OFF: Ozric Tentacles/ Pink Fairies

[Nick Lee]

> the army and then six in the Ozrics without a break. But Schoo has been a
> fan forever, apparently, and he clearly remembers the old days when the
> Ozrics were more, well, tribal. And now he drums that way and they are
> again, the whole thing being a lot more breathlessly intense despite (or
> perhaps even because of) being so well-prepared. If you have a chance to
> see them this tour (there's still some left) do it. They're really good
> now. Best of the bunch. Really. 20/20."

Not seen them since he joined permanently, but Schoo (Stuart to his mum, I
believe) formerly of the Rhythmites (festi-reggae types who opened for HW
regularly in the '88-'89 era) guested with them couple of years back in
Milton Keynes, when Rad had put his back out.  Rather than cancel the gig
they got the phone to him and he drove across, apparently listening to
Ozrics tapes all the way and walked straight on stage and started playing,
the gig only starting an hour or so late.  Playing to cues from Zia he
slotted in perfectly and the jammed/improvised nature of the gig made for
one the best Ozrics gigs I'd seen in years, harking back to the more
rambling free-form gigs of their earlier days.

Nick