Battles - Race: In - Live @ Johnny Brenda's June 15, 2008

The amazing Battles performing at the sold-out 8pm show on June 15, 2008 at Johnny Brenda's in Philadelphia.
Race: In is the fifth of 5 songs I recorded (all my memory card could hold) shot from the balcony. Great band. Great venue. Great show.

[@SuperCD93]

i hate to see them struggle at their own song but it is insanly difficult to get loops right etc. love em so much!!

[@Haarization]

To those who are bad mouthing Williams, do you know how hard this loop is to do? A loop consisting entirely of alternate picking is incredibly difficult to get in time with a click (which is what they do with echoplexes), let alone a drummer. With a slow groove oriented loop it's easy, you can correct missteps on footswitches pretty easily. When you're playing around with sixteenths and odd time sigs with weird syncopations, looping is a huge challenge. It's what makes this song great. No matter how hard you practise, human error will always shine through.

[@phillipprice4322]

Not as hard as it is to drum to, obviously.

[@StookyBill]

especially when that initial loop doesn't start on the beat you'd think

[@AsianVoodoo]

Love how his head is steeped in concentration. Or prayer. Not sure which,

[@iwillmaceyou]

Man, Ian really blew that loop at the beginning. When I saw them in Paris a few years ago, it took him a good 3 minutes or so to get the loop right, but at least he made sure it was perfectly on beat. This time it's a little off and you can tell John isn't happy.

[@archologyzero]

7:!5 the drummer does not fuck up at all. everyone else here fucks up. Here is where the drummer tries for the fifteenth time to give everyone the tempo and the movement of the track, and they just keep failing. Come on kids. Stanier rules for putting up with this .

[@bobtheblob916]

Silly Ian...Race: In is in 96 bpm, not 112!

[@brandonguimbellot7734]

I don't hear the timing to be as awful as everyone is making it to be. I think it's pretty dope to have the loop a little off from everyone else. It sorta creates a counterpoint in tempo with a bit of swing on it. Plus, since everyone else is together in their real-time playing, for the most part, it gives a nice fluctuating feel. Also, that 7:15 mark that is counted off by the drummer... the band begins to play in time. The drums are pulsing in a 6/8 or triplet feel with "Big 2's" and when the groove comes in those "Big 2's" become the quarter note pulse for the new 4/4. Unless you're talking about that quarter note pulse being a slightly altered tempo from the initial pulse it's all good.

[@LemmyAttum]

@NutterBuff its not johns fault, the loop is being played at a faster speed than normal and it isnt in time, if john cant play to this loop then its the loop that is incorrect, stanier = human clock

[@blunderandhaggis]

I'm yet to watch a video of this where Ian actually manages to get the loop in time!

[@ELACEBAL]

Guitar loop is not in time. But the drummer is so great that he follows the guitar loop and make it seems to be in time. After 3 minutes the guitarrist make a correction, but the loop is still not in time. Really great and awesome drummer!!!! Great band too!!!, (despite the mistakes)

[@uncooked_ham]

That was rough.

[@iiGerardoii]

OMJ!!! (oh my john) cuz john is god hahaha!! haha.. no? anyone?

[@mariorossipuzza]

@Double0Panda i think he's picking really fast (16th notes...)

[@Double0Panda]

Anyone know how Ian is playing that intro? Is he doing a Carson McWhirter thing where he taps the string with his left hand and then plucks the note, or is he simply alternate picking really fast?

[@demonicsweaters]

that's funny, there's a recent Don Cab video where they completely mess up a loop too, then I came across this. The dangers of looping without any kind of sync.

[@mrgorgun81]

fucking beast playing the drums 2x metronome?

[@ac1309999]

What is the box Ian starts fiddling with around 1:00?

[@archologyzero]

Stanier would have good reason to be pissed. He gave them the tempo and they decided not to play it that fast. Certainly helps when you have a loop pedal to play the fast part for you the whole rest of the song. Drummers dont have that option. And if you are going to use the loop pedal, at least do it right consistently.

[@milesillsley]

ahahaha, your great!

[@Haarization]

hardest part in this song is definitely Dave's, in the beginning. He has to be so precise playing those two scales.

[@SuperCD93]

fuck me!! the sweat on John!!

[@mtrps_]

arguably hardest song to be played live? other than rainbow that is, if ever played live

[@5theend1]

@manicamadeus Im drummer also and I totally agree, damn technology.

[@Solids2k]

@fartparticles This is correct. You can see him getting frustrated. Once they get going though, John Stanier is inhuman. He is a clock.

[@archologyzero]

I'd be pissed too. Guitarists. If you are going to use a loop pedal make sure you can do it right every time. If a drummer fucked up a part every single time you played it you'd find a new drummer. And if you cant play your loop part then you either a) need to practice it until you can, or b) do something else.

[@sicklefudge]

He's off by a 16th note.

[@ybrik222]

... Well at least these guys are better at playing their songs live than Dragonforce...

[@Collinoscopy]

@cliffordton hahahahah

[@raghavsharma3211]

I'm pretty sure that cymbal is too high.....Who am i kidding nothing is normal here anyways...TURN AROUND if you expect normal bruhhhh..

[@JanM351531351]

poor drummer :D