That’s twice now, could become a habit!
King Nun + Support from Hypothetics & President Elect
It’s Independent Music Week, a great effort every year to support local venues and I saw King Nun announced. The plan was to see them In Bournemouth on the Thursday but then last minute I saw that I’d missed they were local the next day, no brainer! The supports acts, President Elect then Hypothetics started at 8.15, the guy on the door was wearing a Robbie Williams Knebworth T-Shirt but not to be ironic.
President Elect up first, I had never heard them but I will again, they had good energy and looked like band that had played together for a time, tight musically with good vocals and good songs. Not the edgiest and never will be. Rock music you could take home to meet the family. A song or two in they suggested the growing crowd move forward, it did and what looked like a group of female University students started probably the kindest and most nonthreatening mosh pit I’ve ever seen. A great start to the night.
Hypothetics were next. A kit change preceded them, differing from the other two bands on the night with the singer setting up a Korg synthesiser sitting beneath a selection of effects pedals. Drummer, bass player and guitarist / banjoist sprung to life, the singer adding to the sound by bending other sounds alongside his vocals. Interesting musically, experimental with an eastern influence and chanting at times.
Then we have King Nun, the main event, the reason for heading out into this slightly damp night. As alluded to in the title of this post they brought it! Whatever ‘it’ is, ‘it’ was there. I’d seen King Nun only recently, in November last year to be more precise. They were unknown to me then and easily commanded the stage of a 4000 capacity venue like a seasoned act in support of Nothing But Thieves. This was a 100 capacity venue so I knew I was in for an experience. They were just as at home on this floor level stage as they were in the bigger venue. The lead guitarist jumped just as high, the singer crossed the stage almost as much, the rhythm guitarist got out of his corner to bait the crowd with his guitar. It was high energy, loud, brash and crowd pleasing. There were a few bursts of banter and a few shirts removed, by the band, not the audience and before you knew it they were done. They were captivating and compelling to distraction, time disappeared.
A superb show and I feel spoilt having seen them in such a small space. I left the Heartbreakers with King Nun, Lamb on vinyl and a Presidential Elect T-Shirt, always one to buy the vinyl if it’s there, not normally one to buy T-Shirts but it wasn’t the normal band offering so it’s mine now.
King Nun . . .
For the band that started as schoolfriends in 2013, King Nun have been on a long road to their upcoming second album, Lamb. Consisting of Theo Polyzoides, James Upton, Nathan Gane and Caius SY, what would later become an official band started as friends bonding over their shared love of bands off the beaten path, from Richard Hell and Television to Sonic Youth and Pixies. On this foundation, theybuilt their own off kilter indie-punk hybrid, exhibited on 2019’s Mass,cited by NME as ‘brutal and brilliant’ and DIY as ‘a sound to be reckoned with’. The band have built an impressive live reputation too, listing headline tours in Europe and the US, with Rolling Stone naming them ‘Best Rock Newcomers’ at Bonnaroo, and supporting artists including Foo Fighters, Black Flag and Gang of Youths.
(King Nun text from Dice.fm website)
Independent Venue Week . . .
Independent Venue Week (29th Jan – 4th Feb 2024) is the UK’s annual 7-day celebration of independent music & arts venues and the people that own, run and work in them. Over 200 independent venues take part in our annual Celebration and the number keeps growing every year. No matter where you are in the U.K., there is an independent venue nearby ready to welcome you.
https://independentvenueweek.com/uk/
