From pHlow Sent Fri, Nov 6th 1998, 13:07
3 loonies (my canadian change left over after last night) says i'm up before lance, therefore hopefully qualified to post the first review of an outstanding performance last night. the cleveland contingent (both of us) made the 180 mile jaunt to windsor to catch this show. thanks to a stack of good CD's, advanced radar detection technology and ample coffee and mountain dew, this was a totally painless drive and we arrived at the venue shortly before doors opened. once inside the cozy thirteen below, we found an underground venue perfect for m-nus's weekly ambient outings and even better for a show from our berlin guests. solid brick and stone walls , low ceilings and tight bassbins gave indication that the dub would flow mighty. and it did. clark warner warmed up the slowly arriving audience with a smooth and functional set that gradually transitioned from eno and namlook to aufenhalt (sp?) dynamo and burial mix. our faction was getting increasingly amped. stefan, pete and rene then arrived and began final gear preparations. i beleive it was scion's first ever live performance together and pole's first live PA around a flight caseable gear setup. pole's equipment appeared to consist of a powerbook, a large sampler and mixing board and maybe some additional delay and reverb effects boxes invisible to my untrained eye. stefan began to create, and the output was wave upon wave of deep subsonic bass. sounds appeared to be echo folded back upon themselves two , three and even four times; creating pulsing ripples of sound. he triggered sampled cellar doors of powerful low frequencies that shook the cones mightily. sampled simple synth and harmonica melodies added meloncholy beauty to the rush of sound. the trademark clicks and pops flowed in the background with coursing analog warmth. only minor powerbook technical difficulties plagued him during his first track, but after that it was flawless and awe inspiring sonics all the way. most of the tracks appeared to be new, and if the PA was any indication, the new EP will be one to jump on. pete and rene then activated their setup, which appeared to consist primarily of a laptop, an R8, and e-mu sampler and mixing deck. Rene manned the e-mu, Peter the R8 and the mixer was community property. they spewed out a powerful set which, if they were the CR01 tracks, were radically reshaped versions. the music seemed to be a mosaic of all our favorite sounds and effects from the BC/CR/MS/BM/R&S back catalogue all incorporated into one performance. confounding stereo panning interwoven with filtered sweeps and clickity drum programming built a very rich groove. i was eyes closed mojo groovin' through most of their set. they would take chords and strings and compress, extrude and pinch them gradually until they became percussion. amazing. it was a lot of fun to watch them collaborate / negotiate realtime over proper board settings for desired sound shaping. for a first ever live PA, it appeared very well thought out and was received heartily. afterwards, we had a chance to speak briefly with stefan and peter, both very down to earth guys. peter seemed not quite satisfied with the quality of the set, but we assured him that it was excellent and he seemed to appreciate the feedback. big props to the local 313/idm posse who were in effect. it's always great to convert xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx which you've respected for several years into warm smiles and handshakes. we received great local hospitality from bill vanloo, brian bickel, steve lammers, ian malbon & katy?, dale lawrence, jeff?, mike geiger and probably others which i'm sorry i forgot. all in all a great show to kick off what should be an impressive mini-tour. if you are within driving distance of any of the upcoming performances -- BE THERE!!!! i would kill for a copy of the DAT which they made last night..... peeeeeeeeeeece,