 19th, and nothing
:else. :( Was he in the Seattle area at all? Is his tour over, or was it not
:really a tour, but just a few random shows?
It's a full tour. Find it at the may-as-well-be-official fan site,
www.bt-network.org It's a very well done site, with complete discography
(see! the 10 different versions of Movement in Still Life!) and tour
information. I just happened to trip across it by accident about a month ago.
I feel lucky that I did.
:Again, thanks muchly for the review.. I hope to see him someday. As well as
:Oakey.. I have a dream to see Oakey with my friend at a rave someday, but if
:I showed up at a rave right now I'd probably get laughed out. Ah well. :)
Don't worry about being laughed out. I was at a party here in Richmond, and
if I didn't get laughed out, you're pretty much safe. I look the complete
opposite of raver. I think I was the only guy with long hair in the room.
Ahh, Oakey... I'd love to see Oakey. And Sasha. And Digweed. And Nick
Warren.... need I go on?
Sadly, I'm finding I'm start9ng to buy vinyl. I'm predicting I'll be buying
decks within a year. What I'll do with them, I don't know. For now, I'm
happy spinning on the p1rate station.