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NME National Tour

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File:BratsUnkleLive199.jpg|thumb|Unkle in Liverpool
File:BratsUnkleLive199.jpg|thumb|Unkle in Liverpool
File:UnkleOxford99.png|thumb|Unkle in Oxford
File:UnkleOxford99.png|thumb|Unkle in Oxford
File:Astoria24Jan99 1.png|thumb|Scratch Perverts and James Lavelle at The Astoria
File:Astoria24Jan99 2.png|thumb|James Lavelle at Astoria
File:Astoria24Jan99 3.png|thumb|Ian Brown joins Unkle on stage at The Astoria
File:Astoria24Jan99 4.png|thumb|Ian Brown performing Be There at The Astoria
File:Astoria24Jan99 5.png|thumb|Ian Brown and Unkle at The Astoria
File:Astoria24Jan99 6.png|thumb|Ian Brown and Unkle at The Astoria
</gallery>
</gallery>


==External Links==
==External Links==


[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWVCyszVanU Video of Be There at The Astoria from the NME Awards broadcast]


==References==
==References==
<references />
<references />

Revision as of 15:44, 13 August 2018

NME National Tour
Tour by Unkle
LocationUK
Start dateJanuary 10, 1999 (1999-01-10)
End dateJanuary 24, 1999 (1999-01-24)
No. of shows13
Supporting actsLlama Farmers, Delakota and Idlewild

James Lavelle and the Scratch Perverts joined up to tour Unkle's Psyence Fiction album, after a warmup set during the Worldwide Bapeheads Show 1998 in Japan.

During the Astoria set, Ian Brown made a guest appearance to sing Be There, his first live appearance since being released from prison on December 24 1998.[1]

After the tour, James Lavelle and the Scratch Perverts performed on Breezeblock on Febuary 1st[2], and then visited Ireland on 4 Feb 1999, where DJ Shadow also made a quick appearance.

Dates

  • 10 Jan - Scotland - Glasgow - QMU
  • 11 Jan - England - Liverpool - Lomax 2
  • 12 Jan - England- Manchester - Manchester University
  • 14 Jan - England - Leeds - Metro University
  • 15 Jan - England - Sheffield - Sheffield University
  • 16 Jan - England - Warwick - Warwick University
  • 18 Jan - England - Cardiff - Cardiff University
  • 19 Jan - England - Bristol - Bristol University
  • 20 Jan - England - Oxford - Oxford Brookes University
  • 21 Jan - England - Leicester - De Montford University
  • 23 Jan - England - Norwich - UEA Norwich
  • 24 Jan - England - London - London Astoria

Reviews

Oxford Review from Muzik March 1999

"James Lavelle's trip hop odyssey translated in thrilling live scratchathon. Three men. six turntables. 4,560,806 scratches. And one pair of exceedingly thick spectacles. Introducing UNKLE live. Not that live, actually. Make no mistake about this: precisely none of the megastars who contributed to "Psyence Fiction", James Lavelle and DJ Shadow's collision of hip hop, vanity and marketing from last year, could make it to tonight's performance. So no Richard Ashcroft wringing the last teardrop of despair from "Lonely Soul". And no Thom Yorke, Ian Brown, Mike D. Badly Drawn Boy. Alison Temple or Kool G Rap either. And, most significantly, no DJ Shadow, whose architectural samplescapes are the project's very lifeblood. No. UNKLE live consists simply of James Lavelle and Scratch Perverts First Rate and Tony Vegas

DJing the records of " Psyence Fiction " . On decks, one after the other. With scratches and stuff. Perhaps you'd agree that just as "Psyence Fiction" was less the groundbreaking magnum opus it clearly wanted to be and rather the product of a fat contact book and a big advertising spend, there's good reason to be suspicious of the concept of UNKLE live.

Perhaps you'd also be surprised to discover that UNKLE's ninth ever live gig is little short of a brilliantly executed, inventive and possibly revolutionary performance, principally because Lavelle's three man crew manage to synchronise the various talents of a live band and a DJ set. The gathered get what they want, regardless of the manner of delivery. They hear UNKLE's better moments cut up. scratched, improved upon, revised and remixed with a flexibility impossible to achieve were the respective singers actually in attendance.

