…Paul Oakenfold and Underworld Played The Warfield in San Francisco on Saturday September 8, 2007…

I was told that Paul Oakenfold had performed all his “mainstream hits” and crowd-pleasers the night before, his second performance featured more experimental pieces and more of his own favorites.

When I walked into the Warfield Theater, there weren’t many people inside and a dj was already playing on stage. He was playing quietly, a nice mix of ravey techno and trance, but it was never announced who he was. Paul Oakenfold silently appeared behind the gear and was talking to a tech for awhile. When he stepped up to the decks at the center of the stage, he was immediately recognized and cheers erupted from the small crowd. I found out early on that this show on Saturday night was added on after the Friday show had already sold most of its tickets, so while Friday night was packed to the gills and somewhat crazy, tonight would be a much smaller crowd with more room to dance and more fresh air to breathe. Excellent! That’s exactly how I like it! I made fast friends with a european raver fella who had been at the previous night’s show and kept me informed about the difference between the two. It sounded like I had inadvertently chosen a night that had more of the elements that would make the show a huge success in my book - room to dance, ventilation, friendly crowd and good music. My new friend also told me that Paul Oakenfold had performed all his “mainstream hits” and crowd-pleasers the night before, his second performance featured more experimental pieces and more of his own favorites.

Paul Oakenfold

When Oakenfold started, it was plain to see that he was having some sort of technical difficulty. The projector that provided the video behind him was only covering a small portion of the huge screen space. Once that was sorted out he began a bit hesitantly. I’m not sure if he had technical problems with the audio, but his set did seem a little bit quiet, at least by rave club standards. Every once in awhile the music would come in loud and strong, but not at the best time. I have some technical theories about why this happened, but we could also assume that he was supposed to hold back and reserve the high-level volume for the headliners.

Once these things were sorted, he delivered a fantastic performance and was clearly having a load of fun. And yes, he did do the “I Am A God..” pose. A few times, but everyone pretended not to notice. So he ended up looking like a symphony conductor bestowing the audio onto the masses.

Underworld Delivered A Top-Notch Multimedia Experience

Underworld brought the whole audience on a journey with the way each song developed and transitioned into the next, like a seamless audio landscape.

I’d never seen Underworld before, but I’d heard the legends about their live performances. Even on the second night of performing at The Warfield, their delivery was intense, high energy, joyous and ecstatic. They did not hold back anything! It was definitely one of the best performances I have ever seen. Kind of comparable to a YYYs concert in that their dedicated fans were having a religious experience of ecstasy while non-believers were being converted, at least enough to lose oneself in the moment and enjoy the ecstasy to its fullest. They didn’t start right off with a bang, and I’ve been reading reviews of the show by die-hard fans who were also there on Saturday night who thought that the beginning of the performance was weak (but later professed that the band is as amazing as ever). The energy was raised progressively, and before the half-way point of their show, even the die-hards were properly impressed. The music never stopped, it was a continuous flow from one song to the next. Underworld brought the whole audience on a journey with the way each song developed and transitioned into the next, like a seamless audio landscape. The show began with UK rock: traditional song structure and … on guitar and vocals.

More and more electronica was woven into into each song, developing into techno and UK rave as the night progressed. Rick Smith and Darren Price stayed behind the gear and mixing board, focused on delivering epic electronica; while Karl Hyde performed the duties of frontman - occasionally singing and playing guitar, usually dancing, bouncing about the stage, and interacting with the audience. He smiled the entire time! All of them looked extremely happy to be doing what they were doing and the crowd couldn’t be happier about it as well. Occasionally Karl would use a little digital video camera that was simultaneously broadcast on the big screen behind the stage, alternately filming the crowd, filming himself, spying on what Rick and Darren were doing etc.

Experts In Electronica And Special Effects

As the trio journeyed deeper and deeper into their set, they made perfect use of electronica standards: the bass was cut while some of the drums and highs remained, elevating the sounds and energy in the room higher and higher, only to throw the bass back in at the absolutely perfect moment for maximum impact. They intermittently played ambient sweeps and drum-less melodies, just long enough to give everyone time to catch their breath. But before too long, the music would swell up and start bumpin again. When it felt as if the show had reached its peak, and the crowd had reached its maximum capacity for excitement, Underworld released the big guns - huge white pillars inflated by large fans that quickly took over the stage! The pillars that stood up reached into the rafters, while others stretched the length of the stage. It looked as if a giant glowing octopus had been let loose and wanted to be part of everything from the band to the dancefloor! Stage lights were cast into the tubes and changed colors, mostly reds, yellows and oranges that made the entire stage seem ablaze.

We Danced The Night Away

As for the dancefloor - what a rare treat! Underworld’s music inspires large, spacious dancing. Everyone is dancing at 150bpm and giving plenty of room for everyone else to dance. An expected bonus which rarely happens at a concert venue, but nonetheless has a great deal to do with how much fun I am able to have. Not to mention was plenty of space to wander around, to get close to the stage for photos and move back again to get lost in the dance pit, or just to try out different visual and acoustic angles. The crowd was also super friendly. Most people were very gracious, it felt like being in a room full of mature ravers, as if everyone in the room had grown up in a big rave town in the early 90’s and by 2007 had their shit together. It felt friendly, safe, fun and carefree. I’m accustomed to electronica scenes being tainted by sweat and puke and piss. This was none of that. It was clean, well-hydrated and responsibly enhanced. I felt out of my element at first, but quickly grew to like the idea and the vibe. The hydration and the exercise did wonders for everyone’s well-being and the music invigorated the soul. When the concert was over, you could tell that everyone in the house was considerably refreshed, revived. So much stress and daily monotony must have been released during the last hour and a half!

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