tonyballinger.com

Incredible show – at the same time quite simple and totally original. The big question on my mind was: how are The Books going to pull their sound off in a live performance? I mean, basically there is a LOT of glitchy production in a books song, and I wasn’t sure how that would translate live.

Electronic music always runs into the same challenge as a live show. If too much is prerecorded, or played on laptops, the show doesn’t feel "live". If too much is played with live instruments, unlike the album, then it doesn’t sound like the original material. I’ve seen Moby, Autechre, and many other electronic acts live – and then tend to be pretty disapointing in my opinion.

But The Books pulled it off. They had four performers: one on keyboards/violin, one on guitar/vocals, one on cello, and one on bass. They also had a sampler onstage that laid down a clicky background for many tracks, as well as triggered vocal samples. Normally, this level of prerecording would blow the show, but with the amount of strings being played on stage, and the passion with which the cello was being played, made it a very live performance.

As an added bonus, they projected some videos they made. They figured the same collage aesthetic of their music, juxtaposing all sorts of imagery and type. One song that I hadn’t thought much about from their new album "Lost and Safe" really came to life in their live performance.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 13th, 2005 at 6:45 pm and is filed under Concerts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.