Good points, Feline1. I agree with what you say. My other gripe is - why or why - didn't JF have an analogue synth to play himself. How cool - how we'd have cheered - if he'd knocked out a few notes on a Korg or Arp or whatever - rather than doing very little (the word miming comes to mind) with 'that' keyboard (I can't work out what he's playing - I know another thread has discussed this). He CAN play and I'd have been thrilled to see him really join in; to have heard one of the Metamatic instrumentals with all those keyboardist would have been immense. IMMENSE. But let me finish with a few things I did like (although I can't demonstrate Feline1's technical expertise or musicological elegance):
1. That opening movie with the re-purposed Film One. Wow. It would have been even better for the 'band' to have played that live...Whoops, I'm off again.
2. The Metamatic set. Besides a disappointing 'Underpass' (sorry, Birdsong), brilliant. Raw, dirty, messy and edgy.
3. 'Catwalk'. Loved it. Shame the crowd could barely tap a collective foot. I'd never seen JF so animated.
4. The Ultravox set. Ok, I'd rather have heard a few other tracks, but there was PS and a BAND accompanying John, and it was glorious (for all its faults).
5. The look of the band. Benge is cool, no doubt about it and he was clearly loving the occasion. The other guy (Paul Daley from Leftfield, wasn't it?) and 'synth lady' also added a certain visual chic to the proceedings reminding me of 'Ladytron' (who, obviously, helped write one of the tracks - which I liked).
6. Karborn and his girlfriend bopping along at the back as he mixed the visuals. Lovely to see JF Jnr so engaged and tuned in with his dad's work - and, as Birdsong states, really adding a great deal to the gig.
7. The DJ sets at the start (yes, slightly contradicting myself, but trying to create some positives here). Jori's set was actually very interesting in terms of its soundscape and at times sounding like a soundtrack mash-up of Goblin and Tangerine Dream from 1985. Mark Jones is actually a really interesting electro-pop buff and he played some fantastic tracks, many which I hadn't heard before.
Finally, did anyone attend the Short circuit festival at the Roundhouse last year? I saw the Radiophonic Workshop, but nothing else. Just wondering about comparisons between this year and last year's acts (and I bet they didn't have bl**dy DJs as support).