Plaid came on stage, stood behind their equipment, played their funky techno type music (I hate describing dance music more than any other types of music!) and left. In fact the only reason I know I saw Plaid, was because I got handed a flier on leaving the venue, and the logo of a TV on it was the same as that in front of their equipment!
Plaid unfortunately suffered from being the support band, i.e. they got the fairly typical response of lots of people standing, watching and clapping in between songs. No-one danced. However they did seem to be liked by the crowd. I for one kept thinking, "I've heard this track before, I like this, now where, was it on John Peel's show on Radio 1 or Mary Anne Hobbs'?". Anyway they were good and I can't help thinking that no-one danced, 'cos no-one else was dancing! i.e. if a few brave souls had started to swing their stuff more people would have done!
I'd like to see Plaid again, but either a) in a club, 1/2 way through the night, or b) at a festival, in the evening, I think in both of these circumstances they would really shine.
Orbital however (unsurprisingly) had everyone dancing the moment the first note was heard, which was before they were even on stage! Rather than just play the tracks as they appear on the various albums, Orbital make sure the tracks remain recognisable, although sound different. I can't tell you which tracks they played 'cos I'm hopeless with names, and only remember the names of the singles, sorry! The Box sounded very moody, and I think was the only "hit" played in the first half, which showcased mostly I think tracks off the new album.
Bizarre special live track number 1 they did in the first half involved simultaneously playing "Shot Through the Heart and You're to Blame, You give Love a Bad Name" and " Heaven is a Place on Earth". This somehow works, and then Orbital chuck their stuff over the top of it, to make one of the best songs I've ever danced to, I don't even want to think about how they got the idea to make this happen!
The encore was truly incredible, this was Orbital best hits heaven, and everyone loved it. Bizarre track 2 of the night happened after Lush 3 and Satan. A perfect rendition of the classic Dr Who music! Yes, note for note perfect, for about as long as it is at the beginning of the TV show, before it got "Orbitalised" and became the Dr Who Orbital dance remix version which really was gobsmackingly fantastic! After playing the new single Style, they finished up with Chimes which was absolutely superb.
The atmosphere and energy of the show is enhanced by the lighting effects which accompany it, the usual spots and strobes, in various colours interact with the walls, and the disco balls, as well as stars being projected onto the walls, and lazer images. There is of course also the legendary "spotlight mining glasses" that Orbital where ;) Behind all the machinery of the band was 4 large screens, each divided into 8(?) revolving segments which had various images and video projected onto them, corresponding to the music. It's also worth mentioning that Orbital themselves seemed to thoroughly enjoy the show, the two of them leaping about, waving arms into the air dancing and the like.
I was right down the front at the barriers the whole night, so every now and again I looked behind me to see the general crowd reaction, you could tell everyone loved it 'cos it was just wall to wall people dancing, it truly was an awesome gig, the first time I've seen Orbital, but it certainly won't be the last.