Warp Records

The Cinematic Orchestra (Live) is playing at Sub Pop tonight!
🙂 Sadly, I can't make it.😠
If anyone has the chance, you absolutely have to go... The Cinematic Orchestra is incredible live!!!

If they hadn't closed out with that last track and played the first encore, I honestly would've demanded a full refund.

I mean, don't get me wrong, the guys are super likable 🙂
and they aren't some big-shot rockers who rolled up in a tour bus 😍

Ethan Perez28 said:If they hadn't played that final track and the opening song, I honestly would have asked for a refund.

Even though the guys are super chill 🙂
and aren't even roadies—they actually showed up on a bus 😍

So you're saying Cinematik didn't really bring the house down??!
Tell me more about the vibe—how long was the set, how was the crowd, all that good stuff...😕 😲 🤔

I wasn't really keeping an eye on the clock, but I’d guess it was around 2 o'clock.

Look, don't get it twisted—I'm not exactly a die-hard fan, even if I did end up grabbing a spot right in the front row.🙂

But since nobody else seems to be chiming in here, I might as well give my little geeky breakdown:

The stage setup was pretty barebones: one massive amp, a minimal drum kit, an acoustic guitar, a Yamaha electric piano, a Nord Lead, and a laptop... honestly, I found myself wondering where the actual guitar amp went.
Then this guy comes out—the heavy drinker (had no idea it was him)—and starts running a fresh drum kit through a Boss digital delay. I actually muttered to myself, "You can't run a whole kit through that thing; it won't even last an hour."
The room fills up, the stage gets swallowed by fog, the five of them walk out, and the gig kicks off.
The five of them play with this incredibly pleasant vibe. They look like the kind of guys whose wildest night involves a sugary snack from a vending machine. (So, slightly more intense than me, I guess 🙂). It's mostly sequencing from the laptop. The groove? Solid. Pure perfection.
It goes like this: two tracks, nice and easy. A bit of grit thrown over the SG (without any amps 😲), then some grit layered onto the keys.
Then the drinker shows up. He's smoking and drinking god knows what. He wanders around clutching that delay pedal like a lifeline while he sings. It’s a cool visual, sure, but it sounds way too much like Coldplay.

Most of the songs start off okay, but then they just dissolve into this aimless, messy jazz.

That carries on until the final track and the first encore, which were absolute bangers. 😈 🙂 Killer riffs, killer grooves, killer drums. 🙂

The second encore was more of an acoustic thing, some human beatboxing...

All in all, it was alright. A few standout grooves. And hey, the drum kit actually survived. 👍

Radiohead is a better band, and Jamie Lidell is a better singer. 👍

Ethan Perez28 said:I wasn't really keeping an eye on the clock, but I’d guess it went for about 2 hours.

Look, I'm not even a huge fan of theirs, even though I was right there in the front row 🙂

But here’s my geeky breakdown, since nobody else is chiming in:

On stage, you had one massive amp, a stripped-back drum kit, an acoustic guitar, a Yamaha electric piano, a Nord Lead, and a laptop... honestly, I was looking around wondering where the guitar amp was.
Then this beer guy shows up (didn't realize it was him) and starts running a fresh drum kit through a Boss digital delay. I thought to myself, "Man, you can't run drums through that, it won't even last an hour."
The room fills up, the stage gets covered in fog, the five of them walk out, and the gig kicks off.
The five of them play really nicely. They look like guys whose wildest night out involves a juice box. (So, slightly more intense than me 🙂). It's mostly laptop sampling. Great groove. Killer stuff.
And two tracks like that—really lovely. A bit of grit on the SG (without any amps 😲), a little soul on the keys.
Then the beer guy wanders in. He’s smoking and drinking god knows what. He’s just wandering around with that delay pedal in hand, tweaking it while he sings. It’s cool, sure, but it feels a bit too much like Coldplay vibes.

Most songs start out okay, but then they just dissolve into this messy, unstructured jazz.

That goes on until the final song and the first encore, which were absolute bangers 😈 🙂 killer riffs, killer grooves, killer drums 🙂

And the second encore was some acoustic thing, human beatboxing...

All in all, pretty good. A few standout grooves. And surprisingly, the drums held up. 👍

Radiohead is the better band, and Jamie Lidell is the better singer. 👍

Thanks for such a detailed report...🙂
I'm a huge fan of theirs, but unfortunately, I couldn't make it out to Chicago (money issues, as usual), so I was dying to know how it went! While I was in Chicago, I caught almost every Warp Records guest appearance (Herbert at the local club—that guy is basically God!)...
So, overall, it was decent?? Hopefully, they'll tour back this way soon...

