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| King Charles |
Stoke of Genius:
Venue: The Sugarmill,
Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
Date: April 6, 2013
It
was pushing nine degrees in Stoke so the denim shorts and t-shirts
were out to celebrate the beginning of the summer with the fitting
festival act for company.
Despite
having missed the majority of their set, The Kooks-influenced Liberty
Ship still impressed with charming frontman Lewis Hancock
entertaining alongside his pleasant companions.
Final
song 'Further' had all the makings of a chart track with a
happy-go-lucky guitar riff and backing vocals, and their rockier live
version gave it great justice.
The
passion from the band, drummer Robert Wilks in particular, was key in
providing effective offbeat drums and instrumental bridges
confidently.
They
were solid with some fairly original numbers and they received an
amicable reception from a crowd waiting in desperation to see the
main man.
Up
stepped the extravagant, the eccentric, the damn right strange, King
Charles.
Beforehand,
he teased the masses of screaming teenage girls from above, while
watching Story Books draw to a close.
His
entrance on stage was greeted with an overwhelming applause from a
crowd dominated by GCSE students enjoying their Easter break.
The
dubstep recorded intro music already had audience members moving
excitedly in anticipation for the man with the now
famous beehive-esque hairdo.
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| Story Books |
With
a different line-up on stage alongside him compared to last year's
successful Sugarmill headline, the band had much to live up to.
'Mississippi
Isabel' enlightened the crowd with upbeat, feel-good pop, which
the upcoming festival-goers were waiting for upon hearing the recent
line-up announcements.
The
simple lyrics and drum beat were perfect for the festival dancing
crowd as Charles upped the ante by taking to the raised platforms at
the front of the stage.
Screams
rained forth and an intricate guitar solo from Charles brought the
much enjoyable song to a close.
'Coco
Chitty' had a good variation of styles with a ballad-like beginning
and heavy rock crashes.
Whether
it was Charles' vocals perhaps not being up to scratch or a technical
fault, the vocals were not heard well enough at times.
Nevertheless,
the man had a great aura about him and his stage presence was
undoubtedly one of his greatest factors.
Frequent
smiles from the band to one another showed the passion and pleasure
they all clearly expressed on stage.
Although
a couple of album fillers were heard, they were soon forgotten about
when the more impressive sing-a-long's arrived.
Admittedly, 'Bam Bam' is difficult not to dance and smile to, and its catchy
repetitive backing lyrics and Charles' crescendo chorus worked
perfectly.
With 'Lady Percy' you feel like you're dancing with Mowgli, Baloo and King
Louie in the jungle of dreams and desires where anything seems
possible and all that...
It
was certainly a highlight with its incredibly addictive guitar
plucking, fast-paced vocals and variations of pitch.
The
crowd clapped along to 'Love Lust', which, like the majority of the
set, managed to find the fine line between pop and rock.
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| Liberty Ship |
The
heavier, more energetic execution of his songs live showed he is not
only one for the typical chart listener but a real showman for even
the most sceptical of listeners.
It's
hard to feel down when Charles is at his indie-pop best.
Perhaps
not what The Rolling Stones would have expected as their support 50
years ago, but King Charles has certainly taken grasp of the times
and taken advantage of the elementary lyrics and sounds being
conjured up in his surreal mind.
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