Kula Shaker @ Blackburn King Georges Hall, 6.4.98


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As we all know by now Kula Shaker are a band who love to embrace all things spiritual, hippie and downright mystical, without a care for how ridiculous they make themselves look in the process. You probably would have thought then that their fan-base would appear similarly bohemian.

However, a brief roaming glance over the audience soon makes it apparent that your average Kula Shaker fan’s closest religious encounter is either associated with 8 pints of lager, Noel Gallagher or the Teletubbies. Or all three.

That aside though, there is a bond here tonight. A common desire to rock the venue off its foundations as a mark of enthusiasm and respect for the said band, whose philosophy they may not understand, but whose wardrobe at least they ultimately strive for.

You see, while they may have a tendency to spout pretentious hippie cobblers at regular intervals, sport frightening beards and off-load all manner of Far-Eastern mysticism and psychadelia onto poor unsuspecting us, once Kula Shaker really lock into their groove they deliver like Hendrix surfing Satan’s flaming lips without a licence. And while you may not be able to firmly agree on the amount of marbles Crispin Mills is currently in possession of, there’s no such debate over his ability to make an audience melt like butter in his presence.

They open with their new single ‘The Sound Of Drums’, which also quite clearly features the sound of guitars, voice and keyboards - a case for Trade Descriptions me thinks - before bulldozing through familiar favourites from first album ‘K’. They also give an impressive preview of new material, including one song which appears to be called ‘Mystical Machine Gun’ - there’s probably no point seeking explanations. You needn’t expect any shocks from the forthcoming album, but there’s no beating a good tune.

They encore with ‘Hush’ before retiring backstage to smoke kitchen herbs, discuss the position of the planets and get an early night to sustain a good karma. Possibly.

James Berry