Orbital review: Cork's Marquee grooves to top-class sounds from veteran duo
Orbital at Live at the Marquee in Cork. Picture: Ray Keogh
The first time Orbital played in Cork was in the stadium adjacent to tonight's venue for the opening night of Féile 95. There were plenty people in the Marquee on Saturday old enough to remember that event, and even a few who first encountered the electronic music pioneers five years earlier when their debut single, Chime, would get an occasional airing at the local Sir Henrys club.
But it's testament to the staying power of sibling duo Phil and Paul Hartnoll that the several thousand people who cheered them through a fine gig on Saturday night were a mix of the generations from all four decades of their output.
Billed as ‘Another Day’, the event featured six acts and had kicked off mid-afternoon. In theory, it's a nice idea for a venue with a curfew of 10.30pm to stretch the elastic in the other direction, but it meant the earlier acts faced fairly sparse crowds. Party like it’s 1999 indeed, but many of these punters now have gardening to do and babysitters to organise.
At least legendary DJ Kerri Chandler had a decent attendance by the time he came on around 6pm. As ever, the American offered a set of top-quality house music. The only gripe is that he just has a 90-minute slot when you'd feel he deserves a much longer run.
Next up is Glasgow DJ Denis Sulta, last seen in a cameo as a bouncer in the final episode of Derry Girls. There was no sign of his girlfriend, Saoirse Monica Jackson (Erin in the TV show), but perhaps she was getting on a wee groove somewhere in the cavernous tent.
Orbital took to the stage before 9pm, complete with trademark head torches, and impressive screen visuals. Some of this music goes back over 30 years, but none of it sounds dated. They’ve never quite hitched themselves to any particular trends, and over the 100-minute set they easily moved through atmospheric and moody, deep and dark, and even light and fun (eg putting an electronic twist on the Spice Girls' Wannabe).
Other highlights include Belfast, with its haunting O Euchari sample, and the still magnificent Chime, albeit a bit tougher and faster than we remember it. Or perhaps we've just gone a bit slower in the meantime.
Coincidentally, on the same night, Paul Hartnoll's former brother-in-law David Gray was playing across town at Musgrave Park. But the cheers at the Marquee suggest there's nobody here who regrets their choice of gig.
