Converse has developed a funky marketing scheme under the Get Loud Tour with free gigs around Australia and New Zealand. Tonight at a trendy, secret location in an inner city warehouse in St. Peter’s, the evening was all about having a good time.
The chilly breeze was left outside and the room was filled with some old school rock and roll blaring out of the PA. The lucky ones chosen to attend were wired or getting there with the gracious folks from the sneaker corporation providing everyone with cold Bud’s and rum cocktails. People were dancing and moving and shaking and this was well before the main attraction had hit the stage.
The King Khan And BBQ Show were hand-picked by the 2010 curators of Vivid, the charming Laurie Anderson and the somewhat grumpy Lou Reed, but they broke up immediately following that chaotic performance. In 2011, the not so svelte King and his partner BBQ, also known as Mark Sultan, put the band back together. Tonight the duo ratcheted up the electricity and turned on the room.
There were already a large number of well lubricated punters surrounding the small stage awaiting the arrival of the King. Making his way through the stairs crowded with photographers, King Khan made his royal entrance. Decked out in a golden headdress, with a green cape and showing off his ample belly, this was truly a vision to behold…
With the first thrash of the guitar, numerous other concert-goers barrelled into the mosh to spray beer and jump around in the guise of dancing. The songs came at you as if shot from an automatic weapon. King Khan was a little disturbed early on because of the crush at the front of the stage and he pleaded with the crowd to dance instead of pushing and shoving. It was hard to tell if this was actually heeded as beer was sprayed everywhere and there was more crowd surfing then at a Bruce Springsteen concert.
Garage rock is such a gas live. There is no subtlety involved and Khan and BBQ were pounding out some of their well-known numbers at a very high volume. The somewhat X-rated ‘Tastebuds’ was played with wild abandon. ”Lonely Boy” and “Tryin” were conveyed with the correct amount of energy and the doo-wop sound of the lyrics over the pounding of the drums and guitars was like a punch to the solar plexus, but much more enjoyable.
“Treat Me Like A Dog” had Khan sounding a bit like Elvis Presley at times except when he really began screaming and yelling like a dog. “Zombies” shook the walls of the warehouse and more crowd surfing and toilet paper roll throwing took over. Even though the twosome had played a show earlier at a club in Sydney, they had energy to spare to invigorate the gathering.
After nearly 90 minutes of entertainment, King Khan And The BBQ Show left the smoky warehouse. The band was spent and the crowd was left with a ringing in their ears and beer and sweat perfumed clothing along with very big grins. The King And BBQ had proved once again that garage rock will never die.
