Although the set was tilted toward the promotion of the new LP, it did not only consist of new tunes as Add N to [X] sampled each of their full-lengths, the very first one excepted. Off their best album to date, 1999's universally acclaimed Avant Hard, the act masterfully pulled off Fyuz and steamrolled through the bruising keyboard rock anthem Buckminster Fuller, highlights of which were Claydon's vocoder yells and Smith's animated hand waves over his theremin's optical sensor (as perfectly captured in Mark Alexander's pic). Further, the precise percussion was essential to Add N to [X]'s stellar performance, as was especially the case in the performance of Brothel Charge from 2000's Add Insult to Injury. The latter also featured theatrical theremin-playing and percussion that would make a hardcore act blush in its sissiness.
Stated simply, the show was stellar. The only ground for dissatisfaction was that the band did not play longer (70 minutes, including one one-song encore). I would have loved to see Plug Me In (pornographic video here; don't feel guilty, it's art!), their megahit off Add Insult to Injury as well as numerous others. You must surf over to Add N to [X]'s website, a labyrinth of artsy collages, analog loops, cursor tricks, and straight-up freakish deviance. If you don't have time to wander through the site, sample these pages: Watching, Where is --, Trawler Steet and Dark. And if all else is forgotten, remember Barry's motto: "There is no past and there is no future, it's just what happens when you turn the machine on." If the porn part intrigues you further, read this Guardian article explaining the details behind the 50-minute video.
[Pics taken by Mark Alexander available at No Matter What You Heard.]
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