So when Ian Brown's disembodied vocal spooks through the venue as Lavelle drops "Be There", the crowd erupts into applause. When, two minutes later, Tony Vegas deconstructs the track into a thousand micro-scratches, tf e masses react with an energy and enthusiasm that seems inappropriate to such serious-mind< )d music.

It's a similar story with an in >anely upbeat, timestretched "Drums Of Death' , an explosive "Nursery Rhyme" and even the parting shot, the Thom Yorke-led " Rabbit In Your Hee dlights" , which provokes the kind of response usuc lly reserved for World Cup Final matches or Labour election victories. Fearing pandemoniun, the security nervously eye the emergency exits.

And so what started from a highly suspect, if not downright dishonest position, ends up not only vindicating the lofty claims Lavelle has made for his music, but proves also that the art of DJing is capable of mounting a credible chc llenge against the hegemony of the traditional ban|l format on the live circuit.

Convinced? For a better understanding of "Psyence. you're strongly advised to check out its appliance."[3]

Liverpool Review from NME.com

"The man from UNKLE flings 12 inches of vinyl into the crowd and slopes off. His parting gift is pounced on by impeccably-trainered young things, baying for more. The floor is sticky, faces are flushed, and one thing is clear. There may be two distinct musical cultures sharing a venue tonight, but it's nice to see the international language of fuck, yeah! being understood by all.

People in expensive skate gear waiting for UNKLE are rapt, as though understanding, finally, that the euphoria of punk rock is the same thing as the rush of a breakbeat pile-up. Which is exactly what happens, in reverse, when Idlewild fans linger on at the back and watch three blokes play some records. It's hard to account for the awe that's inspired tonight by grown men destroying vinyl copies of 'Psyence Fiction' in pursuit of widdly noises, but UNKLE's set - Mo'Wax boss James Lavelle mixing, Scratch Perverts Tony Vegas and Prime Cuts on two decks either side - is amazing. Richard Ashcroft's disembodied vocal floats in the air as a hailstorm of beats and DJ Shadow mood-pieces descends, then is lost in a blizzard of speed-of-sound (or should that be the sound of speed?) scratching. A similar scenario unfolds with 'Rabbit In Your Headlights', and the as-yet unreleased Ian Brown track, 'Be There'. But instead of marking a soulless, postmodern experience (no instruments, no flesh and blood, just technicians and the ghost in the machine) UNKLE's attempt to prove that turntables are just as exciting as, y'know, guitars, pays off in full. People are cheering for, pogoing to scratching. A boy in an Ian Brown (circa '89) shirt may actually be babbling. An understanding, of sorts, has been reached."[4]

London Astoria Review on NME.com

"There's a buzz of anticipation. IAN BROWN is here, apparently, but is THOM YORKE? And is that skinny weird bloke over there RICHARD ASHCROFT? Shit, it's too crowded to tell.

UNKLE arrive, James Lavelle and Scratch Perverts, sitting at their decks like NASA mission controllers, a barrage of graphics projected on the screen behind them.

They work their way through most of 'Psyence Fiction', the sound tailored for a live set, with the voices of Thom Yorke and the music of DJ Shadow drifting around the ether.

Then the voice of Ian Brown starts on the tape. Aw shit, maybe he's just there at the gig for the crack (as in, conversation and entertainment, not as in freebase cocaine, you understand). Suddenly a man in a white coat who looks like a fucking star walks onto the stage. Direct from Her Majesty's Pleasure and all that, Ian Brown breeezes through 'Be There'. Memories of Reading '96 are quickly dispelled and something of the rock and roll sex-quasar from Ally Pally '89 or Spike Island shines through.

It's a great rock and roll moment, the equivalent of a fireworks display."[5]


Notes

Part of the Astoria performance was recorded, and later broadcast in the UK on Channel Four as part of their NME Premier Shows program.[6]

Images

External Links

Video of Be There at The Astoria from the NME Awards broadcast

References

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