Author: Primož Novak
Photos: Sebastijan Videc
Video: Sebastijan Videc
Location: Kranj / TrainStation SubArt / Slovenia
Concert date: 13.03.2016
Ticket price: 13€
It hasn’t even been a year, and Ozric Tentacles (Ozrics for short) are already back in Kranj. But with a band like Ozric Tentacles, you can’t exactly expect the same live experience every time. They’ve got a colorful career and a ton of albums behind them, so they can play a different set every time out. And they always bring along some promising musician on the road, whether it’s a DJ or a band. This time, the Ozrics were joined by the young Israeli quintet Project Rnl.
In their short set, Project Rnl showed they’re musicians of exceptional caliber. With their remarkable command of their instruments, the band made it clear that there are no limits for them. At first you could say you heard the influence of the likes of Cynic and Animals as Leaders in the heavier parts. But the restless rhythm section also showed a strong fusion jazz influence. Even though this was pretty demanding stuff, the gentler passages proved they’ve got a feel for funk and pop rock too. Every member stood out in their own way: the vocalist with his unusual voice, the bassist with some seriously prominent lines that occasionally pushed the guitarist right into the background, the keyboardist who complemented the band’s complex parts just right, and the drummer, who only got his moment in the spotlight with a solo near the end. One of the more fascinating things about the band was their takes on well-known pop songs. Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 and The Real Slim Shady by Eminem were reworked in a complex and playful way. Project Rnl are proof that good musicians can be found outside the countries that the chart-ruling hits come from.
With Ozric Tentacles, you’ve got to respect the band’s perseverance. The only original member, guitarist Ed Wynne, still keeps going on tour and making new music. Last year’s album Technicians of the Sacred is already their 20th studio album, if you count the first five cassettes as albums. The band formed way back in 1983, and even back then they showed they wouldn’t follow trends, and as a result they steered clear of all the eighties kitsch. These days the Ozrics are no longer in their golden era, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth seeing. The band, now made up of the Wynne family plus drummer Balázs Szendej, can still conjure up an unusual live experience over the course of two hours.
The Ozrics are full of surprises not just with their music; they also don’t play the same set night after night. Sure, a few well-known tunes are in there, like Xingu, Eternal Wheel and Sploosh. The song selection was interesting as always, though a few classics were missing. Naturally the focus was on the latest album, but that didn’t make it any less varied. The Ozrics mixed things up logically: songs that put the guitar front and center, and not just Ed Wynne’s searing soloing; songs where the electronics stand out, with the psychedelic effect and the trance samples at their most pronounced; and calmer songs too, which could mean anything from an acoustic guitar number to a mellow track with a reggae/dub flavor. In short, the Ozrics’ variety is beyond description. It’s also worth mentioning that the live performance gives the band’s music a slightly different angle. On some albums the drums sit well in the background, but at a concert they really come into their own and underline how rhythmically restless the Ozrics are. There’s not much to complain about in terms of tightness either; the only thing was that the members’ energy wasn’t exactly at its peak, probably thanks in part to the weed they treated themselves to right on stage. But if nothing else, the band was relaxed up there, and the tightness of their playing matched.
After not even a year, the newly energized TrainStation in Kranj got treated to another above-average show by Ozric Tentacles, with an excellent opening act in Project Rnl.
photos and video: Anja Ivanovič
Setlist
Project RnL
1. The Avenger
2. Twisted Truth
3. Jagger (Alon Intro)
4. Another One
5. Song 2
6. Expiration
7. Latin Dream
8. Jitter Bug
9. Slim Shady
10. All Stuck-Ups
Ozric Tentacles
1. O-I
2.Sniffing Dog
3. Changa Masala
4. Oakum
5. Xingu
6. Saucers
7. Plurnstyle
8. Mooncalf
9. Epiphlioy
10. Sultana Detrii
11. Zenlike Creature
12. Eternal Wheel
13. Sploosh!
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