Kairo and Cocos

Gulbenkian Theatre Cafe
University of Kent at Canterbury
22nd February 2014

Kairo and Cocos Lovers

This was a bit of a strange setup, half the audience being older Gulbenkian regulars, unfamiliar with the bands, seated and seeking to be entertained, the other half being the usual suspects, amassed off to the side of the stage dancing.

Jamie Dams now has a name for her band — Kairo. It's down to a trio now, Phil Holmes (saxophone) has left, so just Jamie (electric guitar, voice), Toby (bass, also in Lapis Lazuli) and Josh (drums, also in Bison Bonasus). But sounding really strong, the jazzier and more progressive elements coming to the fore, Jamie's voice powerful and clear.

Cocos' set was almost entirely from the last album Gold or Dust, apart from a couple of lively encores from the early days (Josh from Kairo was called up on stage to play some guest percussion for these). There were also a couple of new ones but I couldn't really focus on them as I'd been drawn into a conversation — but Will has since emailed me demo versions to listen to...they're called "The Land Where No One Dies" and "The Light". And they're off to SXSW in Austin, TX soon!

I ended up down at The Unicorn in St. Dunstans a couple of days later to celebrate Jamie's birthday, ran into Joel and Liam from Syd Arthur. They've got their second album Sound Mirror ready to go, to be released in a few weeks by the revived Harvest label. Joel sent me an MP3 copy the next day, and it's MIGHTY! Also, as well as gigs at SXSW and Coachella in the USA soon, they've been booked onto a North American tour supporting Sean Lennon's band (I assume that's The GOASTT), and they'll be playing the High Noon Saloon in Madison, Wisconsin in late May while I'm out there. Looking forward to that!