The Happy Soul were aptly named, as they exuded a chilled-out happiness on stage at Club Academy in Manchester. With a psychedelic backdrop of them looking happy and smiley to add emphasis to their live feel. Not much movement on the cramped stage and not much banter they very much let their music do the talking, they seemed too busy smiling to be honest.
Although playing to a somewhat sparse crowd for the venue I feel they were a great choice for the opening act, the atmosphere they created was great in the way that you can literally feel your batteries recharge as you listen to them. I could have listened to them for hours, and to be honest, have done so since and heartily recommend them on a sunny hike in nature.
The musical interlude between them and Church of the Cosmic Skull was reminiscent of many an 80s tv show. The urge to strut was almost too strong, at one point I felt a compulsion to slide across the bonnet of a Ford Cortina wearing flairs and frankly nobody needs that kind of pressure these days. Thankfully that had fully subsided before I returned to my Nissan Micra it wouldn’t have had nearly the same effect.
Church of the Cosmic Skull are not a cult, repeat after me ‘definitely not a cult’. It’s difficult not to suspect they might be a cult though as the seven members of the Cosmic Family led by Brother Bill Fisher take to the stage. The number seven features quite prominently in the mythology of the band. Even with the customary spreading out of the stage for the main band they still manage to look cramped by their sheer number: clad uniformly all in white it’s an impressive sight.
The cramped feel is more noticeable as they produce their veritable wall of sound, which manages to hit deep down at the core of your very being. For the uninitiated Church of the Cosmic Skull are a 60’s 70’s faux gospel-style rock band, and they’re stunning live. Indeed, when looking back at my notes I had written the word stunning, a frankly embarrassing 7 times
The thickness and fullness of their sound was almost a physical presence in the venue, all backed up with beautiful colour projections, their performance was sensational. A significant chunk of their set comes from their very recent fourth (of seven) album ‘There is no Time’, released that week in fact, but is backed up with a good selection from their other albums. An absolutely wonderful performance, that everyone should see at some point in their life, not a cult but that might not stop you wanting to join the cosmic family.
All in all one of the happiest gigs I’ve been to, even the merch guys were happy and chatting away and I left with a big smile on my face.
COTCS Setlist
Mountain Heart intro
Science Fiction
Black Slug
Into the Skull
Watch it grow
Seven Rays of colour
Pleading with the cosmic Mother
One more step
Valleys and hills part 1
Valleys and hills part 2
Sorcery & sabotage
Revolution comes with an act of love
Now’s the time
Everybody’s going to die
Evil in your eye
Cold sweat
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY RICH PRICE