KULA SHAKER En-Trance With Colorful Psychedelic Spectacle In Belgium

3 March 2026

British psych-rock vets, fronted by charismatic vocalist/songwriter Crispian Mills,
released their debut LP, titled K, back in 1996. It made them instant indie stars.

Last month they launched their 8th full-length, the magnificent WORMSLAYER.
The record, named after a 9th-century Indian poet king, is stuffed with top-flight
pop-edelia tunes, elevating it to a must-hear on repeat level. Mills lifts his troops
to ecstasizing heights of nostalgia. Retro delirium at its todays best.

New album means a new tour to promote it.

Last Friday, they landed in my hometown of Ghent, Belgium.

Oh my, oh my, KS still nails it on stage as they used to do so.
I saw them 4/5 times back then, and every gig was a smasheroo).

The band started with the LP’s key single Lucky Number. From there, with
almost the full tracklist of the new opus, the Brits stormed through a superlative
1 1/2 hour set.

Of course, Crips was the magnet in the middle. His marvelous guitar play mesmerized throughout. Backed by his spellbound assistants, the elated audience went through a trancy show. Not one dull moment.

Visually, our eyes were mostly fixated on the big screen behind the 4 humans. Non-stop full-spectrum, swirling, and high-contrast patterns of hallucinatory hues created a surreal spectacle. Phantasmagoric.

As expected, the encores featured old hits Hush (Joe Hush/Deep Purple cover),
Tattva, and Govinda, but also beatle George Harrison‘s 1970 humdinger
Isn’t It A Pity.

To be honest, I never thought I would listen to a formidable Kula Shaker again,
and I would witness a memorable live performance of them. Hail hail!.

ALBUM


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SETLIST

Lucky Number
Good Money
Charge of the Light Brigade
Broke as Folk
Natural Magick
Infinite Sun
Shower Your Love
Grateful When You’re Dead / Jerry Was There
Be Merciful
The Winged Boy
Day For Night
Wormslayer

Encores:

303
Tattva
Hush
Isn’t It a Pity
(George Harrison cover)

Govinda

Instagram – All Albums – Short Bio

Live photos by Turn Up The Volume

THE FLAMING LIPS – Tour Dates 2026

The eccentric fairy-tale rockers THE FLAMING LIPS, led by their psychedelic
priest Wayne Coyne are around since 1983 (oh my, I had no clue it was that long).
They have fascinated their fans with 17 albums (so far).

As a longtime fan myself, I dare to say that their concerts are even better than their records, as I experienced once more last year in Antwerp, Belgium. A visual and sonic spectacle.

They just announced new tour dates for 2026.


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Photos by Turn Up The Volume – Antwerp, Belgium – June 2025

PETER DOHERTY & BAND Delight Belgian Crowd In Kortrijk For 95 Minutes

12 February 2026

Since Doherty got clean (2019) and lives in France with his family (wife and two children) and his big dog, far away from the temptations of parties and drugs, he has become very busy.

He released albums with one-time outfit Puta Madres (2019), with French musician Frédéric Lo (2022),  with his first-and-forever band The Libertines (2024), and a solo
one (2025).

And when he wasn’t in the studio, he went on tour with all
the above bands, that other group, Babyshambles, too, and
solo.


Who wants a fanzine?

Last Sunday, he was in Belgium again after two appearances last year (with The Libertines and solo), assisted by a full band including The Smiths‘ drummer Mike Joyce (now aged 62).

And like I witnessed last year, solo in Bruges, he was in an extremely happy mood, selling old Libertines fanzines (no joke) between the two support acts and playing a formidable show.

He was strolling around the stage, fooling around with band members and interacting with the audience in between songs. Talking about the songs. It was a sort of best of set, with songs from all his projects and, yes, two The Smiths covers (There Is A Light That Never Goes Out / How Soon Is Now?), and a Velvet Underground one, all delivered with a joyous flair and an effervescent spirit.

At the end of the night, three thoughts crossed my mind. He’s (as we know for a long time) a exquiste singer/songwriter who has musical components in his DNA. Secondly, he’s a most entertaining live perfomer and thirdly, he obviously embraces life again after too many turbulent years. Way to go.

.

Some of my favorites he played.

THE LIBERTINES

SOLO

BABYSHAMBLES

With Frédéric Lo

THE PUTA MADRES

SETLIST

Last Of The English Roses
Fantasy Live Of Poetry And Crime
I Don’t Love Anyone
Felt Better Alive
Ed Belly
Epidemiology
I Am The Rain
Pot Of Gold
The Day The Baron Died
Salome

Uncle Brian’s Abattoir (Trampoline)
Calvados
Kolly Kibber
Ride Into The Sun (The Velvet Underground)
Stade Océan
How Soon Is Now? (The Smiths)/ Albion
Who’s Been Having You Over?
Time For Heroes (The Libertines)
Fuck Forever (Babyshambles)

Encore
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (The Smiths)

Instagram – Short Bio

Live photos by Turn Up The Volume

WASTE – Belgian Fast Up And Coming Motherrockers Nail It On Stage

6 February 2026


© C. Glenn Verberck

Band: WASTE
Who: Rowdy Belgian indies
who find beauty in chaos.

