King’s X
December 8, 2016
The Parish, Austin TX
King’s X is monumentally great. They’re just three guys that love and make very special music together. They’re such amazing songwriters and performers that choosing a setlist must be difficult for them. With such a great catalog to choose from, it makes the choice of whether or not to go see them an easy one.
King’s X is a multi-generational band. You’ll see people of all ages there, but really it’s an older crowd – people that know and appreciate the great music of the 70s and 80s. It’s a shame they never broke wide open with massive mainstream success. They’re like a well-kept secret with an amazing vault of music.
This December night in Austin was fairly warm and the band was playing at a decent-sounding upstairs venue with a long, rectangular floor. After a rousing set by veteran touring mates Kings of Spade, it wasn’t long before this power trio of power trios got up and started kicking out the jams with “Groove Machine.” Nothing quite declares who they are and what they’re about to do than this song. It’s loud and pulsing with an infectious rhythm that pulls you in like a musical hug from an old friend. In a genius move to get even more groovy, they then launch right into “Pillow” (probably my favorite track from Dogman. The space between the lilting and massive groove and the soaring vocals is dynamic to a hypnotic, but almost violent degree. It’s like getting beat up by a melodic metal riff.
Smiles and banging heads were abounding all over the room. When they ripped into the fast and thinner but still grooving “The World Around Me,” I thought I might explode with glee. What a smashing way to start off a show.
Even though no one was around to enforce the industry standard “first three songs and no flash” rule, I put my camera away after this tune so I could focus on just absorbing the sonic joy (or Ear Candy, as they’d soon offer a tidbit from with “Run” and “looking For Love” back to back). They eased into “Flies and Blue Skies” to slow things down a bit and offer some dynamics before they brought more heat.
“Pray” and “Black Flag” were rocking moments with Doug Pinnick’s passionate and powerful vocals climbing over the massive sounds his 12-string bass emits. “Cigarettes” slowed things down again, which was another great emotive song from Dogman. “Summerland” was dished out next, which always sounds good, even if he let the audience sing lots of the verses and choruses.
In fact, I counted three songs this night where Pinnick gladly let the audience kinda take over the lead vocal duties. It’s a magic moment when this happens, but there’s also that factor that he sings it better than all of us can even come close to. This fact made this the worst King’s X show I’ve ever seen, but (and this is very important) it was still a fantastic show. Nobody did anything subpar, I didn’t notice any musical mistakes and it was a very happy atmosphere. It was just a tad disappointing not to hear one of rock’s greatest vocalists do all the singing.
The bridge section in “Over My Head” is a show-stopping moment at every King’s X show, but this is the first time I think I’ve seen the band where Pinnick didn’t go off like a soulful preacher, talking about love or the self-esteem and freedom human beings should have. Nope, he just kinda walked out to the edge of the stage and played a little bass solo. I guess he just wasn’t feeling it that night.
“We Were Born to Be Loved,” with its never-ending ending came up next, capping off a great night with some intense and impressive jamming between guitarist Ty Tabor, drummer Jerry Gaskill and Pinnick. Pinnick and Tabor came together a few times to offer that iconic pose that forms a nice symmetric “V” with left-handed Pinnick’s bass headstock facing one direction and Tabor’s guitar neck facing the other.
For encores the band brought three more great tunes: “Lost in Germany,” another old treasure from their self-titled fourth album, “Dogman” and probably this reviewer’s favorite song of all time – “Goldilox.” It was fun to see an old couple friend of mine sing along loudly beside me with the rest of the audience to the song they had played at their wedding.
After the show the band graciously sat at their merch table and took selfies, chatted and signed stuff for all the fans that wanted to say hi. This band does us all a favor by continuing to make music, they never let an audience down and they sure know how to treat their fans with respect, gratitude and kindness. Viva la King’s X!
King’s X kills it. While this reviewer has probably seen a few dozen better King’s X shows in his lifetime, tonight’s gig was still better than 90% of what any other hard rock or metal band brings to the stage.
—Review and photos by Doug Van Pelt
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