Underworld play their first show in Cornwall and it’s an epic banger

The cry of the lager, lager, lager generation alongside some heralded shouts in the summer at one of the most joyous music events I’ve experienced in Cornwall for some time. Underworld – the powerhouse duo of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, who look barely older and, in Hyde’s case, just as energetic as when they first came out 30 years ago – kick off their Live at The Wyldes concert series on Saturday this year, in euphoric style.

The former home of the Leopallooza festival is a bit off the beaten path – on the edge of St Mary’s Week, near Bude – which might be why this wasn’t quite as rocking as it should have been, although an old-sized crowd decent. Ravers, younger dance fans and a few hard-brought children by partying parents were whipped into ecstatic submission by an almighty sound system and the delights of a run through the heights (and deep dives) of the Underworld quarry.

Looking more and more like a science teacher behind his bench of keyboards and computers, Smith is the alchemist behind some of the biggest dance tunes of the last three decades, while Hyde is still the Iggy Pop of the brooding raver , his surreal wordplay singing equal parts silly and deeply human. poetry. What they produce remains unique – an act for the feet and the brain.

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Incredibly, this was their first time playing in Cornwall and to celebrate we were treated to an extended set of around two and a half hours with a short break to make the most of this wonderful location – bucolic, relaxed. , friendly, well organized and with a great selection of bars and eateries. Unless you live in the area, it’s a bit of a cross-country hike, but always worth the effort (and you can camp, of course).

Underworld built from several tracks based on songs like Low Burn and Nylon Strung from the overlooked album Barbara, Barbara, We Face A Shining Future into the first genuine classics of that golden era of the early 90s: Dirty Epic and Mmm… Skyscraper I Love You from Dubnobasswithmyheadman’s breakthrough debut. Even in the introductory first half there was an absolute onslaught of beats to get us in the mood for what was to come – tribal kitties from Beacoup Fish.

A brief respite and the stage woke up with some great visuals and lasers as night fell for the best club night ever on a field. It brought back memories – if you’ve got brain cells left – of the glory days of clandestine, illegal raves tucked away on the streets of Cornwall before so many of us had children and responsibilities. The saucer eyes of some of the wilder dancers seemed to show that they had thrown off the shackles of those responsibilities, if only for one night.

And what band to dance your worries to – the list of happy anthems was almost endless: the rhythmic beat of Pearl’s Girl, which will always be my touchpoint for Underworld, the lovely slow build of Dark & ​​​​Long (Dark Train ) as memorably featured in Trainspotting, the all-electronic abandon of Rez/Cowgirl and the marauder Moroder, King of Snake.

Newer tunes slotted in nicely – STAR’s insane celebrity roster, psychedelic acapella Denver Luna, relentless And The Color Red and latest single Fen Violet, which takes Italian house piano and unleashes it into a techno rush.

It all ended, of course, with a song that has almost become an anthem for a hedonistic generation that is so relieved that they grew up in a world removed from the glare of social media: Born Slippy. Mega, mega he was too. What a night (and hats off to Cornwall DJ Frank Gane, as big an Underworld fan as you’ll find whose life was made when the dance party continued after the duo left the stage).

This was just the first – there’s something for everyone coming to The Wyldes in the coming weeks: Simple Minds / Del Amitri on June 22, Anne-Marie fronting a bill of top female pop on June 23, Jess Glynne on June 29th, James Arthur on June 30th, all topped off by one of the biggest live bands on the planet, Idles, on July 21st. More details about all the concerts on the website.

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