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Venue: Mean Fiddler, London Date: 27th October 2001
This was a big night for Welsh band Karnataka with the filming of a live DVD for Classic Rock Legends in the heart of London's West End. Ever since I got their latest album 'The Storm' I had been looking
forward to seeing them, and this show was no disappointment.
Even with a contingent from Wales down for the night the Mean Fiddler was only about two thirds full, but the enthusiastic audience loved every minute of it. For about an hour and a half the band treated us to a selection of rousing material from both of their current albums and also from the forthcoming third album that they are recording at the moment.
The first thing that strikes you about the band is how much heavier they are live than on record. Guitarist Paul Davies is a highly adept player, letting loose some superb rock guitar whilst Gavin Griffiths
provides powerful drumming throughout. Bass player Ian Jones and keyboardist Jonathon Edwards are both excellent, and of course singer Rachel Jones is a first rate vocalist and focal point for the group.
Steve Simmons played sax on a few numbers and the band were backed up by three female backing vocalists.
Highlights of the show for me were all the tracks from 'The Storm' although, curiously, the title track was not aired. The new material sounded very promising with a strong prog and symphonic feel which bodes
very well for the next album.
If you like female voiced, melodic/prog rock in the Iona or Mostly Autumn vein, then Karnataka will be right up your street. Look out for the DVD in the coming months ... this band are simply superb.
Steve
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Venue: Limelight Theatre, Aylesbury Date: 13th July, 2002
Karnataka set: Time Stand Still, Crazy, Dreamer, The Right Time, Heaven Can Wait, After the Rain, I Should've Known, Everything Must Change, Writing on the Wall, Strange Behaviour, Tell Me Why, Delicate Flame of
Desire, The Storm.
Encore: Heart of Stone
Sleeping Giant set: My Release, Nothing More, When Your Best is Never Good Enough, Empty Rooms, Embers, December Moon, Nobody Knows (with Steve Rothery), Precious.
For those of you who have not heard of them, Sleeping Giant are a five-piece band that grew out of the now-defunct prog group Mr. So and So. They feature vocalist Charlotte Evans - now promoted to front woman -
as well as guitarist Dave Foster and drummer Leon Parr from that band, alongside keyboard player James Rimmer and superb bass player Simon Crumley.
Their sound, however, is very different - concise pop / rock with large doses of jazz and funk. There are certainly parallels with Karnataka, though Charlotte's singing style is more aggressive and she has an excellent range, alongside a humorous, quirky stage persona.
The band play within themselves, keeping it tight and letting the splendid songs do the talking. Only on the epic 'Nobody Knows' do they stretch out a little, as Dave Foster trades solos with special guest
Steve Rothery of Marillion, much to the audience's delight.
An excellent performance, by a band of considerable promise...
Nine months on from their DVD recording at the Mean Fiddler, I can report that all is well in the Karnataka camp. A couple of minor problems have been sorted out; specifically Paul Davies' rather harsh guitar
sound - he is now playing with aggression, polish and genuine invention.
Secondly, the problem of backing vocals has been solved by the addition of Anne-Marie Helder, whose pure voice complements Rachel Jones' wonderfully, and whose flute playing adds colour to a number of songs now sax player Steve Simmons is no longer a regular band member. She also adds a touch of glamour and movement to the band's live persona.
As a unit, the band is also on great form, playing their progressive pop/rock (a band difficult to categorize, as always) with supreme confidence. Rachel is now singing with seemingly effortless skill, while
Ian Jones on bass, Jonathan Edwards on keyboards and Gavin John Griffiths on drums are also on top form.
Alongside songs from both existing albums, the band have gradually introduced material from the forthcoming ("more forth than coming" as Ian puts it) album.
Set opener 'Time Stands Still' already seems like an old favourite, while the title track 'Delicate Flame of Desire' has blossomed into a genuine show-stopper. For this performance, the band introduced the excellent 'After the Rain', plus a rearranged 'Heart of Stone', and ended the main set unusually, with a rare rendition of a slightly rocked-up 'The Storm'.
Buy the DVD by all means - it is a good representation of the band as they were in 2001; but for the new, improved version of Karnataka - see them live.
Stephen Lambe
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