I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: July 15, 2017] Kings of Spade

Back in November, I saw King’s X and Kings of Spade.  I was more than a little surprised to see that King’s X were coming back to Sellersville and to see that Kings of Spade were opening again (turns out, not again, but still).  The band said that King’s X brought them to Europe, which was pretty exciting for them.

In the last 8 months or so, Kings of Spade have gotten even better.  They were really tight and solid back then, but their rocking songs rocked more and they really had a lot of fun on stage.  I guess 8 months of touring will get you to loosen up a bit.  In fact, when I saw them after the gig–they hung around for autographs again, I told the singer they sounded even better and she said she felt a lot more comfortable up there and danced a lot more–very nice folks.

It was cool seeing how well the bassist Tim Corker and drummer Matt Kato feed off each other–there’s some great rumbling sections in the later songs, with some great, complex drumming and fast bass playing.

They opened with a bluesy song which I feel doesn’t really show off the band’s skills as well–although guitarist Jesse Savio really shines in his wailing solos.

But of course all eyes are on singer Kasi Nunes with her tall red mohawk and bold arm tattoos.  She has a wonderful, powerful voice which she can wail and also hits some quieter sections.  She’s also a fun front woman–she was super appreciative of King’s X and of us for coming early.  And she seemed genuinely pleased by the warm reaction they got.

She had a funny joke about the bands’ parents being cool and telling them they could do whatever they wanted when they grew up–they just never told them they wouldn’t get paid shit for doing it.

I also rather enjoyed that they threw out packs of chocolate covered macadamia nuts as a gift from Hawaii (even if I was too far back to get any).

There was a funny moment when Savio commented that he really liked playing here.  How different it was from noisy bars.  (The last time they played Sellersville they had played the Stone Pony just before and they did that again this time).  I wrote that last time he said: that we were so quiet and respectful during the songs–which was cool, don’t worry–but it was so quiet that he could hear the drummer humming along. And he never knew the drummer hummed before.

And he said the exact same thing this time, which was really funny and I don’t think it was “bit” or anything, just that Sellersville is very different.  Again he really loved the acoustics of the place, but he said it was so weird to hear the drummer humming along to the music while he was playing (something about the acoustics being so good and there being low bar noise in the room).  And while we are quieter between songs (there is no bar in the room after all) there was plenty of love during the songs for which they were really appreciative.

Before introducing “Strange Bird” she asked if we wanted to hear her gay story.  The asshole behind me muttered “no.”  He was a such a grouch the whole show, what the hell?  Anyhow, she told us about how when she was little she knew she was a lesbian from a young age.  She asked out a friend of her sisters who freaked out and then her sister told their mom who beat her to a pulp.  But look how she turned out.  So the moral is, let your kids be a little free unless you want them to turn out like that.

They played a pretty lengthy set with a lot of songs–no covers this time, which was fine.  And as I said, by the end of the set the whole audience was won over.

 I was able to chat with the bassist Tim during intermission and he was very chill and funny.

I hope this world tour gives them a lot of exposure and that they can really run with it–they’re a great band to see live.

Last time they didn’t even have an entry on Setlist.  Now they do, and I think this is what they played.

Songs:
Mess of Me
Funk–has some cool scratchy guitar and boatload of wah wah
Boys in My Band–love when the song breaks and she sings that in a cool falsetto
Sweet–opens with some slow guitar sections and some gentle vocals
Take Me
Red (?)–another setlist calls this song “Red,” I don’t     think it’s on an album, but man does it rock, from the quiet verses to the big chorus.
This Child–I love the line “you buy me dresses, I play with guns.”
San Antone–is a straight out rocker which is really fun live.
Way She Goes–totally rocks and is tremendous live.
Strange Bird” is definitely one of the highlights. The riff is outstanding and the chorus is great fun to sing along to.  And Nunes really gets to show off her range.