Krakatoa – Ten reasons to get to see them on tour

Last night was the first gig in an 18 date tour by Krakatoa finishing on the 21st November in Dublin.

Krakatoa

A fair sized crowd had come along to The Junction in Cambridge to see the headliners Alabama 3, but as the lads set up their set, the venue started to fill up and it was already impossible to find any space on the rails by the time they launched into The Renaissance. The energy emitting from the band soon had the crowd on their side and by the time they had finished the first song, people were leaving the bar and coming in to the stage to see who exactly were these guys. It is in venues like The Junction, where the sound system is particularly well set up, that enables the strong lyrical content of the band to come through clearly and Psychedelic City and Fat Cats, the new release were particularly well received.

Speaking to people after the gig, it was interesting to hear that there was no perception that this was a band on their first real tour as they played with real confidence and energy, with Darien managing to strike up a rapport with the crowd. The mixture of reggae influence, 60’s beat and seventies punk suited well a crowd of hugely mixed ages, as the rage against the machine in the lyrical output, relates to pretty well most people.

By the time the set finished all too soon with Esprit Du Corp, with its superb reggae influence, the audience were in the real swing of things and I could see an enthusiastic crowd swaying with the beat and calls for an encore.

Krakatoa played well last night, Josh S on drums cracking though the tracks with precision, Andrew on Bass, had to cram himself into a corner of the stage, but that didn’t stop the persistent beat from being heard. Josh B and Jacko on guitars, played well of each other and Darien looked comfortable as he span around the stage. As it was the first night, I can only imagine they will get better on this tour.

The ten reasons to get to see Krakatoa on Tour? The set, which finishes all too soon.

Thanks to Laurence from 360 Degree music for arranging the guest tickets for me and it was good to catch up with the guys after their set, albeit briefly.

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