The Chemical Brothers

Who says The Chemical Brothers aren't rock stars? The entire audience at the American Theatre on Sept. 30, and The Chemical Brothers themselves, surely seemed to think they were.

The American Theatre hosted The Chemical Brothers' first show in St. Louis ever, and the crowd turned out in full force to welcome the boys from across the pond. The show started at 8:00 p.m., and none of the flyers mentioned exactly how many openers there were. James Holroyd and All Time High Superstars of Love were the only announced openers, along with more TBA in small letters on the side of all the flyers.

The show opened with a nameless DJ spinning decent but repetitive beats which the few people in attendance generally ignored. After that the crowd was handed a proverbial slap in the face by The Midwest Avengers, a local rap group. The predominantly suburban rave crowd wasn't expecting any rap in the evening's events, but it couldn't be too surprising considering headliners The Chemical Brothers cite Public Enemy as their biggest influence.

The Midwest Avengers strutted on the non-lit stage decked in glowsticks and various jungle costumes, with one of the five rappers wearing a bird mask and hockey shoulder pads.

The first few songs seemed jumbled and disorganized, partly due to the fact that the only lights were pointing towards the audience, and the Avengers kept bumping off each other in their near blindness. As their set went on, their eyes adjusted, and things began to flow a little better. The Midwest Avengers put on a generally rousing show after the first couple of mishaps.

After that, All Time High Superstars of Love, St. Louis took the stage, ablaze in colored lights and strobes galore. The two DJs were clad in silver and wrapped in Christmas lights, and fully aware that no crowd cares to watch two DJs simply spin, they went crazy with the possibilities. A performance artist spoke poetry while dressed in drag with angel wings, and a phenomenal break dancer, Nick Fury showed his stuff. After that, Jerry Falwell's favorite Teletubby, Tinky Winky took the stage and began to dance. It wasn't long before two Mexican Dancers brutally beat him, then dragged him off the stage.

Things went from violent to pseudo-erotic shortly after the Tinky Winky beating. A bondage goddess and catholic school girl danced together, which led to a guy brandishing a whip to join the fray. The whole time, various other costumed people threw goodies from show sponsors Shifty's into the crowd. T-shirts, yo-yos, water bottles and stickers all became missiles in the American Theatre.

All Time High's show was cut short when they crossed the line of decency, and nearly got kicked out. Topless painted women and two barely clad dancers in an inflatable pool seemed too much for the show, even in the 18 and up environment.

Another hour or so was wasted on James Holyrod, a great DJ to play on a CD, but boring and redundant in concert. After the ultra-long intermission, The Chemical Brothers finally took the stage, at a quarter to midnight. There was no trance music here, The Chemical Brothers were all about Block Rockin' Beats at the American. Even after nearly four hours of dance beats (repetitive by nature) the roof nearly collapsed as the crowd ushered The Chemical Brothers in.

Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands wasted no time in getting the floor hopping with "Hey Boy Hey Girl," then jumped straight into "Music: Response," one of their best and most frantic songs to date. Most musicians would wait to towards the end of a show to play their biggest hit, but the duo hit the crowd with "Block Rockin' Beats" by the third song.

After a 40 minute span of hyped up dance anthems, the audience was given a respite with a more mellow song, with the projection screens showing a picturesque sunset. Four minutes later, the break was over, and frenzied dancing resumed.

It didn't take long to convince everyone that these two dorky looking men hiding behind enough equipment to short out nearly any soundboard were truly rock stars. Someone's bra even found its way on-stage, an event normally reserved for Motley Crue or Van Halen! Rowlands and Simons seemed like two hyper-active kids hitting what buttons they could, and eating up the praise thrown their way.

This was the first visit ever from The Chemical Brothers to St. Louis, and with any luck whatsoever, it will not be their last.

by Cory Blackwood