Factory Floor, Fuck Buttons at Koko
21st April 2010 – 5.38 pmI am not entirely sure what to expect of tonight. I don't go to see much live electronic music and hope that I am not going to be surrounded by cool kids dancing, as I will feel entirely out of place. Luckily, it's just another gig, with the standard mix of people out for a night of live music. The support band, Factory Floor, even have real instruments. A live drummer bangs away in the background, either on his kit or producing sounds from a sequencer, and between singing wispy, echoed vocals the guitarist either taps out a beat with a drum stick on her guitar or violates the strings with a violin bow. All of this on top of an electronic groove that gets me bobbing my head and tapping my foot, as much dancing as I normally get involved with.
Instead of lurking near the back of the venue, as an interested observer of the genre, Factory Floor have me thoroughly engrossed and wandering close to the stage. The whole performance comes together in a hypnotic way. Too soon they leave the stage. I go to the lobby immediately to check for any releases on sale, in case they run out after the main act, but there is only a 10" vinyl record and DVD of their recent art installation available. I will be definitely looking out for more from Factory Floor.
Fuck Buttons have a big table full of electronics, which still needs a sound check, but it is not a long wait before the duo are on stage and, well, noise happens. The bass doesn't so much boom out of the speakers as reach out and shake my head. I appreciate loud music, having been to gigs for years, but there is a limit. When the resonant vibrations completely swamp any coincident sounds the volume is too loud. I only half-hear the bass notes, the other half of the time I just feel my nose vibrate and hear the air around me bump in to itself. Perhaps I am standing a bit too close to the speakers, after getting excited about the support act.
Moving to a different position doesn't help matters. The sound levels are horrendous. It's like standing in the middle of an earthquake with an occasional blast of a synthesiser heard, amidst lots of flashy coloured lights. But I am not here to see a light show, and it really doesn't impress me. I want to hear the music. There are occasional glimpses of the genius of Fuck Buttons, but I am continually straining to hear the patterns and beats amongst the vibrations and white noise. It's awful. I move around some more, but it simply seems like the sound engineer wants us to remember the night for being deafened wherever we stand.
Other people are moving around too, and they aren't dancing. For the music that apparently is being played it seems odd that there isn't more head bobbing or dancing, but when you can't hear the music there is not much to dance to. Eventually, I find somewhere not too noisy, but this turns out to be in the lobby of the venue, and I am wondering what to do. If I go where I can see the band I cannot hear what they are playing, and if I stay where I can hear the music I cannot see the band. I would be better served listening to the CD. I leave early, seeing no point in staying. It is so very disappointing, as I love Fuck Buttons, but there is nothing to enjoy at Koko tonight. At least, not after Factory Floor leave the stage.
Sorry, comments for this entry are closed.