Autechre delivers a 'proper crowd mover'

I stepped into Chicago's Metro on Friday the 13th of May with complete confidence that I was going to be very lucky. The bill appeared to be a diverse cross-section of electronic music's up and coming artists playing in support of the granddaddy of progressive electronica, British duo Autechre. On their first tour since 2002, Autechre was on the road in support of their recent release Untitled. As promised by their label Warp Records, Autechre was to deliver a "devastating new live show -- a proper crowd mover." Autechre most certainly lived up to the hype. \nWelcomed to venue by the meticulously edited minimalist laptop-duo SND, I began to feel the weight that a full day of summer classes will have on a man who is standing in a semi-packed hall trying to decipher abstract clicks and pops at 12:15 a.m. on a Friday night. Before I could retire to the lounge like a beaten dog under a hail of synthetic glitch-hop, the cacophony began to take form. SND found their element, laying down some tastefully funky electronica with enough melody and odd metered rhythmic excursions to keep both the dance floor packed, and introspective head bobbers satisfied. Overtones of 2-Step and IDM crossed paths with synthetic minimalism reminiscent of Taylor Deupree's Still, enticing a growing audiences hunger for the main course. \nSND passed the momentum off to DJ Rob Hall, who played a brief, less-than-memorable set of techno ramblings and electro noodling. To be brutally honest, Rob Hall hijacked a now packed room's collective anticipation, turning it into an edgy, unfocused symphony of cell phone conversations and obligatory applause. In all fairness, there were undeniable moments of artistry, as smooth segues and very refined DJing defined this interim set. But with such cleanliness comes a level of predictability that doesn't sit well with the demanding, often elitist Autechre audience. \nAs Rob Hall's dance party faded out the lights dimmed. Autechre's Rob Brown and Shaun Booth took the stage with no antics or introductions, just smiles and a subtle head nods. Armed with an arsenal of synths and drum machines, Autechre was to go the show without the aid of laptops, treating the audience to a completely hardware based performance -- a true sign of chops. The set opened with gritty, percussive stylings that, through classics like 2003's Draft 7.30, have come to define Autechre. There were no lights, just darkness mixed with the glow of LED's that would periodically allow glimpses of Rob Brown cracking a sinister grin. \nThe audience wailed in ecstasy as the first sonically warped snare roll ripped through the crowd like a machine gun. Sean Booth immediately lit a cigarette in some kind of subconscious acknowledgment that the Metro was about to head into orbit. What followed was 90 minutes of synthetic fury that took the audience on a fluidly abstract, rhythmic journey into the darkest corners of progressive electronica. To decode an Autechre setlist is a near impossible feat, as clips and patterns from studio tracks make brief cameos in an incredibly manipulated, improvisatory set. The music is total brain candy and for the careful listener, this does not go without reward. There is some kind of manic pleasure that comes with recognizing "Xylin Room" as it emerges from total chaos, only to be buried under layers of some of the quirkiest granular mayhem imaginable. \nThe set didn't work on a standard format of tension and release, as there were no ups or downs, just a steady mid-tempo sonic excursion. The first noticeable break in the music came nearly an hour into the show, disrupting the near Zen-like state that had been collectively achieved. As quickly as Autechre stopped, they launched into the maniacal "LCC," the opening track off Untitled, which was met by raucous applause. A mosh pit consisting of four or five goons erupted in reaction to primal ferocity of "LCC," uncharacteristic of the typically meditative audience. Like mad scientists, Autechre are mad synthesists, tweaking the dials on countless machines, creating a demented brew of IDM, breakbeat and whatever genre people are foolish enough brand this music. Their sound is definitively Autechre, and that, simply put, is unclassifiable.