2019 UK Live Show Reviews!

[inchemwetrust]

The Chems are on the last leg of the tour. C'mon and give your thoughts, impressions and memories of your recent live shows you attended in the UK. Don't be shy! Give us your pics and vids so you can share with us.

[Stefan]

Will do, but I am at the Birmingham and London shows, so  you will have to wait a bit.

[Csar]

Yeah, looking forward to any reviews! In the meantime, Reel on!

[Fine Time]

Birmingham show for me  ,  ' Behold they're coming back ,  behold they're coming back ,  they're coming back ' ,  ,  review to follow . .

[Csar]

Glint's lightshow really is something clever

[Shotglass75]

Glint's lightshow really is something clever

Well that's just a remarkable thing of beauty right there.

[Csar]

Ok, so if no forumite is coming forward with any review, the Guardian must fill in for that with a rather meaningless one about the Leeds show:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/nov/22/chemical-brothers-review-a-glorious-meaningless-sensory-overload?CMP=share_btn_tw

But here's more interesing track by track take of the Manchester gig

For a dance act to sell out Manchester Arena - a rare feat indeed - you've got to be doing something right.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/review-chemical-brothers-manchester-arena-17304395

[liveforever]

Just got back from the Cardiff gig. To sum it up briefly, I really wish I never watched the Glastonbury show because it kind of ruined the surprises. But it was so good to actually be there anyway, was my first time going to see them.

They have changed a few things, there's Bango vocals before EML Ritual and Under The Influence is back instead of Hoops. It's hard to recall the what the small differences were in each song but there was definitely a lot of new things added in in various songs. A lot of different effects on the songs. Dig Your Own Hole was definitely a lot different and was really cool. It was funny to see the sound crew covering their equipment with a massive net during Got To Keep On when all the confetti (or whatever it is) came down from the roof.

Like I say they've definitely changed a few things in the songs but the setlist was identical to Glastonbury apart from changing Hoops for Under The Influence (which I was happy about). Must be a nightmare for them to change their setlist frequently because of the visual aspect of the shows so it's understandable.

If you want to be beneath the confetti stuff and have a chance to punch the balloons during Saturate you need to go in front of the sound crew area because like I mentioned earlier they obviously didn't want it anywhere near them. I had to stand by the sound crew area so I could lean on the barrier because my legs and back get in a lot of pain sometimes at concerts which is annoying.

Overall really good night though it was incredible to finally see one of the first artists I started listening to.

[Csar]

From Manchester Arena

S'more Glint

and s'more Reel! You need more Reel in your life!

Chemical Beats and MAH

Cardiff crowd knows their shit

[elcomplicado]

I"m up for writing a review of Birmingham later on for folks. It was my fourth time seeing the guys, and that was the second best time (Ally Pally will be fucking hard to beat)

[hubie]

I was at the O2 in London and it was absolutely brilliant 

I've been going to Chems gigs since the '90s, I've seen them on pretty much every tour, and this show was probably the best I've ever been to. Everything was perfect, the music, the sound quality (which surprised me for such a big venue), the visuals (where I was standing it was totally immersive), even the crowd was one of the best. Hardly any chin-strokers where I was, just thousands of people dancing their arses off and enjoying themselves.

I knew what to expect, there weren't many surprises having seen them at Ally Pally last year, All Points East in the summer, and having watched them at Glasto on TV, but it was still an amazing experience.

I posted a few videos on my

View this post on Instagram

if anyone's interested

[Stefan]

Allright, I promised to write a review, so here we go!

After last year's amazing Ally Pally gig, I knew that I definitely wanted to see them again this year, the UK gigs provided a great opportunity. Originally, I wanted to go to the Glasgow, as I could combine this with a trip around Scotland, but I hesitated too long and then the standing tickets were already gone. Since no London gig was announced that time, I then bought tickets for Birmingham, the most convenient one to get to from London. Lucky for me, before I booked any hotels or flights, the show in London was announced and so there was a chance to see the Chems two days in a row!

