Kula Shaker

at Liverpool’s Camp and Furnace

with support from

Blue Violet

21/01/2023

I’m wrapping up against the bitterly cold January weather and I’m heading into central Liverpool to meet up with our photographer to get some food before tonight’s gig, it’s the first of this year for both of us.

As I make my way into Liverpool I don’t really notice the cold as I’m so excited about tonight’s show, ‘Kula Shaker’ at Camp and Furnace. I’ve seen the 90’s psych-rockers a few times through the years so I know what’s in store and I’m looking forward to this one so much.

I meet Billy whos shooting the show and we decide to warm ourselves up a bit before the gig so we drop into Doux Chatton, a little Vietnamese cafe on Renshaw Street, now I’m gonna break off a little bit here and talk about the food at this place, it’s amazing and great value too, we enjoy some Banh Mi, Pho, Noodle salad along with some Bubble Tea. The food is fresh and full of taste, the atmosphere in this place is relaxed and friendly and the price is good too. Doux Chatton is a little gem of a place and a great stop-off before any gig in Liverpool. We are warm and watered now and we jump in a cab up to the venue.

Camp and Furnace is a lovely huge building in The Baltic Triangle area of the city and the bar area is decorated with huge comfy sofas, some plants and some stylish rustic decor, it’s a fitting setting for tonight’s events.

(Blue Violet_Credit: Billy Vitch)

I make my way to the front of the stage and I don’t have to wait too long for our support band, ‘Blue Violet‘.

London-based Blue Violet are a five-piece outfit with Sam and Sarah (husband and wife) up front and centre. Sam plays guitar and sings and Sarah is on lead vocals. The band look amazing and Sarah looks very stylish in some red leather trousers. They have a well-crafted sound and I get a bit of a ‘The Black Keys‘ vibe from their music and Sarah reminds me a little bit of ‘Sam Brown‘.

The band have been on the previous shows of this tour with Kula Shaker and look confident up there playing their set. Standouts here are ‘Halo‘ which starts with a slight country vibe and then builds to a crescendo, and also the mighty ‘Asylum‘, this song is a bit more up-tempo and moves at a lightning pace with Sam and Sarah’s vocals working well together. Sarah thanks the crowd for getting in early and I’m very impressed by these guys, I say hello to them at the merch desk after the show and they seem like lovely people too. We may have an interview coming up with these guys soon, so keep your eyes peeled for when we publish it.

So, the stagehands are out and stuff is being shifted about as we wait for tonight’s main act, the mighty Kula Shaker. The atmosphere is building nicely as drummer Paul Winterhart comes down to the front of the stage to strategically place some joss sticks there and now we’re almost ready.

(Kula Shaker_Credit: Billy Vitch)

Kula Shaker started out in the mid-’90s and their first album ‘K‘ was a huge success and the band built themselves a big reputation as a great live act and also a really good “singles band” with songs like ‘Tattva‘ and ‘Govinda‘. Their follow-up album ‘Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts‘ continued the form with big hits like ‘Shower Your Love‘ and ‘Sound Of Drums‘. 

This tour and tonight’s gig is in support of their sixth and latest album, ‘1st Congregational Church of Eternal Love and Free Hugs‘, a concept album which is based on a church service with band leader and singer-guitarist Crispian Mills playing the part of a local vicar or reverend. 

The lads take to the stage to huge applause, the room is full and indeed, Crispian has a full congregation tonight.

The band look so cool as they start up with ‘Hey Dude‘ and I’m pleased to see that Jay Darlington is back on keyboards after a long time away from the band, his hair and beard are white/grey now and he looks like a “wizard in a blizzard” now, or maybe Gandalf. 

Bassist Alonzo Bevan looks super stylish too in his fedora hat, and the band moves straight into ‘Sound Of Drums‘ and I’m transported back to my twenties. It’s an impressive opening from the four guys and Crispian tells us that he’s happy to be back in Liverpool and says that it’s been a while.

(Kula Shaker_Credit: Billy Vitch)

Soon we’re into ‘Grateful When You’re Dead/Jerry Was Here‘ and the band a really rocking now, Crispian and Alonzo have so much energy, up and down, sliding across the stage on their knees and Mr Mills is a supreme front man. He tells that tonight’s next offering was written by a local fella called ‘John Winston Ono Lennon‘ and the band give us there version of ‘Gimme Some Truth‘, it’s a lovely version of the song and imagine this is how this tune might have sounded if it was a Beatles song and not a Lennon solo song.

Next up is ‘Gingerbread Man‘ from the album, this is a fun tune and punters are lapping this one up. We’re getting lots of hits tonight and soon enough we have my favourite KS song, ‘Into The Deep‘, I’m so happy!

‘Into The Deep’ is followed by a new song, the never been played before ‘Waves‘ gets its first outing tonight and it’s classic Kula Shaker, a real rocker with wah-wah pedal and Crispian is right down at the edge of the stage, jump up and down and twisting about while playing his customised Fender Strat. I’m a bit worried that he might fall off, but he’s a true pro.

We move into the second part of the set and the audience goes wild for ‘Tattva‘ one of the band’s songs that is sung in the Asian language of ‘Sanskrit’, it’s a great tune and I don’t think any other band on the planet have a vibe like Kula Shaker.

Crispian is playing two tambourines with his right hand and finger tapping the neck of his guitar with his left hand as we move into ‘Narayan‘, ‘The Prodigy‘ song that Crispian did vocals for back in 1997, we get a little snippet of ‘Hallelujah‘ by the ‘Happy Monday’s‘ in the middle of this one, and it’s great to hear this song live.

(Kula Shaker_Credit: Billy Vitch)

The roof comes off for ‘Hush‘ and the vibrations are huge, maybe this is their best tune tonight, everybody seems to be having the time of their lives and it’s been a great performance. The lads leave us for a few minutes before returning for their encore and again, another one of their Indian-influenced songs gives us a fitting finish, ‘Govinda‘ sends us all home happy with big smiles on our faces, WOW !!!!

I think Kula Shaker might be one of the best live bands on the planet, I really rate them that highly, and If you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing them yet, well, you can do something about it and try and catch them on this tour.

Review by Dave Clare

Photography by Billy Vitch

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