OZRIC TENTACLES/ GONG
VENUE ELECTRIC BALLROOM, LONDON DATE 23/11/2022
There’s an exotic aroma in the Camden air this evening as the Gong and Ozrics caravan floats into town. Billed as the Joint Tour, these veteran purveyors of consciousness-expanding psychedelia are now midway through an extensive UK trip. They’ve been alternating the running order and tonight it’s Gong up first.
Opening with Forever Reoccurring, the sidelong epic from The Universe Also Collapses, is a mark of the confidence of this quintet. The spirit of Daevid Allen will forever be felt wherever Gong’s music is played, but this (re)incarnation has had to fight to alter the perception of some doubters.
Glissando guitar and cymbal washes haunt the air against a backdrop of cosmic visuals as the doors of perception begin to open. Ian East’s stuttering saxophone blasts and Kavus Torabi’s staccato guitar chords create a pulsing signal that recalls minimalist composer Steve Reich’s iconic Music For 18 Musicians. The piece inexorably unfolds, pulling psych, prog and jazz fusion into its orbit with a harder rock edge than Gong of old. It’s a mesmeric mix. My Sawtooth Wake picks up the harder sound and runs with it, all the while never losing sight of that infectious Gong groove.
Master Builder begins to coalesce. Fabio Golfetti’s glissando guitar and Torabi’s chanting build the tension atop Dave Sturt’s cyclical bass line until that riff erupts from the miasma. Ozrics’ Saskia Maxwell rushes on from the wings and whirls dervish-like centre stage. Her dancing adds a wonderful new dimension to experiencing this classic track. Cheb Nettles’ powerful yet fleet-of-foot drumming is a tour de force. Torabi dedicates the performance to Nik Turner with the fitting words: “Rest in space.”
Two new songs point to the future – Tiny Galaxies is a slow burner while My Guitar Is
“THERE WOULD BE NO OZRIC TENTACLES WITHOUT GONG, BUT NOW A YOUNGER REGENERATION OF GONG IS PERPETUATING THAT ENERGY.”
A Spaceship nods in the direction of The Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows. Allen’s legacy couldn’t be in safer hands. For all the stoner haze that’s surrounded every incarnation of Gong, the musicians have always had serious chops and these guys are no exception.
The same can be said for the mighty Ozric Tentacles as well. You may not know at any point in their 40-year history exactly who’s on stage with bandleader Ed Wynne, but you do know that they’re formidable players. It’s been some time since a full band has played live. In recent years the father-and-son electronic incarnation has toured but tonight we get to rock out. Swedish drummer Tim Wallander joins at short notice after the departure of Balázs Szende. Brandi Wynne makes a surprise return to the fold and gets the set underway with the bass-heavy O-I from 1989’s Pungent Effulgent and the classic high energy Erpland showcases Ed Wynne’s lead guitar prowess. In fact it’s a set full of uptempo numbers, with Wynne enjoying playing rather than manning a synth. White Rhino Tea is aired for the first time in many years and still sounds fresh as a daisy.
The effervescent synth intro to Eternal Wheel percolates away. Silas Neptune and his father trade keyboard lines in the middle section. It’s a family affair as Silas’s partner Saskia returns to pepper ethereal flute through the mellow Lotus Unfolding.
The biggest cheer of the night goes up for the frenetic Kick Muck, which radiates free festival punk energy. A mosh pit threatens to break out. Wallander deserves special mention – he sounds like he’s been in the band for years – and Sploosh! threatens to level Camden with insistent throbbing sub bass. We’ve missed this full band configuration.
There would be no Ozric Tentacles without Gong, but now a younger regeneration of
Gong is perpetuating that energy and Ozrics are pumping with new blood. Forever reoccurring indeed.