KING CREOSOTE | LIVE REVIEW
Tramshed, Cardiff, Tue 24 Jan
Fife’s Kenny Anderson and his eight-piece band (including cello, double bass, bagpipes, accordion and synth) brought some much needed warmth and cheer to Riverside. During these tough times I’ve been living by the mantra “when life gets shitter add more glitter,” and it seems King Creosote have too. Glitter, sequins, dayglow paint and NASA t shirts – these guys are worthy competitors for best dressed band of the year.
Sartorial styling aside, KC’s latest LP Astronaut Meets Appleman was one of the albums of 2016 and the main bulk of the set was made up of tracks from it. Starting with the shivering, delicate beauty of You Just Want To leading into the more upbeat Love Life, Kenny and his band didn’t falter once. The orchestral arrangements were enthralling, the lyrics pure poetry and Kenny was – as ever – on form as a charming frontman, interspersing tracks with stories, anecdotes and general crowdpleasing.
His pleasure at singing Melin Wynt to a Welsh crowd was adorable, if underappreciated. The band jigged their way through a set of ethereal, psych-infused folk and the intimacy that they demonstrated with each other gave the impression they’d have been loving the mere experience of playing music with or without us – a genuine passion for their art.
As has become tradition, the night finishes with the smokescreen of a fake encore. “We’re just going to lie here for a wee moment,” teases Kenny, and they do – before coming back and treating us to an encore comprised of tracks from other albums (he’s got over 40 to choose from) and some audience singalonging. The venue may have been the least salubrious of the tour but the crowd were on cloud nine. Serotonin-boosting blissfulness – swoooooon.
words GRACE TODD