LIVE FROM THE PIT: Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Waldo’s Gift and Floral Image

PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS have certainly been busy over the past year, releasing not just one album but two, with Carpe Diem, Moonman in May and Pogo Rodeo in late October, it was only right they return to London so their loyal fanbase did not miss out on all the new tunes, we headed down to the legendary O2 Forum Kentish Town to see how they would turn the place upside.

Opening up the night were the very wacky, very weird, FLORAL IMAGE, who offered their audience a warm welcome, dressed to the nines in their sixties and seventies clothing, their eccentric BEATLES vibes and seriously intense riffs made for a really interesting set where the music felt like it did not fit the people playing it at all. Regardless of that fact their funky tunes and fun dancing, especially from their bassist and absolute nutcase of a drummer really added to the overall vibe this band put across. Not to mention this band needs a massive commendation for their endurance as the songs were really long and went through all sorts of waves and emotions as a lot of warping and distortion of the guitars made each section sound crazy in comparison to the last. 

Next up, Bristol Trio, WALDO’S GIFT, took to the stage and threw the audience straight into their wild experimental sound, ripping from all sides of music, jazz to metal, funk to hip hop, this band spare no expense in exercising their musical skill with a technical playing that is all at once clinical but passionate. During the set, the band explained how they met and how their sound was formed through constant improv that created their unique style; this then led to them having a completely improvised section of the set where the drummer went wild, the bassist slid across his fret board and the guitarist used one riff and the punching of his pedals to create a crazy warped sound that was fantastic to hear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLYHLW-xfhs

Finally the long-awaited headliner PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS walked out and immediately caused the crowd to split in two, while an unpredictable amount of crowd surfers began to come over the barrier, as these Aussies showed the UK that they really did not want low energy at their gigs down under. These guys had such an aura of fun about them, down tuning their guitars ever so slightly to make the songs that sound fun and light in recording go insanely hard in a live setting; it really is surprising when you see this band live how intense of a performance they give and how genuinely heavy some of the sound is. 

The crowd absolutely reciprocated this with such a strong energy from every single member, anyone close to the front definitely would have been hard pressed to stand still as the band worked through a pretty extensive setlist that covered their whole career thus far. The set came to a head when they closed with their absolutely iconic song Cornflake, whose riff the audience sung back to the band as it echoed through the iconic venue and as it built up to the final drop of the song which split the crowd in two for one last insane bout of sweat, energy and music that really sealed the deal on the true passion the band possess and the loyalty the fans has for them.

Words and photos: Ben Blissett