Issue 53 / March 2015

30
Bido Lito! March 2015
Reviews
substance; likewise, Psychedelic Revolution
sounds like a dated new-age bonding
weekend, all but implying a campfire on the
featureless stage. Cope’s current mandate
to release an album name-checking his
drinking spots around the UK is reflective of
his ‘been there, done that’ attitude, and why
shouldn’t it be? As a rock star, he has snorted
his share of success, and as a monument, he
is in full control of his legacy. We’re invited
to think of a funeral – “a casket” in particular
– then throwing ourselves on top. Who
wouldn’t enjoy the right to say that?
night run at The Kazimier, it's clear that the
creative minds of the future have come to
hear what PEACE have to say.
Before that we have THE VRYLL SOCIETY,
who open with what can only be described
Peace (Gaz Jones / @GJMPhoto)
as a squall of feedback that morphs into a riff
(bearing more than a passing resemblance
to Avon by Queens Of The Stone Age) which
hangs over the audience like a muggy cloud.
Their version of what I imagine they call psych
is more 1989 than 1969, with crisp, Maniesque
basslines propelling them forward,
and a baby Bobby Gillespie on vocals. While
it appears that all of their inspiration went on
picking a name, this passionate – if limited –
performance is well received by their peers.
Peace have inspiration to burn, and are
keen to bring a sense of occasion to this
opening night of a massive UK tour. Singer
Harry Koisser descends the stairs to the stage
like a debutante, and is greeted with by the
kind of screaming Harry Styles still hears in
his sleep.
“First night of the tour… anything could
happen,” he coos as he straps on his guitar.
As you'd expect from a show that sold out in
hours, elbowroom is an alien concept. A sea of
heads are already rising and crashing as one.
It's clear that this band have all the necessary
tools for promotion to the big leagues: every
song has a natural launch pad for abandon,
arguably none better than Higher Than The
Sun, with its muscular drum breaks and
soaring chorus. And in Float Forever Peace
have a bona fide festival weapon, a fact that
will certainly be proved later in the summer.
New song Someday – from the band’s
latest LP Happy People – is pretty standard
balladry, most remarkable for the DayGlo
Danelectro guitar Koisser chooses to wield
for its live debut. Koisser dominates the
stage, but he's not the only member worthy
of our attention. Guitarist Doug Castle plays
the starring role in the swirling, eight-minute
epic that is 1998, while Harry's bassist brother
Sam is Alex James reborn – hopefully without
the cheese obsession or hosting parties
for Diamond Dave Cameron, but more as a
Josh Potts / @joshpjpotts
Your Bag?
Catch Ian McCulloch @
Floral Pavilion on 19th March
PEACE
The Vryll Society
EVOL @ The Kazimier
So this is what the Zeitgeist looks like.
I’ve seen many packed shows over the last
eighteen months, but it's been a while since
we've been confronted by such youth. On
this opening night of an unprecedented two-
Peace (Gaz Jones / @GJMPhoto)
bidolito.co.uk