Ethan Perez28 said:just a little bit of grit through some pedals (without any amps 😲)

It might be even better if there was a POD XT or something similar included

I don't know, man, nothing seemed to fix his sound until he started messing around with what I'm pretty sure is some kind of graphic fuzz 😈 or maybe a micro synth 🤔
who actually knows? honestly, it doesn't even matter 🙂

Look, the real kicker is how the singer handles his setup. He’s got a standard Shure SM58, but he’s running a Boss DD-3 or a DD-5 straight into a Line 6 delay unit that he uses to capture those drum loops. It gets intense because every now and then he accidentally picks up some bleed from the drums sitting like thirty feet back. And god forbid the guitar gets too loud on stage, or he'll end up sounding like :radiohead:. He’s being smart about how he uses it, I guess, but if you look at how Jamie Lidell works with an MPC, he creates a sound that's ten times bigger and way more impactful than this stuff

aspirinix said:So you're saying The Cinematic Orchestra didn't deliver anything spectacular??!
Tell me about the atmosphere, how long they played, and those little details...😕 😲 🤔

I'm a huge fan myself, and I have to admit, I walked away feeling pretty let down after the show. They played some half-baked tracks from their upcoming "Ma Fleura" release mixed in with older songs given new arrangements. The original lineup was missing both the saxophonist and the DJ, though they had some touring members filling in on vocals and guitar. For the most part... the vocalist sounded like some hybrid of Thom Yorke meets Chris Martin. Honestly, I think it would have been much better if they had just brought Fontelu Bass along with them. It wasn't a total disaster, but when you've been spinning their albums and watching their Live sets for five years, you expect that same energy. It seems they've decided to pivot away from the signature sound everyone knows.

a ok 🙂 so, a new sound

whatever, I guess I just missed out on why everyone's hyped. 😁 after all this time, I'm genuinely curious what they're actually gonna serve us with this new record. and that whole thing with a singer? doesn't fit them at all. [I don't care. I want that Cinematik sound. Period. That's it.] Honestly, I can't even remember if I've ever heard a male vocal paired with Cinematik... sure, there's that killer track "all things to all men" with Roots Manuv... but that's Roots Manuv... different vibe entirely. Feels like we're basically back in 2007

Alex Ramirez12 said:Sure, "All Things to All Men" featuring Roots Manuv is an incredible track... but that's just how Roots Manuv operates. It's consistent. Feels like we're almost back in 2007.

Anyone who has collaborated with Roots Manuv tends to produce great work; think The Cinematic Orchestra, Daft Punk, Leftfield, or Freq Nasty. Regarding the new Cinematik album, the vocals will feature Patrick and Fontella.

decent guys, kind of a lukewarm show though. singer looks like Jay Kay from Brand New Heavies and sounds like Chris Martin, but he plays melodies so it’s actually alright

set was pretty short

Sub Pop is total garbage

they swiped my L wine

They didn't even bother tearing my ticket, they just straight up swiped it 😠
The place acts like some high-end lounge with those overpriced tickets, yet I didn't even get a single slice of lemon in my drink 😠
And don't even get me started on that monitor facing the crowd instead of the stage 😠

Ethan Perez28 said:It felt more like an overpriced lounge than a club—expensive tickets, yet I didn't even get a lemon drop in my cocktail!😠

awww 🙂 😬

They actually banned some emo-core idiot from being the vocalist... they tried to get Roots Manuv instead, but couldn't make that happen.

Amon Tobin has a brand new album dropping soon “Bloodstone” !!! Along with the full release, there’s even going to be a DVD documentary showing the whole creative process behind how the record came together.
Given everything this Brazilian genius has pulled off in the past, I’m pretty sure
this next project is going to be a masterpiece (even if his last one, Chaos Theory, didn't quite hit the mark for me)!
BTW... in the meantime, he just released a new single called “Bloodstone” that's featured on the upcoming album. http://myspace.com/tobinamon Go check it out!

That could be quite interesting...

I can see we’ve got some seriously good taste in music going on here... major respect... DJ Krush & Daft Punk are absolute legends... and don't even get me started on DJ Shadow ;p

Linda Barrett87 said:I can see some solid music here... respect... dj krush & Daft Punk at their best... & DJ Shadow ;p

Since you brought up DJ Shadow, there's actually a "Turntablism: DJ Shadow" projection screening happening this Thursday.

Amon Tobin has been floating around the P2P networks for ages now—it’s honestly one of those tracks that’s just... maddeningly brilliant... enough to drive you absolutely crazy if you think about it too much

Robert Fisher2 said:Foley room has been floating around P2P networks for ages, and man, it is absolutely maddening how good it is.

I just finished listening to Foley room and I have to agree—it’s incredible!!!
Seriously, 🙏 Tobin is a total genius.........