Zun Zun Egui/Green Gartside/United Vibrations/Goan Dogs

Trinity Centre,

Bristol

29/10/2011

From the intelligent desert rock of Goan Dogs to the nostalgic 80s electro of Green Gartside, upbeat afro-punk of United Vibrations and the genre-defying Zun Zun Egui, tonight we witness sonic chaos at its finest.

First up is one of

Bristol’s most promising new bands, Goan Dogs. The five-piece has been going for less than a year but they’ve hit the ground running. They combine the epic sound of Beirut with some well-placed early-Radiohead quality riffs and end up sounding like a modern-day Doors. Green Gartside takes to the stage next, former member of 80s group Scritti Politti. With a beaming grin, he belts out a batch of electro numbers which invoke some serious TOTP2 style dancing down the front and smiles all round. And where he leaves off, United Vibrations pick up. Oozing energy and love, the group cements the party vibe with their sing-a-long afro-tinged, reggae-flavoured punk. A perfect precursor for the headline act.

Tonight’s gig is the final date of Zun Zun Egui’s

UK ‘Katang’ album tour. The Bella Union release has received rave reviews and as catchy and interesting as it is as an album, there really is no substitute for seeing it performed live. Multicultural to their core, Zun Zun Egui draw inspiration from across the globe, with songs in English, French and Japanese, and there isn’t a stationary bod in the house when they get into the flow of things tonight, blasting out their psychedelic, jubilant sounds. The highlight comes in the shape of lead single ‘Fandango Fresh’, where frontman Kushal Gaya repeats “sexy worm went and got the bird”. Think Cornershop remixed by Metronomy in a face off with Babyhead. Brilliantly bizzare.

Laura Williams