Daffodils & Crêpes

I wandered lonely as a cloud,

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crepe eating crowd,

A host, of narcotic daffodils.

L'amuse Gueule crêperie, a strange venue for music, but in psychedelia strange is good. The last pancakes were munched, the diners departed and the strains of a sitar filled the air. Cue guitar, bass & drums and some hypnotic, pulsating music from The Narcotic Daffodils. At times reminiscent of Hawkwind in their prime, the band produced a wall of sound that had me in head banging heaven. They did however vary their sound quite a bit, with two covers thrown into the mix for good measure.

Personally I'd like to hear them do more psychedelic material, but speaking to keyboardist and Sitar maestro Simon Rigot after the show, they want to keep their music varied. But hey, a heady cocktail of rock and mind expanding melodies is OK by me. I'd also like to hear more Sitar, but as Simon also plays keyboards that would be a tad tricky. Not a problem in the studio, but live he'd need to grow a few more sets of hands. If he does then I think a cover version of An Octopus's Garden would be in order.

Since the last time I saw the band, they seem to be playing a lot tighter as a unit and are developing (or is that blooming) into an excellent group.

Set List

1. Back from Calcutta
2. Mister Jacky
3. Heels
4. Anthem
5. She's Not There
6. Riding the Drag
7. Go Fuck Yourself
8. Deedoodah
9. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
10. Jam
11. Jungle Drums

The band are taking a hiatus from gigs for the moment so they can work uninterupted on recording a CD. The Daffodils will return again in the spring for the Brussels Jazz Marathon, with a concert with the Benito Band.

For details of this and other concerts in the city, check out the Music Brussels website when it comes on-stream next month. In the meantime you can follow it on Twitter or Facebook. News of the launch party coming soon.

Le narcotic daffodils, my favourite drug.