Ozric Tentacles, Deaf Institute. 16th February 2022

I need this tonight. I’ve always thought of Ozrics as medicinal music somehow. There’s something so aurally soothing about their sound and my head does need soothing. Now that said this set is Ozric Tentacles Electronic. Meaning there’s no live drums. There are some guitars on stage, but the sound is primarily driven by synths. Not that hat is a huge leap for Ozrics, but I do miss the full band vibe. To be fair though when I say driven by synths, it’s really Ed in the driving seat. He’s the one wielding the guitars, beautifully soloing over the layers of luscious electronica. He’s joined by his son Silas, who takes care to be fair of what feels like the lions share. Still and meditative behind a Korg, feeling his way through the music. They make an oddly watchable duo. Two content souls at opposite ends of the age spectrum. Which is very reflective of the audience. It’s a real mix. Younger faces down the front, older towards the back, but all with quite a lot of matted hair and tie-dye. We get a set of familiar old favourites and newer tracks. All with that trademark Ozrics sound. Dub rhythms with squelchy synth, riffy guitars (Kick Muck I’m looking at you) and all with a suitably trippy video projection to go along with it. You’d be forgiven for thinking that some of this is mere button pressing, but no these two are controlling a good chunk of we hear, sure there’s a backing track of sorts but it’s pretty cool. Now okay like I said, it would be better with at the very least a drummer on stage, but Ozrics are different these days, Ed the only remaining member. It would be great to see a stage full of percussion, bass, John with his flute (although we do get treated to a lovely flute accompanied interlude), but thank god Ozrics are still here. An Ozric Tentacles gig is like a karmic reset. It’s flushes your head and leaves you with a warm positive glow. I really could do with seeing them in a festival field somewhere this summer.