CD Review: What Is?! (KK+TS)

Band: King Khan and the Shrines
Release: 2007 then 2009

Comments: It's impossible for King Khan and the Shrines to not be awesome. The horns. The guitar. The organ. The drums. The voice. The King. Listening to this album is a visitation to last month's show. The studio versions don't quite match up to the high energy live performances, but certainly they fall only slightly behind. Like, for instance, the cheerleader is still very much a part of the music, even though you can't see her. The first 7 tracks are better than the last 7. That I will say.

Top 5 Tracks:
"Land of the Freak"
"How Can I Keep You Outta Harms Way"
"Welfare Bread"
"I Wanna Be A Girl"
"No Regrets"

Final Grade: 9.8 out of 10

King Khan @ Paradise Rock Club Finale

Chris and I got the privilege of standing next to the person taking the video. You'll see Chris' head a lot and sometimes me. Like at 4:40. I bang my hands against King's helmet.

King Khan Poem

How Do I Keep You Outta Harm’s Way? (King Khan)

Soulful Supreme Genius spread in the air
The King came decked out in his white suit and slicked back hair
Accompanied by his lady, an ever-grinning cheerleader
And eight Sensational Shrines in their black Shrine Uniforms
The King ordered his minions to give him
A Loud and Proud response
They Roared
Unsatisfied, he Demanded again
This time the King was blown away
He and His Shrines exploded right into “Land of the Freak”
An apropos title for this setting
The fanatics hopped up and down
Side to Side
On the Stage
Off the Stage
The blissful cheerleader sprinkled glitter into the pit
As a cute little complement to the soulful music and funky dancing
As soon as the performance ended
Excessive crowd response ensued
Just when you think it’s over…
ENCORE!

New Poetry

Good, Bad, Not Evil
Black Lips
King Khan
No Age
Meat Puppets
And More
To most people those words mean Nothing
But to Me it’s like seeing someone big like Tee Payne
I don’t think that’s how you spell his name
I’d rather be in a bar or a basement
Where I’m right in front of the Best damn bands in the Universe
Instead of clasping my binoculars to see my favorites
From Far Far Far Far Away
In My Stadium Seats
Or even on
The Lawn
No, I’d rather be packed all together in a sold out show
Standing between a middle aged woman and a guy that doesn’t brush his teeth
I know it sounds stupid and repulsive
But, it’s better than simply listening to the music at home

Concert Review: King Khan (Paradise)

Bands: The Homosexuals, Mark Sultan, King Khan
Venue: Paradise Rock Club

Act One: The Homosexuals

Glen: The Homosexuals, or in this concert's case Bruno Wizard and two members from the noise rock band Fiasco, started things off. Wizard, who has an affinity for saying 'fuck' and acting crazy as 'fuck,' didn't fail at moving about the stage like an asshole. Wizard's most notable song was "Hearts in Exile," a lengthy and repetitive proto-punk jam that got the crowd semi-excited. He finally sang "Don't Touch My Hair," an obnoxious rhyme that was undoubtedly written while Wizard was under some form of narcotic. I give a lot of credit to Julian (drums) and Jon (guitar) for playing excellent music.

Chris: Well, the singer was a bit obnoxious and got really old rather quickly. Speaking of being old, he was middle aged, but tried to act like a buzz cock. Perhaps a bit more cock than buzz. His vocals and the songs themselves were average. He repeated one particular line at least 50 times. Ridonculous. With that being said, I appreciated his high energy, albeit a cliched, poor man's Mick Jagger. Also, the guitarist and drummer had the musical chops and I suggest they find a new front man or create an entirely different group. [Editors Note: They are a part of Fiasco, which has a different lead singer. They were just filling in, bud.]

Act Two: Mark Sultan

Glen: Mark Sultan, or as the guy standing next to me said "the man they call B-B-Q" was very impressive. Complete with a makeshift drum kit and an old-school electric guitar, Sultan provided the audience with vintage rock n' roll sounds. For me, Sultan's highlight was "Waddlin' Around." The crowd really got into this song in particular. It was too bad Sultan only played for 30 minutes. That wasn't the last of him though...

Chris: Mark Sultan or BBQ- Impressive. That's the first word that comes to my mind when I think of his performance. For all ye musicians out there that merely play 1 instrument (I play none!), the BBQ has you beat! Simultaneously Sultan commands the microphone, plays the chords, and bangs the drums with the assistance of some handy dandy foot pedals. Sultan gave the audience a nice, little balance between slow, doo-wop echoing, love numbers and kick ass rockers you could rock your head and bop around to. A notable set to say the least.

