So you’re having a party in
the house, and this brickie turns up along with some other mates. Looks like he’s had a couple of liveners, but
just enough to enjoy the craic. He’s
barely in the door when he spots something in a corner of your living room. “Hey, that a guitar? Ya beezer!”
He picks it up - and proceeds to bring the house down.
Okay folks, I plead guilty;
it’s a shocking stereotype. Alan Nimmo
is a big burly guy, but I know diddly squat about him personally - he could be teetotal and not know one end of a brick from the other for all I know. And King King
are not just Alan Nimmo’s sidemen, they are very much a
band, all four of them
contributing to a magnificent sound, and now sharing equally in songwriting
credits. But let me explain.
Alan Nimmo - "Hey, you talking' about me?" Pic courtesy of Ian Martin |
On the low stage of the O2
ABC2 in Glasgow, I can just about see the heads of drummer Wayne Proctor and
keyboard player Bob Fridzema. Stage
left, Lindsay Coulson on bass is Mr Cool in smart jacket and shades, swaying to
the rhythm. But centre stage is Alan
Nimmo, in a t-shirt and his trademark kilt, visually very much the cutting edge of their
line-up as he kicks in with an effortless blend of rhythm and lead guitar,
and his warm, Paul Carrack-like vocals – the latter complemented, it has to be
said, by excellent harmonies from Fridzema and Proctor. As a front man, moreover, Nimmo is engaging, down
to earth and humorous, without ever making a big deal out of it.
Their set draws on both their
first two albums, and also includes a few new songs from their soon-here third
album, Reaching For The Light. But this isn’t going to be a blow by blow
account of the show, save to say that ‘Long History Of Love’ lives up to
expectations as one of my absolute favourite songs of recent years, and the new
material fits in seamlessly.
What is most marked about
King King is the groove that they
develop. Individual songs may be great
but, whether they are originals or covers, in a way that’s not the point. Collectively
they serve something bigger – a sound that is earthy, soulful, and full of
dynamics. In the live setting of a
hometown gig the audience interaction introduces an extra current of electricity,
but you can still lose yourself in the feeling when now and then they fashion a
rolling, repeated refrain that Nimmo weaves his way around vocally and on
guitar.
Tonight there is a homecoming
bonus as Stevie Nimmo takes to the stage to trade guitar and vocal spots with
his younger brother on the closing numbers, capping the main set with the
excellent ‘Old Love’.
As intimate as the ABC2 is, King
King should be playing bigger halls than its 350 capacity, because more people
deserve to enjoy their performance.
Sooner rather than later, hopefully.
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