PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
First up tonight were King King, a blues rock band who have won the Best band award at the British Blues awards two years running – impressive stuff for a band that has only been around for a few years. Taking to the stage in Kilts, they make it clear where they come from.
Well it doesnt take long to see why these guys have won the awards they have – they are really impressive, with superb guitar work in particular but really high quality playing from the whole band. The songs too sound great, and this is a band I definitely want to hear more of in the future.
King King setlist:
More than I can take
Wait on time
Don’t you get the feeling
Long history of love
Heart without a soul
Take my hand
Jealousy
Lose control
All your life
Old love
Highway man
Joanne Shaw Taylor took to the stage and kicked off with “Soul station”, getting things off to a flying start – it’s a great song to get things going with plenty of energy and great guitar work. Right from the start of the show Joanne Shaw Taylor does guitar solos – in fact almost every song gets one. Often I find guitar solos detract from the song by slowing the pace and feel as though they’re there just to show off the guitarists talent, but tonight that’s not the case – the solos flow nicely and actually enhance the songs rather than detract from them. Watching her during the solos you can see both intense concentration, and also a lot of enjoyment as she leans back as she plays.
The stage looked very empty as apart from her at the front playing guitar and singing, the rest of the band (Drums, Bass, Keyboards) are all at the back of the stage, but this does mean that she has space to move around and she takes full advantage of that and when not singing at the microphone in the centre of the stage, she moves to one side or the other to solo at the front.
Watching the show, the things that strike me most are firstly just how good a guitar player Joanne Shaw Taylor is, secondly how much she looks to enjoy playing, and finally how good the whole thing sounds. Seated gigs are always feel slightly strange when you’re used to standing ones – typically less of an atmosphere, and while it’s true that the crowd are silent during the songs, it’s clear from looking around that they’re loving every second of it, and there are plenty of cheers between songs.
As well as plenty of her own material we get an excellent Jimi Hendrix cover – Manic Depression. That’s just one song out of a full two hour performance – far longer than many bands play for these days
I’ve seen some great Blues or Blues-Rock performers this year including two amazing guitarists Joe Bonamassa, Eric Johnson, and superb singers such as Beth Hart, so I was wondering before the gig how Joanne Shaw Taylor would fare in comparison. Well in my opinion she showed that she’s one hell of a good guitarist and gives the big names in Blues a real run for their money. Vocally I wasn’t keen at first, but her voice is definitely growing on me and does fit the music well and I did enjoy her performance tonight.
After tonight I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more gigs by Joanne Shaw Taylor – she is definitely a great talent and is well worth going to see live.
Joanne Shaw Taylor setlist:
Soul Station
Beautifully
Broken
Watch ’em Burn
Just Another Word
Jealousy
You Should Stay, I Should Go
Let It Burn
Jump That Train
Almost Always Never
The World & It’s Way
Same As It Never Was
Kiss The Ground Goodbye
Time Has Come
Manic Depression
Diamonds In The Dirt
Tied & Bound
Encore:
Going Home
