Orb’s Paterson Comes Down to Earth in Engaging Show

Though Dr. Alex Paterson has been called everything from genius to eccentric by the electronic community, he has never earned such descriptions as warm or inviting. One could even argue that since 1989, this member of the Orb has symbolized the idea of electronic music as cold and detached.

So when the seminal U.K. dance figure came into town Saturday for a deejay set at the Knitting Factory, it was difficult to know what to expect. Would he play the kind of spacey, expansive ambient sounds--hardly dance music, really--that he has produced with the Orb? Or would he show a different side?

Paterson started his set a little after midnight with Orb sounds, but his two-hour stint definitely showed an unexpected side. It wasn’t so much the all-over-the map musical selections--which ranged from a metallic synth version of the Smiths’ “There Is a Light” to a sample of Paterson’s own hit, “Little Fluffy Clouds” and included house, dancehall and pure techno in between--as it was how animated Paterson was on stage.

Dancing, jumping, smiling and waving his arms, Paterson was downright engaging. And as he settled into a groove roughly 40 minutes in, he even became a bit playful with the audience, egging on the dancing fans with his motions. Also unexpected was how technically adept he was. True, Paterson has been performing as a deejay since the late ‘80s, but since most associate him with his own productions, his slick transitions and well-developed style were a bonus in a night full of pleasant surprises.

Steve Baltin