advertisement
follow us
Newsletter signup
Get a little Crawdaddy! right in the inbox once a week:
Straight to Video
Rock Art Rock
The Decemberists
September 19, 2009
Terminal 5, New York, NY
By Amanda Hatfield "The Decemberists played a special one night 'lottery show,' where the songs played were picked at random by a master of ceremonies, played by John Wesley Harding..."
Ra Ra Riot
April 4, 2009
Webster Hall, New York City, NY
By Amanda Hatfield "This show was, at the time, the biggest one Ra Ra Riot had sold out as headliners, and it was clear to me after watching it that the band is destined for even bigger and better things..."
Florence and the Machine
October 28, 2009
Bowery Ballroom, New York City, NY
By Amanda Hatfield "Florence Welsh and her backing band delighted and mesmerized a sold-out crowd at Bowery in her first official NY headlining show..."
Dirty Projectors
July 19, 2009
Williamsburg Waterfront (Brooklyn, NY)
By Amanda Hatfield "I was skeptical about how well Dirty Projectors' gorgeous, complex vocal harmonies would carry over outdoors, standing under hot sunshine..."
See more in the Rock Art Rock gallery.
Most Read Articles
- The Smoke-Filled Room: Music and a Woman’s Right to Choose
- What Goes On: Liam Gallagher Reveals Post-Oasis Plans, and Other News
- My Life Is the Road: Clarence White and Jim Morrison Stretch on a 747
- It Shows, What Goes On: Live Show Review: Devo at the Regency Ballroom, San Francisco
- What Goes On: This Just In: Steven Tyler Is the Rainbow
- Reviews: Weezer: Raditude
- Introducing: His Name Is John Michael Rouchell
polls
Loading ...-
Search results for: king khan and the shrines
King Khan & the Shrines
King Khan & the Shrines
What Is?!
(Hazelwood, 2007; re: Vice, 2009)
It’s not Erick Khan’s fault all songs have been written already. Those 12 notes, everyone’s just sick of putting them in order really, which goes quadruple for the State of Indie Rock, a business where people who do split singles with Black Dice can score an event debut on Billboard. Khan even limits himself more than most, avowing to only boogie if it sounds ’60s. What’s a garage punk to do? Hone his riffs. And for those we forgive Khan for gobbledygook like the “My baby’s fat! She’s ugly! She’s fat and she’s ugly!” chorus from the Shrines’ 2001 “Took My Lady to Dinner.”
This watermark of maturity for the Black Lips’ fellow pissing, bleeding, stage-destroying associate was smuggled electronically from overseas in 2007, won stateside acclaim, and is finally seeing its US release. Despite a honking title like “69 Faces of Love”, What Is?! displays a slight turn towards empathy, even if Khan’s egotism is such that he has to embody women and eaters of welfare bread alike to reach his understanding. “The way they bitch and the way that they curse / The way they smell and the things in their purse!” exclaims a jealous Khan on “I Wanna Be a Girl”, though even he recants upon realizing all the shit women have to go through to retrieve his approval, appending the title hook with a “…sometimes” under his breath. It’s a cute song, and it’s the closest thing to insight here, but we’re into Khan’s brand of power-soul for one thing only: Riffs. “Welfare Bread” has lyrics that nag in comparison to its glorious feel-good horns and shading Hammond B-3, and strikes like a more ambitious (glockenspiel!) take on Morphine’s “Cure for Pain.” “Bread” is bookended by the rushing “I Wanna Be a Girl” and the irresistible “Land of the Freak”, Khan’s best Jerry Lee Lewis/James Brown update, all piled-up horns and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins howls. Album opener “(How Can I Keep You) Outta Harm’s Way” distills four discs of Nuggets into one throbbing buzz-note and four insistent horn-chart chords before a surprisingly tricky minor-key chorus.
The King Khan and BBQ Show at the Independent, San Francisco
by: Angela Zimmerman
November 18th at the Independent, San Francisco
Sure, it’s kind of a schtick. But when the King Khan and BBQ Show take the stage, King Khan scantily clad in a loin cloth and skimpy, shimmering top, BBQ in a hot pink turban, it’s not like you don’t know that they’re partially there to shock. Appearances aside, they put on one of the most entertaining shows I’ve seen in a while; what sounds like a band of five (or more!) is actually only two dudes.
All I knew about King Khan was that he puts on an eccentric live show. The Shrines, his last touring ensemble, was a large group replete with horns and stage theatrics, quite unlike the minimalist garage-y punk rock that the BBQ show was all about. I was sorta standing in the front/middle of the room, but I’m pretty short so I couldn’t really see what was going on up on stage. I could only see King Khan; he’s a pretty tall guy. I could tell there was a drummer sitting to his right, mostly because when I stood on my tiptoes I could see his turban. But I couldn’t tell where all the noise was coming from. Where was the tambourine? The drummer/multi-instrumentalist, BBQ (aka Mark Sultan), was playing the drums, and the tambourine, with his feet. And he was playing guitar, and singing too! Talk about a one-man show. Before too long his turban came off, a victim of the performance, and next thing I knew he was sporting a checkered cabbie cap. The set began with fuzzy, reverb-y garage rock and at times got pretty psychedelic, an onslaught of sound tinged by hypnotic fuzzy, guitar riffs. But it was mostly a punk rock, doo-wop inspired act. How about that for something different?
read more
by: Angela Zimmerman
published: November 19, 2009 in column: It Shows
no comments yet