Orbital at Glastonbury (Last ever gig in England)

[RobFowler]

OK confession.

Wanted to start a thread to see if anyone else saw this from a general point of view as much as deconstructing the video.

Was there purely as a punter having been a fan for donkeys years and it was pretty emotional for me and I think a lot of others in the crowd so I'll always have great memories of this gig.

Its a little hard to be objective but I thought the whole visual side of the gig was the best I've ever seen them.

I'm guessing that Johnny Gaskell was LD (as he has been in the past) but I don't know to what if any degree he gets involved with the video.

Projection tied in nicely with the lighting and I thought it was a very effective use of PixelLine LED battens. It looked like they were using video software to drive them (PixelDrive or PixelMad) but don't know for sure.

The images, including a blunt but effective George Bush and Tony Blair during "Satan" were thrown onto revolving "egg box" screens which worked really well too.

I don't know what the projector was (I had promised my better half not to talk shop or stare at the equipment) but I'm guessing it must have been something of the order of 10,000 ANSI plus for the size of image they had.

Would be very interested to hear from anyone who has any inside info on how the system went together or just comments on what people thought of it.

Am currently trying to console myself by listening to the new Blue album which aside from two duff tracks is as good as anything they've done since 1994.

Cheers,

Rob

[Speng]

Are you sure it was a projector they were using not LED screens? Did you not see the screens spining? But none the less it was a very impressive set.

[bluesi]

I concure, from my angle it must have been LED screens as the image went round with the screen. I really got a get me some of them PixelLine LED Batten though what a spectral overload.

Dam fine last set indeed. Keep up the good work guys.... oh their not are they..... :terror: :terror: :terror: sob sob sob

[syzygy]

Well, at the Brixton Academy gig the night before, they used two projectors and rotating screens. I'd be suprised if they used a different setup for glasto.


To be honest, I was slightly disapointed by the visuals/lighting. I've always really liked the style of visuals at Orbital gigs in the past - simple and effective, but this time they really didn't do anything for me.

The biggest problem was that the projectors were simply not bright enough to compete properly with all the other lighting. Images that should have had great impact seemed a bit weak.

The LED batons were cool, but I didn't feel they were used as well as they could have been. I think if they had been deployed a little more selectively they would have worked much better.

The use of bush and blair in Satan seemed a bit obvious, but I've always liked the style of the satan visuals so no complaints there. The part that works best is the fluttering five pound notes turning into bombs - that little sequence worked nicely.

The mirrorball bit was crap.

I think the thing that I disliked most about the visuals was that they didn't have the simple minimalism of the visuals that I've seen at orbital's gigs in the past, yet didn't seem to be making use of advances in syncing video to music that have occured in the last few years. There was far too much going on that wasn't in sync.

In general, I just didn't feel like the visuals drew me in and enhanced the music. After a while I really stopped noticing them, which is always a sure sign I'm not appreciating visuals.

I wondered whether it was just VJ Geekyness that made me feel that way, but most of my mates agreed that the visuals and lights didn't really enhance the show as much as those at previous Orbital gigs.

Fortunately, I _really_ enjoyed orbital's set so I was happy :)


Dan.

[Pesh]

as usual they had 2 underpowered Barcos, in the last few years their Kit has always been provided by XL video, the content was most likely run from a catalyst or dataton watchout as Orbital dont normally use a live VJ and XL push that kit when they need to provide 2 or more sync'ed screens. that could explain why the visuals were out of sync with the music, although with a little effort you can work round that problem,
IMHO it wasn't just the visuals that were out of sync, half the sound was at times, i've seen Orbital live at Glastonbury 3 times now, and that was the worst performance of the 3, 1999 on the Jazz stage, now that was a party :jump:

on another note, anyone know who did Freq Nastys visuals? they were the best i saw all weekend

[charlielangridge]

I thought the mirrorball was lovely ;)

The beamers at Brixton were barco's, but i didnt see which type. I was a bit amused that one broke down and it took the crew about 20 mins to get the replacement working.

I like the use of the LED bars, although being a lot brighter than the video they did stick out a bit, but then not much could be done about that.

I really like the visuals at Brixton, they were simple and didn't detract from the music or lighting (which was pretty damn kewl). They were more like an interesting backdrop rather than a VJ thing.

As for the controls, they were using a WholeHog III to control both and lighting. There didnt seem to be any vid mixers in FOH. I guess they could have had the whole rig setup elsewhere, but i did see a mac so they may have been using a Catalyst. Oh and also they had a copy of WYSIWYG running live on a lappy next to the Hog and one guy sat in FOH staring at it all night not doing much else.

