[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]
Jon Hopkins may have been touring behind 2013’s Immunity for over a year but, judging by the line outside his sold out show at (le) Poisson Rouge last night, the people still want to hear this stunning album played live. The record made many critics’ year-end best-of lists, was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize, and inspired such uncommon techno descriptors as “thoughtful” and “intelligent.” Indeed, the album’s mission goes beyond simply making you want to dance. The 60-minute record mirrors the narrative arc of a late night out; building to intensity in the first half, peaking with stand-out track “Collider,” before cooling down and spacing out in the second half.
Hopkins walked on stage sheepishly with a shy grin and a little wave before getting down to it. The smile and wave reappeared between tracks but otherwise, his eyes stayed turned down, dead serious – thick brows furrowed as if he was working out a particularly tricky equation – or rolled to the back of his head when infected by a beat.
Live, his set is largely built around Immunity, the tracks broken down and rebuilt from the ground up. He bounced between sound modulators, tapping at pads and punching in beats and drops. Confidently, he brought out heavy hitters “Open Eye Signal” and “Collider” early in the set, the latter marching in slowly, tense like the beats of a life support machine: synths steadily intensifying, halting vocals gasping for air. He teased the build-up more slowly than on record, cradling the audience in anticipation of the drop. We knew it was coming, but when?
When it did come, wave upon wave, I had anticipated bodies flailing much like the girl in the “Collider” video, but I looked around and the crowd seemed strangely … stiff. There was even a girl to the side of the stage asleep against the rail, for heaven’s sake.
As the waves of “Collider” subsided, “Light Through Veins” (from 2009’s Insides) burst open in a great flash, finally getting the audience moving. There was no time for an ambient second-half come down – instead the set became more aggressive, more glitchy, and Hopkins, too seemed possessed, thrashing around as though struggling to contain a wild animal.
Barely an hour after he stepped on stage, and after a brief encore, he left us with a wash of coruscating noise. And then he was gone. “That was like church,” someone said wistfully as fans headed to the exit in a bit of a daze. And perhaps that’s why Immunity is still captivating audiences – Hopkins’ work exhibits not only a specific reverence to its form, but also that rare ability to transport listeners to a more spiritual plane.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