Act Three: King Khan and the Shrines

Glen: I witnessed the soulful Supreme Genius! I actually noticed King Khan an hour before the show. I yelled "King!" and he stopped and gave Chris and I handshakes. Seriously, though, he puts on an amazing show. It couldn't be done, though, without the help of the eight other members of the band. The cheerleader -- unnecessary, yet unbelievably necessary -- sprinkled glitter all over us in the pit. Her fine dancing was a great adjunct. The saxophone players don't get as much credit as they deserve. They were instrumental (literally). The guitarists were fun, often interacting with the crowd (by jumping off stage). BUT it was the King who got everyone going. The minute he walked onto the stage, everyone just smiled, clapped, and knew that one hell of a show was in store. King's swagger on stage is unprecedented. His gimmicks are vast and varied. Lying on the ground, sticking his head out to the front row, dancing over the cheerleader, whatever, you name it. His energy simply never relented. God bless him. He performed classics such as "I Wanna Be Your Girl," "Welfare Bread," and "Shivers Down My Spine," before delving into a Gospel track -- a brand-new 5+ minute epic that involved intensive crowd participation. King Khan came back on stage (thanks in large part to a certain energetic Shrines percussionist) after saying "this is our last song" and performed my personal favorite "Took My Lady To Dinner" followed by a few others, including a never-been-done-live-before song with Mark Sultan. Unfortunately, the experience had to come to an end. The keyboardist was doing crazy shit with his keyboard and having one hell of a time as he tackled it (which probably rendered it unusable). After slightly more than fifty minutes of moshing, sweating, and smacking King Khan's helmet (yes, I got the privilege), the King, his underwear and animal teeth necklace, and his Shrines walked off the stage. The lights in the club turned on. We bounced.

Chris: I did not truly comprehend just how supreme the genius of King Khan and the Shrines was until Thursday night. Rarely have I ever seen such a build up to a band arriving on the stage. The Shrines, all in their black Shrine uniforms, began playing their various instruments, increasing the overwhelming anticipation of King Khan and his lady. Finally, our hero, accompanied by his ever-grinning cheerleader (pom poms and all!), hit the stage all decked out in his white suit and ready to go!. The crowd immediately danced into the "Land of the Freak," which the Paradise Rock Club had transformed into by this point. The sensational opener was followed by even more notorious numbers including "How Do I Keep You (Outta Harm's Way)," "Sweet Tooth," "Shivers Down My Spine," "Welfare Bread" (one of my favorite moments during the concert; the cheerleader sprinkled glitter all over herself and us!), "I Wanna Be A Girl" (I'd say the tune earned the biggest crowd response, at least from me anyway), "No Regrets," "Took My Lady to Dinner," and "Live Fast Die Strong." The last 3 were performed as the encore in which the King appeared in his traditional golden cape, mask, and nothing but underwear!

Final Comments:

Glen: King Khan and the Shrines probably put on the best show that I've seen yet. It wasn't quite a religious experience, but it was a genius experience. I've never gotten the privilege to see eight amazing musicians (plus one cheerleader) perform so amazingly together. I didn't really listen to King Khan too much before the show, but now I'm absolutely hooked. But seriously this show has to be in its own category because of that. With the Black Lips and No Age, I pretty much recognized all their live music and that made seeing them so great. Bottom line: I absolutely can't wait to see King Khan and the Shrines again!

Chris: Grade: A. Stage diving, crowd surfing, pogoing, and heartfelt singing insured one of my top 3 greatest concert experiences.

King Khan!

This is my third "official" drawing since August. I know his neck is humongous, but forgive me.

Mark Sultan News

SHOWS AND OTHER SHIT!
OK So, you can see some confirmed King Khan & BBQ Show dates this coming summer... lots of strange festivals in a few countries... might even be adding some South American dates - maybe even some extra Mexico treats in some weird format... the confirmed dates (so far) can be seen on their myspace page: http:​/​/​www.​myspace.​com/​thekingkhanbbqs​how also, Mark Sultan will be on tour with King Khan & The Shrines late April thru early June, both with his three-piece band imcarnation (featuring Choyce from Les Sexareenos/CPC Gangbangs/Red Mass and Simon Wojan from Cloudland Canyon/King Khan & The Shrines) as well as 'BBQ', the one man band. check his myspace and check the show details out: http:​/​/​www.​myspace.​com/​marksultan and... there is at least one Almighty Defenders show this summer. a myspace page will be up soon with songs as well as details. Almighty Defenders = Black Lips + The King Khan & BBQ Show See ya!!

Posted on 27 Apr 2009 by marksultan

- http://www.marksultan.com/news.html

Better dodge the swine flu fellas! Also, Almighty Defenders? The two garage giants will probably release their gospel album under this moniker. I'd love to see all of them in concert!

Get to Know King Khan & The BBQ Show

Mmmm delicious.....

Get to Know King Khan & The Shrines

Mayhem at its finest!

Band Spotlight: King Khan and the Shrines

History: Formed by King Khan in 1999 after the break-up of his band The Spaceshits.

Years Active: 1999 to Present

Label: Vice Records

Line-Up:
King Khan, Till Timm, Dream Jeans, Rahn Streeter, John Boy Adonis, Simon Says, Ben Ra, Long Fred Roller, Fredovitch

Genre: Independent Psychedelic Garage Soul

Musical Style: A throwback to early '70s soul/psychedelic acts like Jimi Hendrix and Parliament, King Khan and the Shrines play a ska that combines 2-tone with garage punk.

Best Album: What Is?! (2007)

Top Songs:
"Welfare Bread"
"Burnin' Inside"

You Might Like King Khan if you like Black Lips and Jay Reatard

Song of the Day (1/26/09)

King Khan & The BBQ Show - Zombies

Figure out the lyrics at your own behest.