Squarepusher on 22 May 2015

Squarepusher was technically brilliant. The visuals and sound were amazing, particularly the real-time projection mapping onto his reflective garb -- which looked a bit like an Olympic fencing outfit with hood and visor.

The glitch was over the top but, when he took to the stage with his bass guitar for the encore, his solo playing on the instrument also reflected this aesthetic as he tapped and slapped madly. It was then that his jazz influence became more obvious and it kinda made sense of the barrage from earlier in the set, when the speed of notes and rhythms were more akin to thrash metal.

He doesn't work with many melodies but does add some nice splashes of chords among the maelstrom of bitcrushing, feedback and sped-up beats. Variety came from nods to genres, like a 303 or rave-y synth and one dubby sorta tune.

Dunno why this was at the Opera House though. Sure they have a great PA but the place seems to be one continuous staircase with no dance floor. Again it seemed like a jazz aesthetic, where the audience were meant to stroke their chin and clap politely.