Wisely they used Balding Bloke who managed to do them justice. I must say that I’m not a fan of electronic drums and this was definitely their weakest instrument. The breath of fresh air? Kat…a female singer, at one time there were several bands at The Kings fronted by a female but it is a rarity these days. Her second set vocal performance was better than the first, however Patti Smith’s “Because The Night” was well-received, and by the end of the night Kat seemed to be very relaxed and sounded more fluid and I especially liked The Divinyls “I Touch Myself” and the entire bar loved Fleetwoods Mac’s “Go Your Own Way”.

First Set

1. I’ve Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
2. Born This Way - Lady Gaga
3. That’s Not My Name - The Ting Tings
4. You Oughta Know - Alanis Morissette
5. Mercy - Duffy
6. Valerie - Amy Winehouse
7. Common People - Pulp
8. Next To Me - Emeli Sande
9. Womanizer - Britney Spears
10. Set Fire To The Rain - Adele
11. Because The Night - Patti Smith
12. Jar Of Hearts - Christina Perri

Second Set

1. Hot N Cold - Katy Perry
2. Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
3. So What - Pink
4. Left Outside Alone - Anastacia
5. I Want To Be Free - Toyah
6. Genie In A Bottle - Christina Aquilera
7. Rolling In The Deep - Adele
8. Black Horse & A Cherry Tree - KT Tunstall
9. I Touch Myself - The Divinyls
10. It’s Not Fair - Lily Allen
11. Go Your Own Way - Fleetwod Mac

Encores

1. Edge Of Glory - Lady Gaga
2. Sweet About Me - Gabrielle Cilmi
3. Zombie - The Cranberries

As you can see loads and loads of first-timers at The Kings with a well thought-out couple of sets plus it was very evident by the mosh pit’s reaction that they also thoroughly enjoyed the night…along with me.

At very short notice Sunday night saw the very welcomed return of Hooch who are not only an extremely good band, they also play one of the best sets of covers. Their previous set listing can be found here. Yep they added one or two more and this time we actually had Jimi Hendrix’s Voodoo Chile in full. Hooch will be back on Saturday September 1st.

With double-stacked Marshall amps evidently there was a huge sound problem and during their break a lot of fiddling and looking around was going on. The second set  faired a bit better and towards the end of the night the sound did improve but still not of the standard I feel sure the band would consider acceptable.

Having written that I feel that this band definitely deserve another chance, in fact all of the musos and live music fans in the place were commenting how well they seemed to be instrumentally but at the same time how frustrating it was not to be able to hear them perform. Next time you must use Balding Bloke and I am 100% confident that you will not only sound superb but you will also show us the potential your set list promised.

So just what did they all tell me that was so much in common? First the bad news. The sound engineering for most of the instruments was terrible in the first set and the vocals almost non-existent, in fact so bad that many of the regulars left at the interval which is not exactly the desired effect.

But…and here comes the good news. At the interval a couple of people advised the band what was wrong and apparently the second set, obviously missed by many, was extremely good, not still quite right sound wise but certainly ok to listen to and it did do the band justice.

Plus there is another piece of very good news. I am told that all the tracks chosen for the two sets were absolutely superb for their 90s tribute, unfortunately I can’t list them since I don’t have the set list however if the band would like to email it, I’ll post it. I have a feeling we shall be seeing them again with a real polished performance:-)

Added 27th April 2012

Thanks to Shine for sending through their set list. I’m not sure if this is in the order played so…

Misshapes -  Pulp
100 Mile High - Ocean Colour Scene
Jailbird - Primal Scream
The One I Love - R.E.M.
Chasing Rainbows - Shed 7
Some Might Say - Oasis
Slight Return - Seahorses
Local Boy - Stereophonics
Babies - Pulp
Cigarettes & Alcohol - Oasis
This Charming Man - Morrisey
She Bangs The Drum - The Stone Roses
You’ve Got It Bad - Ocean Colour Scene
Get Your Rocks Off - Primal Scream
Hush - Kula Shaker
Disco 2000 - Pulp
Common People - Pulp
Friday I’m In Love - The Cure
I am the Reserection - The Stone Roses
The Day We Caught The Train - Ocean Colour Scene
Don’t Look Back In Anger - Oasis

Once again Cappuccino appeared as a quintet and they had obviously been practicing loads of new songs and writing some of their own for their two sets. I have no set lists since they seem to jump about inside their song book as they react favourably with the crowd, that’s the way to do it.

Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the gig and there were always people up and dancing all through the bar and the sound, of course, was ably engineered by Balding Bloke. Bits of Cappuccino will be appearing with Vanilla Smooth on Friday 25th May 2012.

Of couse the live music aficionados would say yes however just how many on Saturday night noticed that for more than one hour at the busiest time of night that there was no band playing at all and the juke box was on free play, free as in playing its own selections?

When the band did eventually appear for their second set it was virtually inaudible past the first column since the speakers were on the floor driving the sound straight at the bodies of a busy bar.  Some would say that it could be heard, yep, the outlines of the songs’ beats were there and people sang along but only because they already knew the words, not because they could actually hear them clearly.

I feel sure we’ll be able to hear The What properly on the afternoon of Sunday July 8th, hopefully outside, during the Louth Music Festival.

Graeme Stanton is always popular with a great voice and range of songs and once his sound issue had been solved, yes solved, not resolved, by I’m told a misplaced guitar, then everything sounded absolutely superb. I have no idea what many of the tracks were but everyone present enjoyed them. Maybe we’ll get a set list one day?

Saturday night saw Rough Trade for the first time since just before Xmas. Once again I missed their Focus “Hocus Pocus” cover and did someone say they also performed “Wipe Out” by The Surfaris?  Status Quo, The Cult, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, Bad Company, Chuck Berry, Fleetwood Mac, they were all in there and with a whole host of others. As always, great fun, entertaining guys and we look forward to seeing them again later in the year.

Last time The Soul Solution were here their non-regular sound engineer had big problems however Sunday night saw their regular knob twiddler at the controls and they sounded simply sensational. Two sets of glorious soul and funk with beautiful harmonies and featuring a couple of solo songs as well. This was easily the busiest night of the weekend with nearly the entire bar dancing (we’ve got some very strange videos!)  plus everyone stayed all the way to the end of the encores they were enjoying it so much.

At the moment Soul Solution is not booked in again until Saturday December 15th however I heard a whisper about an extra gig for a summer’s afternoon…I like the sound of that:-)

Some of the finest musicians and singers in the region yet their sound was appalling/dreadful/awful/atrocious/just how bad can I describe it?

The last time they were here and sounded superb they used Balding Bloke, this time they did it themselves and made an absolute and utter horlicks of it. I was so looking forward to seeing them again but at the end of the night I, and many, many others, were left feeling completly disappointed with them.

I do hope they respond to this post to explain what they feel went wrong since this was certainly not of the standard we know they are capable.

I have no set list however those present certainly seemed to enjoy his performance and I understand he enjoyed it so much he asked if he could play again…I don’t feel that will be a problem!

Friday nights are good for “new” acts or those wishing to try a public performance therefore if you fancy a shot contact Sharon.

First Set

1. Teenage Kicks - Undertones
2. Rock And Roll Queens - The Subways
3. Hitchin’ A Ride - Green Day
4. I Will Follow - U2
5. Inbetween Days - The Cure
6. Laid - James
7. Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
8. Sally Cinnamon - Stone Roses
9. Don’t Sit Down - Arctic Monkeys
10. Inhaler - Miles Kane
11. Use Somebody - Kings Of Leon
12. Dakota - Stereophonics

Second Set

1. Helter Skelter - The Beatles
2. Roadhouse Blues - The Doors
3. Some Might Say - Oasis
4. Fake Tales Of San Francisco - Arctic Monkeys
5. If You Wanna’ - The Vaccines
6. You’re Not Alone - The Enemy/The Blackout?
7. Basket Case - Green Day
8. Fire - Kasabian
9. Made Of Stone - Stone Roses
10. All These Things That I’ve Done - The Killers
11. Chelsea Dagger - The Fratellis
12. Cigarettes And Alcohol - Oasis

Encores

1. I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor - Arctic Monkeys
2. Can’t Take My Eyes Off You - Andy Williams/Did they do the Muse version?
3. She Bangs The Drum - Stone Roses

If you would like to leave a review in the Comments you’re welcome:-)