Last leg of their current UK Tour and largest headline show to date, To Kill A King’s (TKAK) performance did not disappoint. Having recently received lots of support from BBC R1, especially from Huw Stevens who had them in to do a session at Maida Vale, the indie rock band took to the stage on Saturday night and blew everyone away.
Supporting them were the incredible artists Annie Eve and Waylayers. Annie Eve opened the show with her unique dreamy voice. I’ve never seen an accordion used at a gig before but it was very effective and added a unique quality to all the songs. Annie and the rest of her band are very clearly talented and it was lovely to be introduced to them on the iconic stage at Shepherd’s Bush, where their sound filled the venue perfectly. Waylayers stepped the pace up and continued to build the atmosphere. Their music has more of an electronic feel to it and the audience responded by changing the gentle swaying to rhythmic bobbing. The funky dance beats with relaxing vocals were incredibly effective and their set was thoroughly enjoyable.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/160776599″]
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/131164269″]
TKAK took to the stage with ‘Grace at a Party’, and the audience cheered and clapped in time. Ralph Pelleymounter chatted to the crowd throughout the set, cracking jokes and allowing the audience to feel personally connected to the group of men on stage. As well as the usual five piece band, TKAK were also joined by a trumpet, a saxophone and two of the bands’ “talented friends” singing enchanting backing vocals on selected songs. The quantity of beautiful sounds which this wonderful group of people created was breathtaking. When they all came together and played on songs like ‘Compare Scars’ the energy in the space was electric. Having seen TKAK perform before their second album came out it was lovely to hear the old and new songs slotted in between each other. The songs on the new album seem to have been written to play in magnificent venues like this, and they transformed the setlist into something glorious and lovely. The list was incredibly well put together and the songs flicked back and forth between slower and upbeat tracks.
The band left the stage after singing ‘Oh My Love’, however after a quick break and persuasive cheering and clapping from the audience, Ralph returned to the stage and treated us to two old songs ‘Bloody Shirt’ and ‘Cannibals With Cutlery’ which he performed acoustically. This was an incredibly emotional moment and the whole audience responded. Last but not least, the rest of the band returned to the stage and played ‘Love Is Not Control’ and ‘Fictional State’ during which keys player Ben took to the audience and crowd surfed. It was the perfect ending to a perfect gig and a privilege to have been part of such a momentous concert.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjO6m-u6Fpk]
To Kill A Kings self titled album is available now on iTunes.
Words by Lizzie Wood