Underworld Presents: Crazy, Crazy at Knockdown Center
Article and Photographs by Addison Lawrence
Photograph by UDiscoverMusic
On September 4th, techno icons Underworld brought their Crazy, Crazy experience to Queens at Knockdown Center. The electronic duo, made up of vocalist Karl Hyde and keyboardist Rick Smith, are most known for club classic “Born Slippy (Nuxx),” although their talent far exceeds the confines of their most popular work.
If you were patient enough to get through the multi-block line of fans waiting to get into the venue, you’d soon find yourself in a crowd of love, energy, and most importantly: dancing. Somehow, every single person at the sold out show was moving in one way or another. And not just the crowd was dancing, but the venue itself. It’s almost as if Knockdown Center was made for a band like this, with the flashing lights strung along the roof only adding to the energy of the band’s electric music.
The British duo, formed in 1987, are such legends that they even served as their own openers, playing two separate sets with an intermission in between. As someone who loves hearing openers play, I was initially bummed, but in the end I was grateful to be able to watch them perform not once but twice. As the saying goes, it's just so good you’ve got to see it twice!
On stage, Underworld brings just as much energy as they expect from the crowd. The two were constantly bumping their heads to the beat and waving their hands in the air. As Hyde moved around the stage, it was evident that he was right where he was meant to be. Unlike other 80’s bands, such as The Police or Wham!, who eventually broke up for one reason or another, Underworld has continued to make music and perform together for almost 40 years, proving just how good of a duo Hyde and Smith truly are.
As they closed out the set with the timeless “Born Slippy (Nuxx),” the audience sang (and danced) their hearts out. As the crowd cleared out of the venue, the energy from the performance lingered in the air, and it quickly became clear that Underworld is the kind of band that will never go out of style.
