Dir. Adam Smith, UK, 2012, 88 mins
Reviewed by Juliea Stewart
Attention, fans of The Chemical Brothers: this is the closest you’ll get to attending one of their mind-blowing concerts without actually being there!
Without preamble, we are right into the action. Tingles of anticipation give way to toe-tapping pleasure, as the duo deliver their unique mix of spectacular light and sound. Under a giant pulsating light tube and three giant screens, mixing desks dominate the stage, and lasers and smoke machines ensure full audience immersion.
Using footage from twenty cameras, director Adam Smith creates a convincing concert experience, starting with close-up shots of audience members that place the viewer directly in situ. There’s no time-wasting crowd greeting… there’s no talking at all, this is all about the music! Straight in with ‘Get Yourself High’, we’re off to a hot start and communication with the audience is through DJ gestures and the power of the music itself. The obvious pleasure of the Brothers in delivering their unique, slogan-based electronica is as pure and fresh now as it was in 90s Manchester where it originated.
‘Swoon’ is a perennial favourite, with the audience cheering and singing the simple yet powerful lyric that transcends all cultural barriers… just remember to fall in love… With the light show seeming to leap into the crowd, butterflies dance us into a stripped down remix of ‘Star Guitar’. The Chemical Brothers use a skeleton backing track but mix all actual tracks live on the night, re-creating each anew. Figures are projected onto the screens and there’s a definite cheeky sense of humour in the bowler-hat suit-wearing figures on ‘Out of Control’ and the almost surreal floating cloud figures which are reminiscent of Magritte.
We find ourselves outside in the first of a number of apparently narrative strands, some of which work better than others. At the concession stand roaches go head to head, providing much entertainment – all part of the Chemical Brothers entertainment package. The little wind-up robots in particular are well suited to the Japanese context and these small details perfectly complement the more ephemeral light and sound.
It’s good to enjoy a breath of fresh air on the Japanese mountainside but I’m eager to be back inside, not wanting to miss any of the dramatic light sequences that accompany some all-time rave classics. The show builds with giant balloons released into the crowd on ‘Believe’. By the time we complete our visual journey through architectural blueprints of a cathedral to the built model, the crowd is in full worship mode. This part of the show climaxes with a gorgeous slo-mo shot of an exploding teapot.
The concert continues but the camera takes us on another break outside for some water: we follow a female fan with flowers in her hair whose varied facial expressions seem indicative of a trip that’s wavering between good and bad. This is one narrative strand that doesn’t really work, identifying too closely with a particular audience member’s experience. On our return we’re greeted with an array of floating creepy, clown-head children and the master clown intoning ‘you are all my children now’, which makes us feel we’ve been fully indoctrinated into the cult.
It’s an incredible ride, although sometimes the camera work is too frenetic (on ‘Get Yourself High’ and ‘Block Rockin’ Beats’ for example) and there is occasional unnecessary repetition of shots and imagery (an image of a horse goes on too long and there’s too much time spent on particular individuals in the crowd). These small quibbles aside, this is 88 minutes of high-octane entertainment. Sadly there’s no encore but the few missing favourites (‘Galvanise’ and ‘The Salmon Dance’) actually serve to demonstrate the impressive size of the Chemical Brothers’ catalogue.
I would recommend seeing this on the biggest screen possible with the best Dolby Surround System available and then buying the DVD to enjoy at home. However anyone suffering with coulrophobia (fear of clowns) might give this one a miss.
After the screening, I overheard someone asking why anyone would bother to watch this and the answer is so simple. It’s in the title and the lyric: Don’t Think, just let it flow! On the way home, song refrains and recalled image fragments from the show put a smile on my face, reminding me that music connects all of creation and songs form the soundscape of our memories.
- posted on 24/05/2012 00:25:44
