Irving Plaza - Chemical Brothers Irving Plaza mania! I would never have believed it, but Irving Plaza changed identities for a visit from the UK's Chemical Brothers, (nee Dust Brothers). No longer was Irving Plaza the "rawk" club. Rather it was a club in the nightclub or rave tradition. The sides of the room had laserlight decorations going rabid. Sometimes based on actual dancers on the floor, sometimes abstract patterns. All in all, a very different scene than the normal layout I was used to at IP. The stage was no longer the focal point in the room. The mix of people was far eclectic: joe bob, frat boy, drag queen, raver, goth, and me. (I could throw in some more stereotypes, but I won't. What was interesting was the range of people, underground and very above ground, scenesters, and those without a care.) I witnessed three DJs playing before the Chemical Brothers, first some nice hard techno. A nice way to prep oneself. Next up some old skool hip hop mixing. Okay, but a little heavy on the MCing for my tastes. Also I was not used to the "demonstration" dancers up on the stage. Went and chilled out with a friend in the lobby while ambient was being spun. Came back up, and heard some nice trance from DJ Reese. Finally, the Chemical Brothers were up next. Techno live PA's are usually mixed into a whole other event whether it's a full blown all night party or just a "show" like tonight at Irving Plaza. As such, there is usually a lot more to describe than just the music. However, sadly, this included the fact that the venue was WAY packed. So packed, it was hard to dance much more than swaying to the beat. One had to be warry of others' flying hands and feet, and as such I was sad I was on the dance floor and not someplace where I didn't have to worry about getting hurt. The music was manic crazy. The beats and samples came excited and fast. Much of the set consisted of the Chemical Brothers new album "Exit Planet Dust" released domestically on Astralwerks. Again, strangely enough with techno oriented live PAs, the oft unknown band becomes the central "rawk star." This is sad and unfortunate as often with live electronic music, the "band" does little more than bounce up and down to the beat and press buttons at times to sequence various DAT tapes. Any ways, rather than concentrate on dancing (some did luckly), people's eyes were glued on the fellows on the stage. The music was estatic and made for dancing, movement permitting or not, loud and craaazzzyy! Other than the crazed mix of people and crowded conditions, this was a gig worth attending. Better next time to see them in the larger dance oriented "rave" situtation.