Chemical Brothers leave fans swooning

THE Chemical Brothers turned the beats and the volume all the way up at Mt Duneed Estate at the weekend, delighting fans with a pumping set of electronica.

British duo Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands’ gig in Geelong was their only Victorian appearance of this tour, and brought a crowd of at least 15,000 to the A Day on the Green concert.

 

Unlike many of the artists you might see at Mt Duneed Estate, the best spot in the venue was not up against the barricades at the front, but instead about halfway up the hill, where audiences could fully appreciate both the sound and the high-definition visuals on all three screens.

Setting the tempo with set opener “Go”, The Chemical Brothers wove together two hours of songs both familiar – “Galvanize” and “Leave Home” into “Block Rockin’ Beats” was a highlight – and those less so.

 

Simonds and Rowlands rolled the set in and out of peaks and troughs, including mixing from an extended, pulsing version of “Star Guitar” to the slashing “Live Again”, and taking a breath after the contemplative “Wide Open” for a celebratory double high-five and then restarting with “Escape Velocity”, which accelerated as hard as its name suggests.

The Chemical Brothers were supported earlier in the day with an eclectic DJ set from Australian electronica stars The Presets that had everything from an excellent house remix of “Great Southern Land” to Rage Against the Machine’s protest anthem “Killing in the Name Of”; driving beats from Anna Lunoe; and James Holroyd behind the decks to fill in the gaps.

 

The next A Day on the Green concert at Mt Duneed Estate will be Chris Isaak on April 6.