£;^)

I think you’ll find it’s

Mike 1 – Nialler 9.

Catchup…

Brautigan – That’s deadly. Glad you got it!

Wow! You’re a legend man. I had an edited version of their Homelands Ireland gig on tape for years (courtesy of 2FM one Christmas) and, despite two ad breaks, it was easily my all time favourite cassette; that is, until the cursed stereo in my old car chewed it up. And I never made a complete copy… boo hoo etc. I still have half a side if anyone’s interested in turning it into mp3’s or something.

I’ve spent the last few years trying to hunt down Leftfield live sets, with very little success it has to be said, and I drunkenly harassed Dave Fanning and Jim Lockhart on several occasions demanding they unleash the massive 2FM live archive onto the net ‘by accident’ but alas, nothing came of my search. Seeing this posted made me feel like the (Cheshire) cat that got the cream.

It’s a serious recording, which almost captures the magic of the Irish homelands gig. I suppose when a gig like that is so ingrained in your mind it’s hard to let go. I went on to see Leftfield at 2000’s Glastonbury and later that summer at Witness and although both were infinitely louder and more, er, manoeuvrable they still didn’t have magic of that whole evening in a holiday camp. Looking back it was an incredible evening given that everything was leading up to this, to Leftfield. I recall there was a decent set from the Scream, David Holmes was in there somewhere and then an awful set from Ian Brown and then… this!!!

It was my first time seeing Leftfield, and to this day I still feel those shivers which shot up my backbone when ‘Chant of a Poor Man’ segued into ‘Black Flute’. That warm hum still resonates in this old soaks head even today, and I long for Leftfield every time I lose it at a festival or wherever, and for some reason I still hear that hum, which is perfectly captured on this recording. The little flashes of ‘Song Of Life’ early into ‘Double Flash’ also evoke this hairs on neck feeling, with its gentle introduction (and subsequent full-on takeover) forever more burnt into this brain. I often feel I’ll be stuck in these two moments for an eternity when I’m out and about and they pop back into the ceann, particularly the ‘doop!’ end note of the ‘Song of Life’ riff. Jesus, even at my very worst at Garden Party last year I heard it from somewhere and followed it like a shark sniffing blood, only to find it engulfed by some odious electro mush 2 Many DJ’s were spinning.

Then there’s the ‘Inspection’ stomp, the swirling keys of ‘Storm 3000’, the under-rated crispiness of ‘Afrika Shox’, etc etc etc…

Yes this superb recording has evoked those feelings and more all over again. You bastard Nialler! The only thing missing is the “Dubbbb-lin!” shout outs, the screams from the crowd, the euphoria of being there, the drunken driving home and the Graham Norton Club Orange ad at the end of my old tape.

I’m in audio bliss Nialler. Thanks a million man.

yes yes. it is double flash,i fucked up. and apparently the one marked double flash is song life pt1 but what ya gonna do.