Friday 18 July 2025
Future Yard Birkenhead
*****
Guthrie Govan Joins Shez Raja for Triumphant Birkenhead Show
This was a triumphant homecoming gig for bass player Shez Raja, returning to his native Birkenhead. Raja announced that he was born on the Wirral; it felt like a home audience – his parents and some of his school friends were there in the capacity crowd.
Afterwards, a relieved Raja revealed that disaster almost struck before the gig. He was being interviewed when he felt a wasp behind his ear. He flicked it away, and the wasp, obviously part of the anti-joy police, decided to sting him on his fretting hand (the left). Playing bass with a swollen index finger would have been difficult. Fortunately, his resourceful interviewer supplied antihistamines and ice, and the disaster was averted.
Raja launched the first set with three cuts from his new album, Spellbound. The lineup on Friday was very different from that of the album itself, as all ’37 guest musicians’ on the album (as Raja later quipped) couldn’t come. This meant that some of the songs from the album had less of an Indian feel – there was no sitar, tabla, sarangi, or bansuri. Instead, Raja was backed by a superb rock/jazz band, with the legendary Guthrie Govan on guitar, Chris Jerome on keyboards and Adam Texeira (a new addition to the Raja fold) on drums.
Govan played guitar on three Steven Wilson albums, including Hand. Cannot. Erase. (2015), and it was good to see an audience member wearing a t-shirt with the album cover on it (this year marks the tenth anniversary of the album. Govan’s playing throughout the evening was astonishing. Govan himself often looked mildly surprised as he looked down at the incredible dexterity of his quicksilver fingers as he created a continuous flow of joy. But he also brought delicate ornamentation to one of the highlights of the first set, ‘Together We Fly’ from the new album. There was some gorgeous duetting from Govan and Raja in this song, with Raja playing the lovely melody that Fiza Haider sings on the album version. The two musicians shared a smile as they headed towards the contemplative ending of the song.
Raja, a genial host, explained that there are three different versions of Spellbound (cue rising chords from Jerome on keyboards to increase the sense of anticipation). Raja showed us the vinyl version (which sold out during the interval), the CD version, then the download, which he illustrated with a wave of the hand. He said if we liked the live versions of the new songs, we should buy the album; if we didn’t like the new ones, the album versions are better! To illustrate the point, the live version of the title track was heavier than on the album, with uplifting, virtuosic guitar and bass, and a thundering drum solo from Adam Texeira, which left the audience transfixed.
Raja did take us on a brief tour of the Punjab, with ‘Maharaja’ from 2021’s appropriately named Tales From the Punjab, inspired by his visit to the Punjab the previous year to explore his cultural roots. Govan provided Indian-style improvisations, and there was fantastic keyboard work from Jerome, syncopated chords with a lively instrumental commentary from Raja and Goven, which led to a flowing keyboard solo that drew warm applause.
The final song of the first set was ‘our craziest tune’, a stunning version of ‘Get Cosmic’, from Journey to Shambhala (2019), which Raja promised us would suck us into a black hole and out the other side. Reader, it did. The song began with eerie psychedelic noises, then an invigorating bass and guitar riff in perfect unison. There was a lovely spacey section, over which Govan’s solo was thrilling, giving the audience no time to breathe. The perfectly controlled madness of the song brought the first set to a euphoric end.
The bar had been set very high by the first set, but the second set was even better. It began withan ecstatic version of ‘Chakras on the Wall’, in which the band traded four-bar phrases which became increasingly extreme, making the audience smile. There were some cheeky moments when the four musicians quoted riffs from famous rock songs. Raja quipped that the bands might sue; an audience member replied, ‘We won’t tell anyone!’ ‘Vishnu’ from the new album ‘brought the Punjab to Birkenhead.’ This was completely different from the album version. It began with raucous drums, the kick drum providing visceral support for the syncopated, upbeat opening tune. A pensive breakdown section brought a quicksilver bass solo from Raja at the top of the fretboard. Govan played a bluesy solo with string bends and some tapping, making it all sound very easy. There was a break from all the structured jazz/rock mayhem with ‘Song for John’, a beautiful ballad written for Shez’s newborn son 14 years ago. This featured a mellow, emotional bassline played with superb legato by Raja, with a fretless bass sound reminiscent of the great Jaco Pastorius. There was a lovely repeated phrase, with a yearning interval the second time around, expressing Raja’s parental joy.
Raja quoted a review in Jazzwise magazine of the next song, ‘Quiverwish’, which apparently said it began with some Mark King-style slap bass but ‘it soon subsided.’ NickHolmesMusic enjoys a bit of slap bass, so that wasn’t a problem.This was a seriously funky track, with a Moog-like synth solo from Jerome with some evocative pitch-bends and another drum solo from Texeira, sounding like a complete percussion section on his own. According to the setlist, the band was due to play ‘My Imaginary Friend’ next, but in his excitement, Raja left it out, so we were left to imagine what his friend was like. Instead, for the encore, Raja asked us whether ‘anyone liked African music… well, we’re going to play an Eastern European folk tune.’ Before we had time to register our disappointment (although NickHolmesMusic does enjoy a bit of Eastern European folk music…), the band launched into ‘Freedom’, in which Govan introduced some African-style guitar playing, showing how versatile he is. By now, the audience was dancing and the joint was jumping. A joyful ending to an excellent evening.
Personnel
Shez Raja bass
Guthrie Govan guitar
Adam Texeira drums
Chris Jerome keyboards
For a review of Shez Raja’s new album Spellbound click here