Live Review - King Charles at The Wedgewood Rooms

I remember my introduction to the song ‘Bam Bam’ quite well, when I heard it I did a little chuckle, the same kind of chuckle I did when I first heard Mumford & Sons, retorting “that will never catch on”. People that know me will tell you that I have the attitude of always being right, but on both these occasions, I was completely wrong and 2 and a bit years later I found myself in a very cold room dancing to the said song while King Charles played to a packed out Wedgewood Rooms.

A year or so before this, King Charles had visited The Wedgewood Rooms (at this point, I was fully converted) to play ClubNME, a gig that is way up there with some of my favorites  His onstage braggadocio is laboriously backed up, showmanship only you would imagine seeing among established artists; he held the room in the palm of his hand, with ease. In his presence once more, the story unfolds
.

A whole hour before doors, outside of The Wedgewood Rooms a queue formed of a middle aged man, a huddle of teenage girls and the teenage boy looking awkwardly on, it was ever growing. Inside the venue, final sound checks were being finalized and merchandise was being frustratingly counted, while out of nowhere like a sudden smoke King Charles appears, excited and animated 11 days into his 30 day tour of the UK, props to him for the amount of energy nearly 2 weeks into the jaunt with another 2 on the horizon.

As the room gently filled itself with the broadest aged crowd I had seen since Gabrielle Aplin (3 weeks previously) first act Giovanna, who if I am not mistaken is a close relative of the man himself, took to the stage to play a 4 track set that aligned itself somewhere between Ellie Goulding and Florence Welch, nicely seconded by Alt J. A commanding voice that is slightly left short by stage persona, but it’s nothing a few lessons with KC wouldn't fix, a definitive future.

Next up were Story Books, influences formed out of the embers of the late noughties indie, think Bombay Bicycle Club, The XX and a vocal that sounds like Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend. Enticing tracks, steeped with emotion with added in between song banter, we all like a band that can joke in between songs, or while tuning their guitars (you can’t get the staff these days). Well worth your time; check out the track ‘Glory & Growth’.

Now for the headline fight, the lights dimmed down and the introductions followed, a pitch black Wedgewood Rooms staged was filled with King Charles’ foot soldiers, with them in toe he followed. Like a true king leading his men into war he took no prisoners from the first chord, the battle was already won it seemed. Instantly charming the crowd into ‘Love blood’ then competently hypnotizing every female in the radius of the room with ‘Mississippi Isabel’ with added crowd sing-a-long.

What’s most clear a year on is how tight King Charles a band have become, expanding slightly but without a need to know, no bum notes or eerie silences, the back-line was taut and without fault. If you translate the music King Charles play to the sold out audience who were watching  you’d be mistaken to think it was just sweaty teenagers, as either side of me through the majority of the gig were pockets of middle aged women gushing at KC’s every move, and with reason.

A quick guitar change led King Charles slaying into ballad ‘Polar Bear’, enticing the crowd once more, the sheer power of the track threw the audience into a quite uncontrollable frenzy which was then soaked up by the band and prolonged into a cataclysm of break downs and a stage dive.

 As the lights dimmed once more, and King Charles fixed his hair (that’s a lot of hair) his dulcet tones introduced everybody to Mumford duet ‘The Brightest Lights’ at one point managing to silence himself and leave The Wedgewood Rooms crowd to sing the chorus for themselves. A diamond in the ever glistening King Charles crown ‘Bam Bam’ followed alongside ‘Beating Hearts’ ‘Coco Chitty’ and the lyrically brilliant ‘Ivory Road’, things then began to wind itself up, in the same sense as jack in the box.

When you talk about encores you imagine them to be short and sweet, uneventful, enough to send the crowd home smiling, but not tonight, King Charles had different ideas. He returned to the stage a solo artist, playing alone to a crowd that looked on deflated, momentarily deflated, He then introduced his foot soldiers back to the stage and we were all treated to the brilliant KC rendition of Billy Joel classic ‘We Didn't Start The Fire’ but the story doesn't stop there. The first verse whipped the crowd into a what can only be explained as unequivocal hysteria which led to an extended bridge as this caused 2 teenage girls to faint (something I’m told isn't a regular occurrence at King Charles shows) that aside, the song is adapted lyrically, to which a credit to King Charles himself who in 3 words said his bit for Thatcher, in jest, maybe, who knows.

And just as we were all ready for all out war the lights went up, the dust was settling, the empty cups were being picked up, and the girls who had fainted returned for a hug. In short, The Wedgewood Rooms had once again had the roof blown from it and it was gently resting itself back, all thanks to a brilliant performance by King Charles.

 Do you remember that feeling when you were 15 and you left a venue covered in sweat and thinking ‘what just happened and why’...Well, that’s the feeling I have about Kings Charles at The Wedgewood Rooms, April 11^th 2013. March on, squire.