PSYCHIC TV - THEMES 3 @ 40

Recorded at a pair of performances staged on April 22 & 23rd of 1984, Psychic TV's Themes 3 turns 40 years old today. The album was originally released on Temple Records in April of 1987 as part of the label's History series, but it is not part of the "23 Live" LP series that was being issued at the time. As the third volume in the "Themes" series, it continues the group's exploration of sound as a functional element, rather than mere entertainment. The first volume in the series, was originally included with the debut PTV album, Force the Hand of Chance, as a bonus disc. The second volume was issued by Temple Records as a stand-alone limited edition. Both were created in the studio using various experimental recording processes in order to create a kind of interactive listening experience. This third volume, however, was recorded at a live presentation, though this particular configuration was not a "band" performance. Rather, it was conceived and executed as a multimedia presentation, with various pre-recorded audio and video elements being live-mixed during the performance, incorporating visual projections and multi-monitor installations. Those involved in the presentation were behind the scenes, operating equipment and real-time editing source materials together.

I got a chance to see one of these presentations in Seattle at the Showbox Theater in 1988. This particular manifestation of this configuration was called "Stations Ov Thee Cross", and involved a setup featuring a giant Psychic Cross in the middle of the stage that was built from large CRT monitors, and was flanked by two large projection screens. At the time we were unaware that the performance would not involve a live band, so most of our party were rather disappointed to have made the trip down from Vancouver to see this. Personally, I thought it was an interesting concept, though the venue didn't really make it particularly comfortable for viewing something that was more contemplative, as opposed to seeing a bunch of people bounding about a stage with instruments. Still, in retrospect, it's something I'm extremely happy I got a chance to see, and I did eventually get a chance to see PTV as a full band in 1990 when they brought their 3 hour Acid House rave-up show to Vancouver's Town Pump.