Equinoctial Lapis blowout

The Ballroom, Canterbury
20th March, 2014

This couldn't have been timed better. After an amazing equinox walk back to Canterbury along the North Downs Way (which coincides with an old pilgrims' route) with Miriam, then drifting around the Cathedral cloisters at dusk, sustenance at Club Burrito, then over to the Veg Box Cafe for coffee for a catch up with Fred from Syd Arthur (he's the drummer) about their latest American adventure and a few notes of Robert Mitchell's virtuosic piano playing (for it was Free Range night), we headed over to The Ballroom.

Support was from a SOAS band called "Lunch Money". Everyone seems to agree that that's not a great name, but they're a great band, an excellent match to Lapis with their aggressive horns, Afro-funk rhythms and all-round high energy. The connection is that their drummer is Stewy, the Northern Irish drummer in Cocos Lovers in recent times.

Lapis Lazuli yet again rose to the occasion, from the "Incessant Creakings..." opener to the multi-dimensional tango piece they closed with (what is that one called). Lapis always seem to pull in a great crowd when they're in town and blow the roof off. They're off on a UK tour soon, and it's not so easy for unfamiliar audiences to "get" their sprawling, ambitious sound (and gigs are often underpublicised, and the public are getting increasingly blasé about live music). So good luck to them. The tour ends in Canterbury on April 21st at the Penny Theatre, where they'll be debuting their new epic 40+ minute piece "Alien" (one of two pieces on the new album). As well as a new local psychedelic band called Plume, Professor Appleblossom (a.k.a. me) is on the flyer — they've asked me to give a guest lecture about aliens, alien consciousness, etc. I already have my labcoat ready, just have to put the lecture together.

For now here's an excellent promo video they've put together featuring the first 12 minutes or so of "Alien". I absolutely love the ending of this, a serendipitious find by Adam and Neil while combing through 50's B-movies looking for alien footage:

Latest news: Koloto (a.k.a. Maria Sullivan) is also on the bill for the Penny Theatre gig! That's unless she's given birth before the 21st...