With a hat-trick of 3 steaming singles: Dog House, Get Up and Discotheque,
these fast-up-and-coming Belgian turbo got my ears’ full attention.

Beware, these punked-up bloodhounds bite. They chase you with ruthless racket.
They bark like werewolves. They produce rabid stuff. They bloody rock! They’re no
waste of your time whatsoever.

Hells Bells!

Last Wednesday, they hit my hometown of Ghent (Belgium) for a blistering salvo of jagged juggernauts. Think Deftones‘ nu-metal gusto, Rage Against the Machine‘s fiery forcefulness, and the Stooges’ kickass attitude, all rolled into one. Fucktastic, right? You betcha.


Calm before the storm

Vocalist Jef Jenaer is the excorcistic vox in the middle, screaming his 4 lungs out, between balloons. He’s backed by a mean rock machine steamrollin’ like a hotrod speeding out of control. Together, they produce an amount of illegal decibels that made the audience go nuts. The small club turned into a sauna.


Charged electricity

Waste nailed it, there and then. A small club try-out for
bigger things to come. Their future has no limits. Don’t
miss them.

DOG HOUSE

GET UP

Instagram – Facebook – Spotify

Live photos by Turn Up The Volume

HEAD ON STONE Live – The Sound Of Sincere Silence

31 January 2026


Photo by Turn Up The Volume.

Affectionate Belgian singer-songwriter Nele Janssen was, so far, known by
her loyal fans as the excorsistic frontwoman of post-punk grunge turbo Peuk
who have released 2 longplayers to this day.

That all changes now with her impressive solo debut album, baptized
STONY BEDS, released under the moniker of HEAD ON STONE last
November.

Only Nele Janssen and her piano. Intimate, passional and heartfelt. From
Peuk screams to solo whispers. A stirring record that enthralls from start
to finish. Eleven bittersweet songs for the midnight hours.

Last Wednesday her album-promo tour brought her to my hometown
of Ghent (Belgium), for a spellbinding 50-minute set. You could hear a needle
fall to the ground. I can’t remember how long ago I experienced such an
attentive audience.

Some more TUTV impressions.

Janssen mesmerized us all
with a sound of sincere silence,
with heart & soul stirring musings.

Reflective and cathartic.
Stripped to the bone.

Classical pop piano play.
Dreamy and starry-eyed.

Magnetizing vocals, mixed
emotions reflections, personal
reveries and an overall
gripping performance.

Beautiful.

Stream/Buy
‘STONE BEDS’


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Instagram – Facebook

HARRY STYLES Will Play No Less Than 30 Concerts In Madison Square Garden In New York

23 January 2026

British mega star HARRY STYLES has announced 30 concerts in
Madison Square Garden in New York as part of a seven-city,
three-continent tour.

His brand new single ‘Aperture’.

30 shows in the same venue, from August until
October. Really? Most likely an absolute record.

That’s 30 x 22,000 = 660,000 people.

Wait, Michael Jackson could have had the record.
From 2009 to March 2010, 50 (!!) concerts in
London‘s O2 Arena were planned.

That’s 50 X 20,000 = 1 million people.

Unfortunately the shows had to be cancelled
as Jackson passed away in June 2009.

TURN UP THE VOLUME’s 10 BEST CONCERTS OF 2025

– OASIS –

Where: Wembley Stadium, London
When: 3 August 2025

Biblical.

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– IGGY POP –

Where: Lokerse Feesten, Belgium
When: 5 August 2025

Still a dog with lust for life.

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– DITZ –

Who: Post-punk misfits
from Brighton, UK

Where: Wintercircus in Ghent, Belgium.
When: 23 November 2025

Flabbergasting.

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– BELAIR LIP BOMBS –

Who: Future guitar pop
stars from Australia.

Where: Charlatan, Ghent, Belgium
When: 12 November 2025

Pop bliss.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

– RIDE –

Who: British shoegaze celebs.

Where: L’Aeronef, Lille, France
When: 23 April 2025

Dreams in motion.

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– THE FLAMING LIPS –

Who: Oklahoma‘s pyschedelic
fairytale eccentrics.

Where: Roma, Antwerp, Belgium.
When: 30 May 2025

Surreal.

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– MANIC STREET PREACHERS –

Band: MANIC STREET PREACHERS
Who: Welsh rock and pop heroes.

Where: Rock Zottegem Festival, Belgium
When: 12 July 2025

Melancholic pop manics.

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– HINDS –

Band: HINDS
Who: Spanish guitar pop sheros.

Ecstatic.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

– MCLUSKY –

Who: Welsh noizz legends.

Where: Botanique Festival, Brussels, Belgium
When: 16 May 2025

Chop! Chop! Chop!

——————————————————————————————————————————-

– PANIC SHACK –

Band: PANIC SHACK
Who: Welsh indie pop punk Amazons.

Where: Trix, Antwerp, Belgium
When: 19 November 2025

Party! Party! Party!

All photos by Turn Up The Volume