Alec Empire vs. Merzbow - Live CBGB's NYC 1998 FLAC album

i was at this show and if you stood at the right side of the stage where Merzbow was with his huge dedicated (to only his equipment) speakers you could barely hear Alec Empire's DJing at all. it was totally awsome and one of the loudest shows i have ever been to. it was so loud it literally felt like i was being lifted off my feet the feeling was incredible almost like a drug.

the CD is excellent as well but being that both artists are balanced in the mix it doesn't sound at all like what i heard that night cause from where i was standing i only heard Merzbow (which is all i wanted to hear). it would probably of been nice if they could of separated the channels on the CD to the left being only Alec Empire and the right being only Merzbow and then if you really wanted to you could isolate the sounds.

but at the same time the CD is mixed very well as it is and this is probably one of the better Merzbow collaborations so maybe it should just be as it is cause its a really solid live album. im not even a big fan of Alec Empire (not that i dislike him but he doesn't impress me to me much) but mixed with Merzbow it seems to make him really shine (not to mention that he was completely covered in silver paint and silver clothing at the show so he literally was shining).

during the performance Masami Akita was so focused and into what he was doing it was almost like he was in another world. he was sweating like crazy. this was right before he went all digital with laptops for quite a few years so i was very happy to of been there (but iv also been to a few of his laptops shows and they were also very awesome).

i spoke and hung out with Masami and a friend of his before the show (i had never met Masami prior to this but iv always tried to strike up conversations with artists at shows and it usually has worked out pretty well). i asked him a whole bunch of questions and he was very modest and cool.

after the show i asked him if he wanted to join me and some aquantances for a meal and he said yes (the aquantances were totally stoked) and he joined us to go to a diner about 10 blocks from the venue. we were all feeling like teenage girls getting to hang out with Justin Bieber, super excited and gushing over him (although we all were trying our hardest to appear as though we weren't).

we chatted it up with him and asked lots of questions. his English was limited and to top it off he was a very low volume talker so we had to strain to hear him (and after having our ears blasted at his performance that was no easy task). his personality gave off a huge impression of humility, patience and kindness.

it was a great time for all us fans (there were 4 of us if i remember correctly) so after about probably more then an hour we finished, paid for his meal and ours and then walked him back to CBGB's to get his things or what ever and said good bye.

a very memorable and pleasant night which can not be captured on CD but still you should hear it. :)

One hell of a record, this is a great collaboration between two great pioneers of their respective genres. A great, and relatively easy listen, that shows both artists performing at the peaks of their abilitys.

The legendary show. ALEC EMPIRE meets the godfather of noise MERZBOW at CBGB's in New York City. Empire shows off his DJ skills with obscure scratching techniques and hard breaks, while Masami Akita (aka Merzbow) is painting the apocalypse with shapes of white noise. In 1998 critics celebrated this concert as 'the defining end-point of the popular music era of the 20th century.