Groove Armada @ Thebarton Theatre 26/03/2003
It’s funny how the scene in Adelaide works. Drum ‘n’ Bass and Hard House are nearly all we get to hear. Every rave we have has two main rooms devoted to these two styles, and house, breaks and techno gets shoved together in the back room, if we’re lucky. Anything that’s near downtempo or triphop is left out all together, as if it wasn’t a part of the dance music scene at all. If this is the case, then how come an act like Groove Armada is so popular and can sell-out Thebby Theatre? Is it simply because Groove Armada are [i]that [/i]good that they transcend the normal notions of dance music, and provide entertainment for a larger cross section of the community? These are the questions that flooded my brain as I entered the gracious old Thebby Theatre.
DJ Jason Bye, from the UK, or so the hand written line-up signs said, was playing a nice mix of old and new triphop stuff, but I missed most of his set as I fought to get to and from the incredibly packed bar. It seems Adelaide likes to drink on a Wednesday night. Expertly guiding our selves to the front of the stage (I love having short, cute, female friends), we were in a prime position to see Groove Armada strut their stuff. Starting with my favourite “Chicago” from Vertigo, they proceeded to play a blend of their old stuff interspersed with their new stuff. Their new album appears to be a lot more ‘rockier’, and this is reflected in the way the guys jumped up and down on stage, rocking their axes like they were Oasis, on more than a few occasions.
I liked the way that their older tunes were remixed to suit the live performance. The guitar and bass were emphasised, and live drums and percussion replaced the digitally sampled drums on most tunes, displaying the fact that live electronic music has come of age quite quickly. I recall seeing similar acts in the past having a whole heap of trouble keeping up with synths and so on, but Groove Armada were very tight, very crisp, and performed incredibly well. The visuals behind the band were very eye catching and perfectly in synch, much like the band. They performed quite a few of their favourites, such as “At The River” and “My Friend”, but “I see you Baby” was played as a sample on the end of one of their new tunes. The finale of “Super Stylin” was much appreciated by the crowd, even getting a “live” rewind, as the MC took it back to the top.
It was a little disappointing that they only played an hour and a half. I would have liked to see them play a longer set, and a do a little more with their act. They were good, well polished, but perhaps a little too polished as they were much the same as I saw them at Vibes on A Summers Day a year ago. Although they included the newer songs off their latest album, they were pretty much the same as then, which for me was a little disapointing. Still, they are a class act, and the Adelaide crowd really seemed to enjoy it, and that’s what it’s all about. And perhaps the sell out crowd shows that Adelaide isn’t all about the dichotic relationship of dnb and hard house after all.