Stereolab / Tortoise / Broadcast - The Forum, London, England, March 14, 1996
Not sure if you could dream up a better mid-1990s triple bill than this — Stereolab, Tortoise and Broadcast?! Holy moses. These decent audience tapes take us back to those heady days. Broadcast, of course, was just getting started at this point. I'm not even sure if their debut single had been released! But they must've had some buzz to get this choice opening slot. Anyhoo, their brief set suggests they already were a more-than-solid live act, with Trish Keenan's crystalline vocals wafting out over the crowd. Stereolab obviously liked what they heard; they'd put out the "Living Room" / "Phantom" seven-inch on their Duophonic label shortly thereafter.
And speaking of Duophonic, Tortoise open up their portion of the evening with an absolutely soaring rendition of "Gamera," which had been released as a 12-inch on the label in '95. The Groop and Tortoise would be closely knit for a few years there, with John McEntire working extensively on several Stereolab albums. In London, they were promoting their then-brand-new masterwork Millions Now Living Will Never Die; they sound fucking killer.
And finally, Stereolab! Emperor Tomato Ketchup was just about to come out and they take the opportunity to play a bunch from that great record, in addition to some welcome dips into their already swelling back catalog. It's amazing how much the 'Lab got done in such a short time back then; they really had a serious work ethic! "We've got 10 more minutes," Laetitia Sadier announces at the end of the show. So, Stereolab embark on an absolutely wild "Super Electric" that lasts about 16 minutes. Things get loose, things get psychedelic, things get LOUD.
