KING KING | LIVE REVIEW
The Globe, Cardiff, Thurs 17 Mar
Opening tonight to a sell-out crowd at The Globe in Cardiff was Laurence ‘call me husky’ Jones, carrying on like the trooper despite a sore throat. It was a warm welcome from the many Laurence fans. With a new drummer Phil Wilson and bassist Roger Innis, this was going to be blues all the way, from the dim blue light semi-illuminating the stage (The Globe is currently having the lighting updated). Less singing tonight and more guitar blues breaks was welcomed by many and definitely warmed the atmosphere ready for the mighty King King.
The cheers were warm and full of anticipation as the jammed-to-the-rafters venue welcomed King King. Everyone was delighted that the kilted Scot Alan Nimmo and his band were back in town. Opening with Lose Control with the audience already at fever pitch, King King played with controlled passion that filled the rafters of The Globe. What a superb frontman: fierce guitar plus emotive vocals that combine so that the mood is at times raw, and gentle and always sweet.
Alan and the band nailed every song tonight; his confidence is high, having recently opened for Thunder and John Mayall. The crowd warms to his cheeky smile and tales, he had the Welsh audience singing loudly and, with delight, even said we had done the job. King King, like all great bands, is more than the sum of the total parts. To Alan’s left was the mighty Bob Fridzema on keys and Hammond C3 producing a wall of chords; his playing can be intense and then on other tracks gentle, a subtle whisper adding hidden depths. To his right, bassist Lindsay Coulson, who has shared every moment of King King’s journey. Sitting behind his Ludwig drum kit sits the awesome pivotal rhythmic force Wayne Procter. He adds a deep beating tone and texture to King King. What a quartet!
King King delivers this live energy that is plugged directly into your musical antenna and sends shivers of delight up your spine and deep into your soul and memory. They manage to make you dance, laugh, cry and have a thoroughly great time. It’s always a treat to hear the songs we love from their latest album Reaching For The Light. They drove us crazy with delight as they sang and we sang along too, and You Stopped The Rain is a winner every time.
words and photos LIZ AIKEN