Neat spotting, sure, ask a follow-up, couldn't hurt right? if you want to jog his memory the Venue show was 20 Feb 1997, supporting Autechre (unless there was another gig there we don't know about)
Here is another review of the show, from the idm mailing list:
Phase 6 wrote:Well, Thursday night came around and I admit that I do not have one
single Autechre record, I didnt know what they sounded like. So, I
thought going to see them live would be a good first impression. I
arrived fairly early at The Venue (where Pure is held). The first
person I bumped into was Scott who is also on this list. Had a chat
with him about 6k and EHX stuff, meanwhile Think Tank had just
started their set to a tepid welcome. Mind you it was only 10pm, and
the place was hardly half full. They play a kind of electro style
similar to much Autechre-type bands, a bit repetitive, but with good
beats all the same. It amazes me why no labels have picked them up
yet.
Surgeon then played some tunes. It was really strange, I dont think
many of the people there even new who he was. The decks were set up
at the side of the room, as the stage was full of gear, and he was
more or less filling in for the breaks in between each act. He
played a fair bit ambient stuff with a rough edge, a bit of electro,
Kraftwerk, LFO etc. Surgeon (or Tony as he introduced himself
later, I think), was a really friendly guy; I couldnt believe how small and
young he looks, quite unassuming amongst everyone else, maybe thats
why no one paid him much attention. I wonder what he thought of the
whole thing.
Anyway, next up on the stage was Board of Canada. They have one main
record out so far, released last year on Scam, which they were
punting at the gig. I have their first demo tape of 20 odd tracks,
but was more impressed with their live sound. A good solid
orchestration, but preserving the "bedroom studio" sound. Their
overall style is fairly tight, maybe a bit too tight, with little
room for onstage experimentation. They are local to Edinburgh, but
have supported quite a few bands now, including Autechre in England at
various events. I rate them as one to keep an eye on.
Surgeon came on again with some beatless wonders and I had a chat
with Dave Being. He is another local artist who has released a few
albums and EPs on the Sabres offshot Emmission Audio Output, plus
some others on German label PUSH. He and Claud Young were pretty
good buddies when Claud was living in Edinburgh a while back, and he
did some remix work with him. Says he has some more stuff coming out
this year on Sabres.
The lights go on and the lights go off, and on come Autechre. These
guys may not have the sound that everyone and his dog is after at the
moment, but the people that do like them are almost religious about
the whole thing. Over the years they have developed there
electro-break sound, with some pretty amazing voices and effects
coming out of their boxes. Marcus from Boards said that after
electro went under in the 80s, Autechre continued with it right up
until today, and now have a new form of electro that no one else can
touch. Well, thats what he said ...
