On The Beach Festival has been blessed with perfect conditions over the past two days.
Electronic duo Underworld took to the huge seafront stage in Brighton last night for the biggest party in the city.
We were left feeling short changed after Friday night's headliners Bicep, with such poor sound quality it was hard to get into the music. All of this changed last night.
Read more: A weak Bicep sound held together with Glue
We arrived later with support act Eats Everything spinning the decks. A quick walk over to the bar and we had a drink within only a few minutes.
There was more space to find our way closer to the stage and we had a great view of the decks and visuals.
It was already feeling so much louder and you could feel the bass coming through the pebbles.
Eats Everything at the On The Beach festival (Image: Mike Burnell)
It was a perfect evening with clear skies overhead and a stunning sunset.
Just next to the stage a bright rainbow formed over the sea. Mother Nature must clearly be a fan of Underworld.
The lights went down and Karl Hyde and Rick Smith opened with their track Two Months Off.
The visuals were something else (Image: Mike Burnell)
The visuals created by Underworld's team were nothing short of outstanding.
It all felt very technical and exposed, with blinking lights and lots of cabling coming out of Smith's music machine, for want of a better word.
On the digital screens behind and either side of the stage, live footage was being manipulated in real time which created some striking effects.
We're still not sure where Karl Hyde finds all of his energy... (Image: Mike Burnell)
We did not need to be eased into this gig. An energetic Hyde danced around on stage similar to that of how your dad might if there was no shame.
As the sky got darker the lasers came out, sparking above us as the powerful light illuminated raindrops falling from the sky.
The golden Buck moon then peeped above the clouds just to the right of the stage.
Haze pumped out of the stage making the intense strobe effects have even more of an impact. If you looked straight ahead, it felt like being in a nightclub, albeit with a shingle floor.
Underworld really are masters in their craft. They can't be defined by any one genre be it techno or experimental work - bringing clever lyrics into all of these.
It really is amazing what computers can do with music.
Vocalist Karl Kyde, now 67, spoke to the crowd for the first time, remembering a night playing in the Zap club on the seafront.
"I know you were there that night," he said.
The festival closed on hit anthem Born Slippy with the festival site turning into a sea of limbs in the air.
And finally it was the end - although we could have kept going for much longer with Underworld's extensive repertoire. The pair left arm in arm looking quite emotional.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel