People use all sorts of words to describe Autechre's distinctive brand of electronic music - thrilling, addictive, sinister, seemingly random - but "boring" usually isn't one of them. Their complex beats, layered rhythms, pummeling sounds, and weird meters definitely aren't for everyone, but they rarely lose your attention. For the first half hour of their Sunday night set at Webster Hall though, I was surprisingly bored beyond belief. Sean Booth and Rob Brown were on stage in complete darkness (save for their blinking banks of electronics) and their music just wasn't going anywhere. They just kept sitting in the same grooves with the same sounds, and it wasn't interesting at all. My friends and I even discussed leaving early.

But thirty minutes in, something clicked. The changes started to come more frequently, the layers started to get more complicated, the beats started breaking up more, and, just as quickly as they had lost us, they grabbed us back. What I enjoy about Autechre's music is figuring it out - picking out the invididual pieces and seeing how they play off of each other - and what keeps it interesting is how they constantly shake it up, throwing in new elements before you're even used to the old ones. The final hour of their 90 minute set was a near-constant build-up, ending in what would have sounded like sheer chaos if you hadn't been paying attention to the journey. I admittedly respect Autechre more than I listen to them, but after the slow start I enjoyed the show quite a bit. I assume they played much of their new record Untilted, which I plan to check out soon. They don't play very often, and I'm glad I went. And from the sustained cheers that greeted the end of their set, I think most of the crowd agreed.

I also must point out that Webster Hall was a perfect venue for the show. It's an easy venue to slag on, but their sound system is ideal for large electronic shows like this one. It'd be nice to see them do more things in this vein. They just need to chill with the smoke machine next time.

One other thing - not a huge surprise, but the M/F ratio at this show was off the charts! There must've been at least 4 or 5 guys for every girl.