Andrew Weatherall @ Miss Libertine, Melbourne (17/01/08)
Shame on me…
When a friend of mine asked me if I was going to Andrew Weatherall’s gig I replied, “Andrew who?” All he had to say was that Weatherall was the man who produced Primal Scream’s 1991 album ‘Screamadelica’ and I was there. Cut me some slack though… it took years for me to recognise that Bobby Gillespie was the band’s lead singer and that the album was a favourite of mine, being one of only 10 that I took on a six month working holiday to Canada. Believe you me, it got high rotation. Upon taking another look at the inside cover of the CD it mentions; “all songs written Gillespie/Innes/Young,” yet under eight out of the eleven songs you’ll find Andrew Weatherall listed as either producer (‘Loaded’), co-producer, or “additional production by”. Clearly this was a DJ set I needed to witness.
But, what else drew me to attend and review a man whose name I didn’t know? Well being a DJ, producer and remixer in the UK scene for over 20 years, I figured that my Liverpool mate Greg Wilson (himself an electro-funk pioneer, remixer and DJ legend who taught Fat Boy Slim how to scratch) would know of Andrew. When I asked Greg to advise on what kind of set I might be in for, his response went a little like; “Weatherall can go in different directions – from dub to techno (even rockabilly). I’ve a lot of respect for him because he’s always remained true to the underground, and whilst others have cashed in and begun to play a bland house selection for the masses, Weatherall has remained relevant throughout.”
The minimal electro-tech-house that Andrew started with signified that Andrew was not only left of the commercial centre (hooray for that), but also extremely current with his selections. He wasn’t just going to play old school rock, techno or house, but he certainly had the skills to mix a whole stack of musical genres together into one cohesive and interesting set. In amongst the awesome dance selections we heard the likes of My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Soon’, and ‘The Fairy Tale of New York’ by The Pogues, sung by Shane MacGowan and Kirsty MacCall, best know for her rendition of ‘Days’ by The Kinks.
I was captivated from beginning to end and couldn’t stop my knee twisting shoe shuffle action. To his credit Andrew Weatherall was able to create a Saturday night fever (on a school night, mind you), and his name and music are now forever etched on my psyche. Deservedly so.
