High energy performances from this perfect pairing of a line up!
January came and went with me definitely in hibernation mode – but Kula Shaker at Concorde 2 was the ultimate carrot to persuade me back into the gig world. And from the size of the queue outside the venue it was clear I was not alone in my eagerness. In a very full room the excitement beforehand was electric, and as I managed to sneak a phone pic of the set list from the pit I had some very devoted fans requesting a peek before the band came on stage.
We were treated to a career spanning selection of songs, including some much loved oldies but goldies. With ‘Mystical Machine Gun’ being delivered early in the set, and tracks from the newly released album Wormslayer peppered throughout. The lighting was absolutely heaven sent, including psychedelic projections and rainbow coloured filters, it made capturing something individual within the given three songs so much easier! The stage presence of each individual band member was also a gift, with each of them bringing something very unique to the space – the current line up being Crispian Mills (vocals/guitar), Alonza Bevan (bass), Paul Winterhart (drums), and Jay Darlington (Hammond organ). The charisma on stage was phenomenal!
The Dhol Foundation
Rarely have I seen a crowd so engaged and energised for the opening act of the evening. The Dhol Foundation not only delivered superb sounds, but their audience interactions and eclectic selection of songs, as well as inspiring audience participation, had the whole room jumping! As a photographer, they were definitely more challenging to capture as the lighting was very single hued and they moved A LOT! But thankfully there was enough space at the back of the room for me to get some wider angle shots.
I did have my camera on burst mode for both acts to be sure I bagged the sharp focus images within the movement. Using my usual pairing of the 35mm and the 85mm on the Canon EOS R, my ISO selection jumped around a lot to allow for the changing light, ranging from 800 to 3200. Then my f-stop was mostly at 2.8.
A great show to get me back out there in 2026. Next up – Mogwai at Brighton Dome.
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