Last night I went to a concert of a band that I have liked for a long time, King Khan and the Shrines. They sound like James Brown and the Famous Flames on psychedelic drugs, if they used to be in a punk band. They were playing at a place called Whelan's, which is a venue/pub/liquor store that hosts a lot of indie, rock, and folk music. It's a fun place - I had gone a couple weeks ago and like the vibe. A friend of mine asked the DJ to play the Black Eyed Peas and he said no, which made me respect the place even more.
Jack of Heart, a French band, started everything out. While these guys performed, my head was spinning. The lead singer/guitarist is one of the looniest human beings I have ever encountered, whether in real life or fiction. If Allen Ginsberg walked in during Jack of Heart's set, he would say - and this is verbatim - "What the fuck is going on? I'm leaving. Shit." I slowly started realizing that Jack of Heart is not really about playing music. They are a spectacle. They are just as much about putting on a show and pushing the envelope as they are about music. The music really wasn't that bad, though. The crazy man's voice was deep and rich; the chord progressions and riffs were unexpected. There were some fresh sounds, but they were peppered with abstract noise and lightly salted with overused motifs. For the most part, the rhythm guitar had a cutting sound to it like that of Bloc Party. The lead wove countermelodies a bit like newer Arctic Monkeys. So, there was some musical talent, and the foundations of something similar to genius, in these guys. They even wrote a song especially for the show in Dublin. It was called "Oscar Wilde" and had two words - Oscar and Wilde. A couple covers were thrown in, one by Joan Jett and one by Question Mark and the Mysterians ("96 Tears"). Both were pretty good, but "96 Tears" was especially good because it was just as crazy as Jack of Heart.
Genius, as they say, is only separated from insanity by a fine line. Jack of Heart definitely bridged the gap - but were mostly on the insane side. I kept thinking that this could be good if there was 15% more genius and 30% less crazy. What made Jack of Heart so crazy? The lead singer. The rest were fairly typical musicians - the goofy bassist, uber-intense lead guitarist, and the chill drummer.
The show starts and Jack of Heart walks on. Wait, I think, is the lead singer wearing cut of jeanshorts? Yes, he is, and they are barely covering his ass. Oh wait, he's also wearing ripped-up fishnet stockings. And is that costume jewelry weighing down his skinny little neck? Whatever, not a big deal. These guys are opening for King Khan. The stockings were just the beginning. After the second song he reaches for his beer bottle, pretty typical for a rock show. Until he chugs the whole thing, throws it into the empty space in front of the stage, and goes on to throw up a little bit. Yes, the lead singer vomited a little bit directly onto the stage. Once again - whatever, I can try to get past it. Next song, he breaks a guitar string and instead of ignoring it, he wraps the string around his neck tightly. I've seen that bit with microphone cords, but not with strings. At this point, the scales are a little still leaning a little bit towards genius.
Note the fishnets on the lead singer on the left. Also, the guy on the far right was far too focused on the music for this band.
Another song, another Stella Artois. Another Stella, another rude excretion. This time he sprays his beer out of his mouth into a shower for the stage. Then, this dude has the cahones to TAKE HIS PANTS OFF. While he sings, he slides down his jeanshorts. Thankfully, he was wearing skin colored tights underneath his fishnets, but for a second I thought my eyes were going to be scarred by his man parts. But still - what in the world is going on? This singer, who happens to have a pretty cool voice until he starts cawing like a crow for a whole song, is tricking us into thinking he is stripping. He was also ridiculing the people in the front row for not being closer to him. I couldn't blame them for not wanting to be near this lunatic. It was like watching a performance art piece of a car crash. I couldn't look away, and it's meaning was beyond me.
This singer got off on attention. That had to be what was going on. It was over, though, and King Khan and the Shrines were soon to be on.
A seven-piece band came on stage - complete with horns and organ - and vamped a dirty R&B groove while the guitarist introduced the main attraction. Out from backstage struts King Khan, done up with a feather crown, tiger-tooth necklace, and leopard print suit jacket. One of 89.3 The Current's favorite songs, "Land of the Freak," started the set out properly - organ wailing, horns blaring, jangling guitar, and King Khan's gritty yet melodic shout. I couldn't help but dance, and I really don't know how anyone couldn't be moving around. I couldn't help it all show long (although the recovering Dublin punks there had listened to too much Joy Division to ever dance, so I was one of the only). He and the Shrines made no attempt to hid the influence of the Blues Brothers and James Brown on the stage show. The King did one-footed spins while guitarist and bassist did a little step-dance. The organist, though, had a different set of influences. He was an equally amazing showman, but he was less like James Brown and more like a contestant on Project Runway.
The horn players look like the guys my dad hung out with in college, but who never changed their hair cuts or fashion.
The crazy and flamboyant organist playing out amongst the crowd
King Khan explained his show pretty well when he said, "This song is supposed to make you shake your ass. Get your body movin' and rub up against someone, even if you don't know who they are." I didn't rub up on anybody, but I shook my ass a little.
They threw in some songs from an upcoming album. Usually this is the part of a show that is okay to miss, but King Khan's new stuff was on par with his great existing material. The standout of this segment was "Yes I Can't," with its adolescent lyrics and political pun. During this part and a couple others, King Khan stepped off the stage into the crowd of the intimate venue to sing with and dance with the crowd. The last of these times, the organist AND his organ joined.
The show was just fantastic. The pinnacle was when King Khan broke into sermon. He was telling a dirty story about rebirth, prostitutes, and Germany in the style of a southern Baptist church preacher. The Shrines transitioned into their last song, and finally ended the night after a 3 minute "last note," drum fill, and saxophone freakout accompanied by the Jack of Heart members playing tambourines. I'm exhausted just writing about it.
End of show freakout. Organist is standing on his organ playing a tambourine. White tunic man is the crazy singer from Jack of Heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment