2025/09/18 Knockdown Center NYC, USA [DJ Set]

[ThePumisher]

Hold tight NYC! We're DJing at The Knockdown Center in September! Sign up now to access the pre-sale

=> CLICK

[actionjackson780]

Excited for US fans, although selfishly I'm disappointed as this lowers the chances of a surprise UK DJ set while I'm there in September

[inchemwetrust]

  omg seriously! Best news I've ever heard this year.

[Bosco]

Curious about the unspecified date. Makes me believe they're getting a feeler for multiple days or they're being non-specific as favor to a potential corresponding announcement (Portola Festival).

Regardless, the Knockout Knockdown Center looks dope.

[Champiness]

Knockdown was an absolutely wonderful venue when I went there for the DFA anniversary event a few years back. Philip Sherburne wrote once that "a good nightclub should have nooks and crannies, hidden rooms, mysterious passageways" and while I think that's kind of a silly reason to put down a record (as he did there) he's right that it's cool when that's true and the Knockdown Center has some truly great ones. Can't think of a better reason to go back than the Chems being there.

[Bosco]

DJ set for Thursday the 18th

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[Bosco]

Presale is live and Checkout Price is $58.71

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[Enjoyed]

Presale is live and Checkout Price is $58.71

Doing the Lord's work.

I clicked the link in one of the two emails from Knockdown that made it into my junk, and when I realized there was no code included in the email, and clicking 'register' or whatever prompted me to put my phone number, I sadly just closed the tab and went back to what I was supposed to be doing.

How long is a standalone Chems DJ set these days. 3 hours? $60 for an NY headline (DJ) show seems pretty reasonable, no?

[Bosco]

How long is a standalone Chems DJ set these days. 3 hours? $60 for an NY headline (DJ) show seems pretty reasonable, no?

How about it's the first exclusive DJ set, in America, in the last 20 years. They have only done 2 other DJ sets in America over that time and they were both at festivals (Coachella 2009 and Miami 2022).

[Bosco]

I hate to make a new thread to post this since this is strictly a rumor, but potentially watch out for an electronic festival in Philadelphia called Making Time. It's the weekend of September 19-21st. They just did a lineup tease this weekend where they projected a 2025 lineup leak on the side of a building:

from r/MakingTime

and names like Erol Alkan, Gerd Janson, HAAi, and YØU$UKE YUK1MAT$U (all who have all been connected to Chems) are part of the lineup leak. The lineup is officially released on Tuesday, May 13th.

To go further, the festival director of Making Time is DAVE P, and is followed by Chemical Brothers on Instagram.


Whether Chems are on Making Time lineup or not, those connected names must have potential as support at Knockdown Center, I would think... (Philadelphia is less than 2 hours away from NYC)

[Born In Planet Dust]

 Is it that hard to stop somewhere in the midwest when an artist goes to the east and west coasts?  Maybe Cincinnati? We were on The Simpsons. We had a song about us sang by Keanu Reeves and Drew Berrymore in a made for tv movie. We eat chili. The point is, Chicago also exists. So does Detroit. Also, did you know that we're called The Queen City? That sounds neat right?  Fuck, get me out of the midwest and this country.

[Bosco]

Is it that hard to stop somewhere in the midwest when an artist goes to the east and west coasts?  Maybe Cincinnati? We were on The Simpsons. We had a song about us sang by Keanu Reeves and Drew Berrymore in a made for tv movie. We eat chili. The point is, Chicago also exists. So does Detroit. Also, did you know that we're called The Queen City? That sounds neat right?  Fuck, get me out of the midwest and this country.

lol, I grew up with that Christmas "classic". 



The Midwest is just a forgotten memory now. I could put up a good argument on why they're missing out, but it's ultimately not up to me and there's probably a good reason for it (despite our frustrations). Chicago's 'Radius' would be a fantastic spot for a Chems DJ set in Chicago, both size-wise and structurally. And judging by the people who turned out for Underworld just a month ago (it sold out at a cap of 4,000), this seems like a slam-dunk for Chems.

Ultimately, I think the lack of activity in the Midwest has to do with the venues and the promoters. Any sizeable venue with availability for "big show" production, are dominated by Live Nation in the Midwest. I don't think The Chemical Brothers have done much business with Live Nation (in America) since the new millennium. That leaves it up to music festivals, and most of the Midwest music festivals aren't structured or can't properly budget The Chemical Brothers. 

Knockdown Center probably wasn't in the cards for this "DJ tour" until, Portola signed them up first. So while the New York date was technically announced first, it's their appearance at Portola 2025 that is producing this date in New York. Regardless, California will always be a hot spot to catch them because they are compatible with Goldenvoice/AEG productions, who are primarily West Coast based.

New York will always get strong look because it's fucking New York, which also includes ties/familiarity going back to the Astralwerks days (when they were still located in NYC). Chems actually DJ'ed New York on a yearly basis in the late 90's through early 00's. Plus, I get the impression they like visiting New York.

Any who, Tom and Ed aren't spring chickens anymore and they got families. I don't think they want to do a detailed DJ Tour that keeps them away from home for an extended amount of time. Portola probably produced a lucrative deal and that alone is why we are even discussing any DJ dates in America. 
 

[Bosco]

Erol Alkan on as support!

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[Bosco]

Sold out. Nicely done, y'all. 

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[Stefan]

Have we heard this before?
It notably has the "Theese Chemicals Good, These Chemicals Bad" sample
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Also this:
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[Wolkenkrabber]

Have we heard this before?

Yes that's Thumper by Carpainter. They've been playing it since Argentina.
Here's what I said in the Tokyo thread in July:

Carpainter's Thumper is at 41-46mins. It has a 'rap' from something else over the top and it includes "this chemical's good, this chemical's bad". Do we know where that line came from? Did we figure it out? Do we know this rap?  EDIT: It's not a rap, it's dialogue from a film, isn't it?

I dont think we've ever ID'd the film or tv show that the dialogue is from have we?

Also this:
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I was going to bring this one up too - you saved me posting the clip. The first 27 seconds are the end of All Of A Sudden being creatively mixed out. After that? Dunno! Shazam is struggling. We need a track ID on this.

There sure is a lot of Insta stories for this date. I noticed a couple of clips of Talking Heads' Once In A Lifetime. It's either mixed with another track OR it's a Chemical re-edit.
I'm off to bed now but have saved a few clips. Will probably stick 'em on here tomrrow.

[Stefan]

Allright, thanks for the ID!
I also thought that the second video has AOAS elements in it but wasn't sure XD

[Bosco]

The AI generated photo tag threw me off here. I just came across this:

 
Haven't had the time to watch it completly, not sure if it's the entire set...

[ILoveCats]

The AI generated photo tag threw me off here. I just came across this:

 
Haven't had the time to watch it completly, not sure if it's the entire set...

It was a 2 hours 45 minute set (including encore) so some missing some but super thankful he captured as much as he did.

[dust_01]

does anyone know the vocals from all of sudden?   

they come at 21:08