LIVE REVIEW: King Charles @Brundenell Social Club

rattlemag
Feb 20, 2016
2 min read

It’s quite a task to make a rainy Wednesday evening in Leeds feel anything apart from ordinary, but ordinary is not in King Charles’ vocabulary. What with the wild-hair and lyrics that seem to draw most from the Romantic Poets, it’s not hard to imagine he was transported from another age purely to put on a show. And make no mistake, put on a show he did.

However, first came the charming Ryan O’Reilly, who opened with the ever-endearing line “I love Leeds! Actually, Leeds gave me food poisoning, so I have to try not to projectile vomit… come closer to the stage everyone!” Despite the risk he proved a regular Llewyn Davis, delivering folky ballads that were in equal measure soulful and tongue-in-cheek. With only an acoustic guitar and heartfelt lyrics he proved that the charm of intimate venues was anything but dead, and his stripped-back vibe really echoed the authenticity of the whole gig. By the end of the set the crowd seemed utterly enamored, and I’m sure his pitch of “I have CD’s for sale, I know nobody uses CD’s but you could put them in your garden to frighten away crows!” really clinched the deal.

Then it was King Charles’ turn, filled with the vigor that can only come from releasing an album like Gamble For A Rose. Despite being less than a month old the crowd greeted tracks like New Orleans and Lady of The River as old friends, and they fell in perfectly with the more familiar favourites. The transition of Ivory Road into Bam Bam proved especially popular, turning the venue into something more resembling a balmy summer festival than a social club with the wind howling outside.

It wasn’t all happy sing-alongs either, as classic The Brightest Lights was introduced with the cryptic admission that “we’re gonna play this like we haven’t played it in a while.” That in reality meant a six minute breakdown in which the band seemingly channelled the greats of old, with Charles himself swinging around his huge hair and spitting out riffs like a more piratical Hendrix. The version met with roaring approval, as did the encore of dance-inducing Love Lust. An acoustic version of Beating Hearts rounded out the night perfectly, having proven that Charles Highwayman-esque swagger is still an excellent asset for playing on the heartstrings. In short, King Charles may not be an actual king, but that doesn’t matter. He has everything a monarch needs: a legion of loyal subjects, and excellent style.