Sundara Karma February Tour
- Kirsty Bennet, Georgina Bradford & Grace Patey
- Mar 20, 2017
- 4 min read
O2 INSTITUTE, Birmingham, 11th February:
The O2 Institute in Birmingham was the setting for the first night of Sundara Karma’s tour, and having to upgrade the venue from the Rainbow due to exceptionally high demand, my expectations were high. However, fresh from supporting Two Door Cinema Club on their tour, Sundara did not disappoint.
The opening support was The Night Café who were welcomed to the stage with a response normally reserved for the main act. From the start it was clear this young group have amassed a substantial fan base and with songs so easy to belt along to, it’s not hard to see why. Their set was short but they played with great energy as they built up the anticipation for Sundara Karma.
Hampshire based three-piece Blaenavon then took to the stage. Despite their performance not getting quite the same reaction from the crowd, they put on a wonderful show and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Personal highlights included My Bark Is Your Bite, Orthodox Man and of course, Prague. I cannot wait to see them on their headline tour in early April. Their debut album, That’s Your Lot, is released on the 7th of April. You can pre-order it here.
Then came the spectacular Sundara Karma. The crowd erupted the moment the Reading quartet stepped onto the stage. The set was beautifully put together as we were treated to old favourites such as Freshbloom, Hustle and Indigo Puff which were all received with great energy from the crowd, as were other favourites from their debut album released in January. Other personal highlights included Vivienne, in which Oscar dived onto the hands of fans for a short but sweet crowd surf, She Said and a magical cover of Luther Vandross’s ‘Never Too Much’.
All in all, it was a wonderful evening filled with great music and lovely people. Things only seem to be getting better for Sundara Karma as they continue to grow in popularity. Great things are coming for this band for sure.
3 SIXTY, Reading, 19th February:
Support came from Palm Honey, incredible as always, the local boys really set the ethereal scene for the night. Although surprisingly not many of the crowd seemed to know the infamous Purple Turtle's most frequent and favourite band, they were well received and amped up the suspense for Sundara's eventual entrance. Main support came from Will Joseph Cook and this provoked a lot more crowd reaction although I couldn't tell you anything memorable about him or his music.
Finally came the iconic mix of Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl, the iridescent backdrop and the grimy 'gig smell', and everyone was ready for Sundara.
The setlist... The. Set. List. Between us we've seen Sundara Karma play at least 30 times but this by far was the best setlist I'd ever experienced. Although the purpose of the tour was to promote the release of their debut album Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect, there was a hefty dose of old favourites too. Hustle hasn't made it onto the setlist for a very long time and I was nothing less than thrilled to have it back. Welcoming it back with a warm and fuzzy embrace, it also hinted at the return of Indigo Puff, perhaps their biggest crowd pleaser. Personal favourites Olympia and Lose The Feeling were also present and it was nice to see everyone finally being able to sing along to these ones having first heard them way back in February last year. A wonderful evening, good atmosphere, great tunes. I'll for sure be catching Sundara Karma and Palm Honey on the festival circuit this summer and I strongly recommend you do too.
WEDGEWOOD ROOMS, Portsmouth, 22nd February:
Sundara Karma were way into their tour when they took to Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth. Being very experienced with Sundara Karma gigs I was intrigued to see what would be different about this particular show. When I arrived at the venue it was clear there was a buzz surrounding this fast upcoming band with long queues and lots of talk about which songs people wanted to hear on the setlist. The line up of Palm Honey, Will Joseph Cook and Sundara Karma was one that couldn’t be missed and I knew I was in for a good night.
Wedgewood Rooms is a small venue and quite different to previous venues I’ve seen Sundara Karma play so I was keen to see how they’d bring the dark room to life. Palm Honey took to the stage first and they did not disappoint. The crowd got off to a slow start but once they played more and more of their psychedelic tracks you could tell a lot of people were now fans of this Reading band. And of course I couldn’t help but have a big dance while they performed. Next up was Will Joseph Cook, and having recently discovered his music I was quite excited to see how he would perform. He brought a new sense of energy to the somewhat still crowd which really got people in the mood for the main event.
Now, the moment we’d all been waiting for, it was time for Sundara Karma to take to the stage. Screams and cheers filled the room as the Reading quarter graced the stage, accompanied by a beautiful backdrop which reflected each light that hit it. They opened with 'A Young Understanding’ which is the point the room erupted. It felt as though almost everyone in the room was singing along to every word which is encouraged by the bands insane stage presence. They worked through the setlist in what seemed like five minutes, as well as adding in a cover of ‘Never Too Much’, which just added something special to the night. ‘Indigo Puff’ and ‘Hustle’ were featured which are two of my personal favourites, so I was pretty upset when they weren’t put on the album. The band added an encore of ‘The Night’ and ‘Loveblood’ which just topped off the amazing night. I left feeling very sweaty but also extremely happy. Sundara Karma never fail to disappoint no matter which venue they play. Amazing.
Photos by Amber Pollack.
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