Oh what a horrible wet, miserable March night, inevitably the town was fairly quiet and with it running up to Easter possibly a few were staying in to save up for the long holiday weeked.
Merlin’s Keep had to make a very late cancellation and Handle With Care neatly stepped into their shoes for their very first appearance at The Kings to play a very wide selection of songs from The Travelling Willburys, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, The Fratellis, The Feeling, Billy Idol, The Eagles, Roxy Music and many more, a great and varied selection of quality covers.
I’m not going to pull any punches! Opinions differed on their sound quality since Balding Bloke was not available to engineer it and, without doubt, it did sound top-endy therefore it did not show their abilities to the full but saying that and asking around the regulars they did all enjoy the band’s performance.
I’ve never done this before however I’m going to suggest that the band comes back again on a Friday night and let Balding Bloke work his magic because I’m sure the difference would be pleasurably dramatic. I look foward to it.
Unfortunately I missed the entire gig therefore I have to rely on hearsay until I get round to listening to Balding Bloke’s recording of the night.
The Caesars are well-known to The Kings for their extended sets of a surprising and varied high quality of music however three sets lasting more than 4 hours and not finishing until a few minutes short of 2 a.m. was probably a tad longer than most were expecting!
These guys were here to celebrate Richard’s birthday party and they did it in their own inimitable style…I’m not sure when they’ll be back again therefore keep an eye on the what’s on calendar and The Kings windows.
It is quite awhile since The Dukes last played at The Kings and we’ll try and make sure this doesn’t happen again, this was music straight out of the top drawer and many were in seventh heaven just soaking-up the rock ‘n’ blues masterfully sound-engineered by Balding Bloke last Friday night 12th March.
If you like Robert Johnson “Sweet Home Chicago” and “Crossroads”, Cream “Sunshine Of Your Love” and “Badge”, Deep Purple “Smoke On The Water”, Eric Clapton “Cocaine”, Humble Pie “Natural Born Woman”, Bob Seger “Hollywood Nights”, Fleetwood Mac “Black Magic Woman”, Wishbone Ash “Blowin’ Free”, John Mayall “All Your Love”, Free “Alright Now”, Lynyrd Skynyrd “Sweet Home Alabama” and, and…I could go on, if this is your kind of music and you weren’t there then you definitely missed a classic night with classic songs superbly covered by The Dukes with their old mate and guest guitarist Mick Stones.
We’re not too sure of the date yet when they’ll be returning however it will most probably be towards the end of the summer, keep an eye on the what’s on calendar for an update.
It’s been nearly a year since The Zimmer Band were last here when the recession was beginning to dig deep therefore there were many regulars who had never seen them before consequently they had no idea what to expect.
So just what did we get? Most probably the best covers’ band ever seen and heard at The Kings…yes, I know that’s a big statement however The Zimmer Band is a big band with a big band sound which was absolutely glorious and when one writes about a tight band, they’re tight, every band member perfectly in sync with each other and all the vocals rendered precisely.
Their play list was classic British rock and a quick ask around for their favourite stand-out tracks very quickly showed that Pink Floyd’s “Money” and “Comfortably Numb”, an immense version of The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, Led Zeppelin’s “Rock N Roll” and “Whole Lotta Love” and for me I was just blown away by Pulp’s “Common People”.
What a night to remember and sadly we have to wait until Saturday October 23rd 2010 for another helping.