SUNDARA KARMA // O2 ABC, GLASGOW
SUNDARA KARMA PLAY SOLD OUT SHOW AT GLASGOW'S O2 ABC AS PART OF THEIR FINAL UK HEADLINE TOUR FOR THEIR DEBUT ALBUM.
SUNDARA KARMA PERFORMING SOLD OUT SHOW AT GLASGOW'S O2 ABC - 01/10/2017
PICTURE BY@ PRODUCT OF GEORGE PHOTOGRAPHY
★★★★★
Sundara Karma played an outstanding set to a sold out O2ABC, the venue was packed with excitement as the evening slowly came to a start with the first support act Bloxx. This was not the evening the crowd or Bloxx had planned, unfortunately due to a combination oftechnical difficulties and front woman Ophelia loosing her voice the band struggled through their set. Though their was an evident talent within their sound and are definitely a band on the rise.
The Magic Gang were the next support act and put on a fantastic showing with their upbeat and quirky style. They drew a great response from the crowd with a large amount of the crowd knowing who they were and already being big fans, their excitement and clear joy of being on stage was very humbling and made it hard for anyone to dislike them. They ended their set with ‘How Can I Compete’ which due to its sing along chorus left the crowd buzzing with excitement for Sundara Karma.
As the crowd patiently waited for the reading born group to come on a playlist of mysterious ambient music was playing which really set the mood for Sundara Karma’s opening song ‘Another word for beautiful’. This elegant and ambient track opened the evening with a Bowie-esque style as frontman Oscar Pollock strutted about the stage with a moody swagger as he controlled the audience with his strong vocals. The indie four piece then went straight into ‘A young understanding’ which livened up the crowd and really got them going, its fast paced and electrifying introduction left the crowd with no question of what song it was. The confidence oozed from the band as they entered the chorus of the song which they clearly loved playing.
The band then continued to consistently play song after song to perfection and the crowd reacted every single time with an endless amount of energy. Pollock said little between songs, though he didn't need to say anything to introduce the song ‘Flame’ which the crowd knew from the first set of chords, the catchy chorus threw the crowd into and endless wave of bodies with every word being sung back. The highlight of many fans night was when frontman Oscar Pollock climbed into the crowd to finish the song ending it on a high with fans keeping him up as he sang the final verse. A personal and fan favourite from the night.
After playing another few tracks Sundara Karma played the song Olympia which is another one from their highly regarded debut album ‘Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect’. This song was delivered with confidence and in a stylish manner with the band hitting every note and every chord perfectly, the song with its sing along chorus was an instant hit with the crowd with various pits opening up throughout the song.
After playing a few of their well known songs the band introduced ‘Diamond Cutter’ saying they were playing this due to high demand from fans on social media and its fair to say this was an excellent decision, with its mature sound and strong vocals the song created an extremely happy and upbeat atmosphere around the venue.
‘She Said’ was definitely one of the strongest performances of the night, the songs indie sing along quality meant that it had the crowd going crazy and chanting back every word as if it were a classic.
After leaving the stage after an impressive performance of ‘The Night’ the four piece returned to the stage with a performance of ‘Happy Family’ which was a fitting way to start the encore with its happy and fun sound. The band had the crowd at their finger tips as they finished the final verse and went onto quickly thank everyone including both support acts and then dived straight into the final song of the evening ‘Explore’. This song evidently a fan favourite was a perfect end to the evening, the crowd parted in the middle into one big pit with people dancing and smiling due to the enigmatic performance of ‘Explore’. The band threw every bit of energy they had into the performance as they ended the fantastic evening of music on a high.
Overall, Sundara Karma put on a fantastic show with their stylish indie pop taking the O2ABC by storm with their extremely strong and upbeat performance, definitely a band I would recommend to go see, one of the best gigs I have been to recently, a great evening of music.
SUNDARA KARMA'S UK TOUR CONTINUES:
OCTOBER 03 : ACADEMY - MANCHESTER, UK
OCTOBER 04 : EMPIRE - COVENTRY, UK
OCTOBER 05 : O2 BRIXTON ACADEMY - LONDON, UK
OCTOBER 06 : GUILD OF STUDENTS - LIVERPOOL, UK
OCTOBER 07 : PLUG - SHEFFIELD, UK
OCTOBER 09 : O2 ACADEMY - LEEDS, UK
OCTOBER 10 : UNIVERSITY - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, UK
OCTOBER 11 : PLUG - SHEFFIELD, UK
OCTOBER 12 : ACADEMY - MANCHESTER, UK