Much more like it.  I got the impression at this show that the Royal Festival Hall was getting back up to speed after those initial teething problems I experienced upon its re-opening.  I doubt that Matmos, who were surprisingly - to me at least, if not the large Japanese contingent in the crowd – on the undercard act tonight, ever have an off night.

They came out of their corner swinging, with a mammoth piece (written with Terry Riley, apparently) similar to the opening to Faust’s “Krautrock”, undulating and throbbing with malevolent intent, guitarist Nate Boyce in their corner to smear feedback over the raw cut surfaces. 

The arrival of any beat was delayed until the following piece, when some latin-flavoured percussion arrived to douse the near subsonic bass that pushed the RFH’s soundsystem – and our ears - to the limit.  The earthenware mid-section to their translation of sections of Verdi’s Aida raised my one disappointment of the evening: that they didn’t sample anything that could not be found outwith the aisles of a mid-sized B&Q garden centre.  After a pounding “Steam and Sequins for Larry Levan”, they closed with a low-key Robert Ashley spoken word piece, and were gone, all too soon.

So it was Cornelius, or should I say the – prepare yourself for this - Cornelius Sensuous Synchronised Show - who headlined the evening.  A curtain dropped to show the luxuriantly-ennobled foursome in matching grey outfits.  The music was fine, mainly from his punky new album, with the fidgety drumming of his classic “Point Of View Point” being my musical highlight.  But with a name like that, it was never going to be just about the music was it…

The visuals were astonishing.  My notebook is littered with what now seem chunks of arrant nonsense, but which described scenes which at the time wowed me: “tessellated teeth”, “flying geese turn into stars”, “dancing sugarcubes”, and my favourite, “woman riding elephant fights dung beetle”.  It was better than all that though, and I kinda regret my comment on leaving to the guy from his entourage who was making some sort of movie of the event: “Yeah, Cornelius was great…but I really came to see Matmos”.  I suspect that one will be left on the cutting room floor.