Having played to club crowds in other cities, Luke Vibert & BJ Cole
came to rest at the cube for the last night of their tour, and excitement
arising from their recent album Stop The Panic ensured that the cube
was packed out. With Luke Vibert hunched, in absorbtion, over a school
desk decked out with equipment, and BJ Cole hunkered over his steel
pedal guitar, playing with sensitive flair, they presented a low-key but
intriguing visual proposition. The initial warm light bathing the stage
gave way to drifting constellations and projected oscilloscope images
responding to the swelling music and rising beats.
The set touched on and developed some of the album material, giving
more edge, more depth, added wealth of different samples and effects
(hollow laughter, screeching, slamming, cracking) - a generally rougher
sound. Resounding bass and thundering beats were precisely
orchestrated by Luke Vibert, whilst BJ Cole showed that, with plenty
of its own character, the steel pedal guitar has also got the range
to make good of unlikely unions.
Neither overpowered, but found seamless links, exchanging the odd
grin between tracks as the set went on getting better.
The two men's dextrous, detailed working was complemented by layers
of projections blending into a fascinating visual background from the
Rip Sprinklers, who made magic from light and film clips (comic strips,
stylised '50s disaster movie monsters, cartoon characters, MGM dancing,
cult icons, random stills).
By the end, there was the feeling that both visuals and music came
from people at ease with their expertise and ready to break a bit of
new ground. An exciting evening.