[RobFowler]

Hi Charlie,

I have a little more info now.

From LSI online

"On The Other Stage, LD Jonny Gaskell used 55 Pixellines and PixelDrive software, which were supplied by Bandit Lites, for Orbital's incendiary set. Taking an experimental approach, Gaskell took Orbital's video content and fed it into the PixelDrive computer to see how it would look when applied to the battens, producing some interesting patterns and textures. Gaskell also LD'd for Goldfrapp, this time using 27 Pixellines and PixelDrive, with the battens supplied by Neg Earth."


http://www.lsionline.co.uk/news/story.asp?ID=BPYZVL&len=1106

Still curious to know who does their visuals and how. Could well have been Catalyst if the Barcos came from XL.

If they were, as the article suggests, running the same content through the battens it would point to another media server.

[charlielangridge]

Hi Rob,

I would have looked closer at Brixton, but i was being mocked by Myogenic with the "Geek" taunting everytime i peered at equipment. Although a friend of mine is working with Orbital's video designer, so i'll ask him.

[sleepytom]

my mate does their gardening - i'll see if he can find out.

[Amukidi]

I was expecting something pretty spectacular - have to say I was disappointed, I completely agree with Dan about the balance of light, and thought that it was complex, for complexes sake! Occasionally, the lights went down and all you saw was Phil and Paul's eye-torches - that looked top! listen to the quiet voice!
It did look more coherent when watching their Glastonbury set, but still not what I'd have done with that budget!

[myogenic]

but i was being mocked by Myogenic with the "Geek" taunting everytime i peered at equipment

too right charlie! it was orbitals last gig in london. you need to stop looking at all those maplin catalogues before your bedtime ;)

[sleepytom]

charlies well past the soft stuff like maplins - he's reading much more hardcore stuff like the RS components catalog (and i hear he keeps it in the bathroom :scared: )

[charlielangridge]

Originally posted by sleepytom
he's reading much more hardcore stuff like the RS components catalog (and i hear he keeps it in the bathroom :scared: )

I have to admit
RS Catalogues (1) - In Bedroom
RS Catalogues (2) - In Office
CPC Catalogue - Next to Computer
Maplin Catalogue - In Bin ;)

Plus a stack of assorted component cataloges under my desk and hundreds of datasheets in my filing cabinet.

Im an electronic eng, i'm allowed to have a geek side :cool:

[vjBrye]

Oh gawd I could cry! This is the first I've heard of their end.

:sad:

I've read they have US dates TBA. Hopefully I'll have a chance to critique their performance.

[sleepytom]

don't worry it will be only a year or so before they relese a gratest hits album and do a comeback tour

[Amukidi]

"don't worry it will be only a year or so before they relese a gratest hits album and do a comeback tour"

I'd give it 6 months;)

[PilotX]

Originally posted by Amukidi
"don't worry it will be only a year or so before they relese a gratest hits album and do a comeback tour"

I'd give it 6 months;)

nah.. think about it.. they wont be getting tax demands until at least april next year so the inland revenue reformation tour won't happen until 2005 ;)

I was ill but went on the friday night and was unimpresed by their final proper uk gig.. it was probably the worst of the 9 times i've seen them live, but I wasn't well. I mean they could have played a longer set then usual.. and were were the Lush tunes? Planet of the Shapes? Philosophy by numbers? and why didn't they play around with Chime more.. grrr. the stage was tooooo bright for me to look at so no comments on the visual aspect of things i'm afraid.

[calveinside]

i was at the gig in glasto - and to be honest i thought it was poo!

the visuals were weak...in both content and brightness...

the installation was breathtaking...and when i first got in the field i was like..."fucking hell...this is going to blow my mind..."

but as there set went on...i got bored with the tune choice...and the visuals..

technically they seemed to create something wonderful..but it actauly did not apy off that well...i thought...

some clips like the dollar bills...etc...were great...

and one thing that really made me feel wierd...was there last tune....just seemed to finish and everyone walked off...

they also went off stage 40 mins before there set finished...personally these kind of showman antics are ok to build a vibe at ur run of a mill concert...but at ur last ever uk gig...why were they not thrashng out as many classics as possible...and causing a frenzy on the dance floor...

winge over.....

out of the 4 times i have seen orbital this was there worst performance....in my opinion...

i do like those led bars...but i feel if they were used with discression and tack they could have been much more effective...

enjoy ur break orbital...looking forward to seeing you next yr...again..for classic tour!

:P