When I arrived in Birmingham, on the way to the hotel I walked by a Christmas Market and read labels like "Glühwein", "Bratwurst", "Knoblauchbrot" and so on, it hit me after a few seconds, wait, why do all stands have their labels in German when I'm in the UK? Turns out that Birmingham hosts the largest German Christmas Market outside of Germany and Austria 

After I spent Friday walking Birminghams lovely canals and visiting the Museum and Art Gallery (I just love that many museums in the UK are admission free), it was time for the main act, round one.
Upon entring the Arena, the tunes of the 2manydjs set could be heard, but the stage was completely covered in smoke, thick enough not to see anything, so I actually ended up a little bit further from the stage than I usually prefer. I think that both 2manydjsand James Holroyd were great support acts!
Finally, Tom and Ed entered the stage and the venue erupted in cheers!
I have to say that the first few songs are the weakest part of the show, Go somehow just doesn't work live, which is surprising to me as I really like the track. However I prefer the studio version to the Edge of Control mix. There are also barely any transitions between the first three songs, unusual compared with the magic they often work when changing from one song to another. The intro feels a little bit serrated and unsettled compared to previous setlists.
Nevertheless, this did not hinder me enjoying the show, and the energy picked up soon with MAH, which are the most brutal, in-your-face beats second to probably only Don't Think. It pairs well with EML Ritual, hopefully Bango gets it own space next year (The visuals are probably a teaser). The mellow duo of Swoon and Star Guitar offer a space to breathe before Got To Keep On, the grooviest track they've ever played, comes on. Oh what fun this is to dance to!





The seque into Hey Boy Hey Girl is perfect, here I really like the new added elements. Eve Of Destruction is as amazing as I expected it to be live. Saturate is as lovely as ever and with the Balloons fully immerses the crowd in the visuals. The crowd just loves to watch them bounce around and push them back in the air if they happen to fall anywhere near.



No Geography is waaaayyy to short. Escape Velocity feels a bit toned down compared to previous years? Next on are the Robots, and it still gives me goosebumps when they appear out of the mist. After a song like Under The Influence, it might be difficult to kick up the pace but the energetic Get Up On It Like This/Dig Your Own Hole with their new Chemathlon visuals achieves that. Wide Open now brings you down to Earth a little bit with it's gentle and cozy rave. I want to hug that song. The last part before the break is probably the oldest part of the show (in that it is pretty much unchanged since 2015?), but it's still very enjoyable and I understand that Galvanize and Block Rocking Beats are (together with Hey Boy Hey Girl) the biggest crowd-pleasers in the Chems catalogue. There's a fun new acid-ish synth added to Galvanize which I haven't heard before.
At this point I'm already exhausted (in a good way) and quite thankful for the break.
Not for long though, and the wormhole visuals and catchy synths and beats of Got Glint draw you right back into the music. Catch Me I'm Falling is similar to Wide Open, with the melancholy ghost dancers serving as a reminder that soon, all good things must come to an end. Which is, of course, the crazy psychedelic masterpiece of The Reel. Love is all.



On my way back to the hotel I could barely believe that just the next day, I will experiencing everything again. My muscles, sore from dancing, can go suck it.

Side note here: do not, I repeat, do not go into the central part of London on the first Christmas shopping weekend. It's more crowded than any arena dancefloor and the music is definitely not nearly as fun.


The setlist in London was, of course, the same, but it felt like there were small differences all over the place. Let me just tell you that it is absolutely worth it going to multiple gigs, if you ever have the chance to.
This time, I was further up the front, even though the Arena was packed, it did not feel suffocating. Maybe it was because of the sheer size of the venue, but the vibe throughout the whole gig was just breathtaking. The whole place just lit up along with the music, there was barely anybody not moving, even in the seating balconys.
I won't go into detail again, so here are just some pictures for you to enjoy:



















Sorry for the long post. I always feel that my words are completely inadequate to describe the bliss this music brings me (especially when experienced live), so I hope it's not boring to read.

TL, DR: I absolutely loved the shows. Count me in again next year 

[whirlygirl]

Thank you so much all for the reviews so far. <3 And I really dig your share, Stefan!

[ThePumisher]

Do Goerge & Mildred fly under the roof?

[Explud]

Do Goerge & Mildred fly under the roof?

I guess it's for safety from the laser beams.

[Stefan]

Haha yeah, they were waaay up in the air. They even hid up there during the show, you can just see their feet behind the black screen.

Btw, thankfully the glorious posters were still available after the show, so I got one without having to worry that it will be bent/damaged during the show 

[elcomplicado]

I was wondering when i saw pics of the o2 UTI if they were flown the whole time, kind of glad they were actually, in my head the only stage next for George and Mildred is to be a rail system  and hover above the crowd.
hey if kanye can float an entire stage above a crowd, i'm sure the chems can stretch to walking floating robots

[GLAKO-FAHN]

stefan, those are fantastic photos, thanks for sharing

[Stefan]

Thanks 

[Ray Baseley]

I guess it's for safety from the laser beams.

They were actually supposed to be flown every show. But it would be too costly. Normally the tech crew needs to take them out from stage right and then they attach them to a chain motor system to fly them, after the song they take them down and put them back into position.