OMNIA OPERA: Return of the Space Bastards

Andy Opera reminds us how it used to be done

Omnia Opera ceased to be some 13 years ago. I never got to see them before they split and got quite excited at the prospect of their come back gig in Malvern tonight (and I don’t normally do excited).

We headed up to the Opera's home town of malvern early and managed to sit down with vocalist and bass player Andy for an interview for the fanzine. He was a friendly dude, down to earth and generally an all round geezer that happens to climb up onto the stage for an hour at the end of the night.

The venue was tucked away in a residential area with no pubs near by, so after the interview we sat around sampling the local Malvern Gold Cider and occasionally popping out to the gazebo for a smoke (it was a no smoking venue).

Authority put us to shame with their sartorial elegance

It did not take long for the venue to fill up with a mixture of locals looking for a night out and old fans that had travelled quite a distance to witness the return of the space bastards.

Support came from Authority, featuring Karvus Torabi of the Cardiacs. Not sure what to make of them, decked out in suits they banged out a punky mod vibe that did not really flick the right switches for us, but it has to be said we were all in space rock mode, eager for the return of the Omnia, not to mention the fact that the 6% Malvern Cider was starting to kick in.

The future is bright, the future is psychedelic green

Then, was the entrance of Omnia Opera. The psychedelic outfits have gone, but the lightshow was of the highest order, equal to any club in the land and probably the best light show that has ever graced a youth centre. Storming straight into the finest space rock in this dimension. They have been described in the past as “more like 70’s Hawkwind than 70’s Hawkwind”. I am not sure what that is supposed to mean but it may well mean that this is what Hawkwind wanted to sound like but could not quite get it right, with a hint of Ozric Tentacles chucked in for good measure. The 13 year old numbers did not sound the least bit dated as they fried the brains of the gathered disciples with ear melting technodelic space punk and retina scorching visuals.

This was something I had given up hope of ever witnessing when I heard they split all those years ago. Now, not only have I ‘ticked off’ another classic band I missed out on, but it looks like this will be the start of things to come, with more gigs and new recordings on the horizon. I can’t wait!