The King Blues:
Second gig in 2 days! The King Blues are often called the best live band in Britain but they really upped their game last night to beat off any competition from bands like Pulled Apart by Horses. First up was a band i had been told were amazing live. They weren’t wrong. Imperial Leisure are a ska punk band from London, made of some of the nicest musicians i’ve had the pleasure of chatting to. By the second song, the lead singer was already in the crowd and not soon after spraying the crowd with “champagne” with their logo on it. Next up was Minneapolis based Rapper/Hip Hop artist P.O.S. Opening with the question “who likes Hip-Hop?!” and being blasted with a chorus of boo’s the rapper went on to convert the majority of the audience and had the whole front row bouncing by the end of the first song. I have to say even i was highly impressed by this guy, really good stuff. Check him (and Imperial Leisure) out if you get a mo (links at the end).
Lastly but by no means least were headliners The King Blues. I was fortunate enough to have been given permission to shoot the whole set which was amazing. The stage set up alone was impressive and well thought out. I spoke to the “in-house” before they came on stage and she was saying how the band had come in especially early and worked for 4 hours getting the lighting and stage just right! Unfortunately, pretty as it was, it wasn’t designed for photographers with most of the lights being red. Fortunately enough we’d been given permission to use flash which made dealing with that problem a little easier. The performance itself was amazing. The band played all their recent hits along with a cover of Dizzee Rascal’s “Bonkers” much to the crowds enjoyment. I have to say i did leave with a huge smile on my face.
Next up was due to be Jamie T tonight but obviously he’s now cancelled the first 6 shows i think from his tour. So, i get the weekend off which’ll be nice, before Lectures start on monday and i think i’ve got more gigs come tuesday with hopefully: Enter Shikari, Golden Silvers and the Big Pink.
http://www.myspace.com/imperialleisure
http://www.myspace.com/pos
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