- Wherever you go in the electronic world, Venetian Snares is there. He is a man who, despite his ungodly musical output and infamously disagreeable personality, manages to penetrate all corners, attracting fans to the loosely-defined genre of breakcore who might otherwise dismiss it as "just a load of noise." His is a legacy built on filth and indulgence, and there was plenty of both on show recently in Manchester from performer and audience alike.
Having seen Snares on at least two occasions in the past, the hairy Canadian's performance at Jabez Clegg was less of a wake-up call and more of a reminder from my perspective. Opening with "Posers and Camera Phones," the first track from My So-Called Life, he stated his intention quickly, dropping offensive vocal samples and preposterous flutters of the amen break that bulged through the soundsystem heavily—a system, incidentally, that was more than capable of dealing with the night's demands.
The next hour focused primarily on other recent cuts, like "Aaron2" and his brutal VIP of "Hajnal," before descending into a ten-minute sex noise gabba mash-up that left people wandering around in the smoking area at the end of the night with medium or severe bouts of tinnitus, all of them nonetheless grinning.
This show claimed to be the first ever live performance by Venetian Snares in Manchester, but just how much of the set was actually "live" is questionable. It can be pretty hard to tell when there is so much going on aurally, but there were certainly sections of the set that required little work on his part (apart from all the effort that goes into never smiling, of course).
Support came from VHS Head and Neil Landstrumm, who entertained along with the residents until 3 AM. As a friend noted, Landstrumm's set featured some strong tune selections but sometimes lacked the requisite flow to keep the crowd onside. Maybe it just wasn't heavy enough for them. VHS Head played a set packed full of his own productions, which to my ears sound like a union of "Windowlicker"-era Aphex and Turning Dragon-era Clark, unashamedly channelled through the spirit of the '80s.