King's X

    Whisky A Go Go, Hollywood, CA 25/04/2018

    I first heard of King's X the best part of 20 years ago, after vocalist/bassist Doug Pinnick provided backing vocals on Lines In The Sand, one of the standout tracks from Dream Theater's 1997 album Falling Into Infinity. Back in the late '90s, with online music still in its infancy and King's X's albums not exactly freely available at my local HMV or Our Price, it wasn't until several years later that I actually consciously heard the band, when a colleague at the time lent me their Gretchen Goes To Nebraska album. Since then, I've picked up as many of their albums as I could, and become familiar with their back catalogue, which is obviously a lot easier these days with music streaming services.


    I'd always thought King's X would be a mighty live band, but missed their last UK show in London back in 2008, and wasn't sure if I'd ever get to see them. Thankfully, they returned to the UK for the first time in almost a decade last summer, where I was lucky enough to see them perform to a capacity crowd at Wolverhampton's Slade Rooms. It was a great gig, and what I thought would probably be the only time I'd experience the band live. However, early in 2018 they announced a series of US West Coast dates, the Hollywood one of which just so happened to coincide with the first day of our three week holiday in California. We knew we'd probably have been up well over 24 hours by the time the band hit the stage, but what the hell....

    King's X are often referred to as "the greatest band you've never heard of", a reputation forged over four decades which have seen them consistently championed by many of their peers (Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament, the late great Dimebag Darrell, amongst others) and releasing several albums on major label Atlantic in the early '90s. For some reason they never quite managed to get that big break, despite their mix of hard rock, metal and funk being eminently more listener friendly than countless bands from those genres that have enjoyed greater success. However, mainstream music's loss is our gain, as it's still possible after the band being together for so long to see them in such intimate venues like the Whisky A Go Go, which for music-inclined tourists in LA is a must-see landmark. Attending a show by a band of this calibre here is a bonus, as was having a pre-show pizza at the Rainbow Bar and Grill just up the road on a table next to the band. Only in Hollywood...
    The band hit the stage just after 10pm, opening with one of their signature songs: Groove Machine. The LA crowd doesn't seem quite as up for it as the audience at the Slade Rooms last summer, but that's probably more down to King's X tours being a bit more of a regular occurrence in the US than they are in Europe. That's not to say this is a dull crowd - the majority of them are clearly familiar with every song, as demonstrated when Doug Pinnick turns the mic over to them regularly for chorus singalongs. The band make a huge sound for a three piece; helped in part by Pinnick's use of a 12 string bass for around 50% of the set, but drummer Jerry Gaskill and guitarist Ty Tabor are no slouches either. Songs like Pillow and Black Flag don't sound very different from the recorded versions of the songs at all, a testament to the skill level of each musician. Having said that, quite a few songs stray from their familiar recorded arrangements as they stretch out sections of the likes of Vegetable and Over My Head into lengthy funk and gospel-inspired jams respectively.
    The setlist spans almost the entire career of the band, with nine of their 12 studio albums represented. 1994's Dogman is given the most time, with four songs, arguably King's X's heaviest release, but still with plenty of melodic hooks. The three part harmony vocals the band are known for are reproduced well live, giving muscular classics such as Lost in Germany and King a poppier edge which really makes you wonder why they never managed to break into the mainstream. With the perfect mix of heavy riffs and memorable vocal melodies it's hard to find something not to like about this band. The set ends with one of their most melodic songs - Goldilox, from the 1988 debut album Out Of The Silent Planet. It's clearly a fan favourite, with the audience taking the lead on the vocals for the entire song.

    It's a credit to these three guys that they've stuck around for so long, never achieving the big sales or playing arenas that are considered the ultimate meaures of "success" in the music industry. However, it's all relative. I'm sure not one person inside the Whisky A Go Go tonight would disagree that they love the band just the way they are, and judging by the grins on the faces of Doug Pinnick, Ty Tabor and Jerry Gaskill throughout tonight's set, they're not too disappointed with the way things have turned out either.
    Setlist: Groove Machine / The World Around Me / Pillow / Flies and Blue Skies / Vegetable / Cigarettes / Pray / Black Flag / Lost in Germany / A Box / Looking for Love / Summerland / Over My Head / Go Tell Somebody / We Were Born to Be Loved
    Encore: Dogman / King / Goldilox
    You can find King's X on Facebook and their official site.
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