The band who named themselves after the London ring road that took them to late-1980s raves stopped orbiting and landed right in the heart of the city. Maybe a little too close to the heart. The courtyard of Somerset House was an architecturally grand spot for a gig, but the fluttering union flag and the bizarre sight of a late worker at the Inland Revenue (perhaps just checking the Hartnoll brothers' accounts) gave off a strong whiff of establishment, cut with a strong whiff of spliff.
The track Remind is a pretty understated way into a live set, rather than a real finger-in-the-air classic. Some people in the crowd began to wonder how they were going to cope now that they had given up the pills. The first tunes were presented quite tentatively: The Girl With the Sun in Her Head quickly got to its chunky Hammond organ break without the slow gathering of material used on the album, while Belfast didn't do its heartbreaking slow-down. But the feeling that Orbital were holding back because the lord of the manor had told them to watch the windows was dispelled by XXX, a trouser-wobbler of a tune written for the forthcoming film of the same name that was accompanied by covert-espionage visuals. Their John Barry homage, The Box, kept up the spy theme, and all the brooding menace was finally unleashed (as was the PA) for a fierce version of Satan. Orbital could now safely return to more delicate dreams, such as Halcyon (plus a quick burst of Bon Jovi), knowing they had people on side.
"Thank you, you've been great," was as good as the patter got, but no one was going to let the pair leave without Chime, their signature. It's a tune that is hard-wired into the brains of anyone who witnessed (and then forgot) the original rave scene. This, blended with Impact and Doctor ?, showed why Orbital's no-miming live recipe still holds strong: it is the euphoria of hearing the simplest musical shards coming together to form a bustling great tune, magically broken down and transformed into the next. Orbital obey dance's need for clear signposts with a sophisticated sense of layered drama, and are the rightful heirs to Kraftwerk's skill of giving the most resolutely electronic sounds to humanity. Just add a thunderous bassline and the best PA you can get your hands on.
Restricting the visual projections to the stage area seemed like a missed opportunity in the space, but by this time it didn't matter - in their minds, most people were back outside that London orbital with the grass under their feet.
