The dirty bass line filled the room and the air had a hypnotic pink hue. Two afro haired boys were on stage and behind them was a visualisation not dissimilar to those on Winamp. ‘Remember Can Remember Can’ was all you could hear them say in between the fascinating visualisations. Look it’s like an infinite road to infinity. Their music isn’t the kind of psychedelic beats you listen to on drugs, it is psychedelic drugs. In essence they were the perfect introduction to the genius that is Damo Suzuki.

Damo Suzuki's live show is one where you don’t have to watch the artists to enjoy the music, but with Makoto Kawabata [of Acid Temples Mother fame] on guitar one cant help but stare mesmerised at his guitar virtuosity... and his hair. Atsushi Tsuyama, the bassist of ATM, blocked my view for a few minutes as he looked towards the stage. He turned around and smiled and I know then that he was proud. Proud of his guitarist being on stage taking ancient Can fans and young, obsessive Mars Volta fans on a rollercoaster ride of a song.

Enter Omar Rodriguez and the girls at the front of the pit scream like he’s Brandon Boyd. They stare idly at his afro during the next 16 minutes of a song and applaud and scream like he’s God. To everyone who can’t see the band, Omar’s entrance was the beginning of Round One of the real game with Rodriguez in the Blue corner, Kawabata in the Red and Suzuki as referee. Who won the fight? It was a close game, but Kawabata snatched the title. One thing’s for certain though, there’ll be no sense of familiarity at the next fight. And Damo would still be smiling through it all.

Maya