Review of two King Buffalo gigs, Bristol and London, rolled into one
I don’t really recall when I first heard King Buffalo, but I was instantly hooked. Heavy, but not metal, psychedelic, bluesy, mostly (though not entirely) instrumental, stoner rock. Formed in 2013 in Rochester, New York, this three-piece outfit have five studio albums and several live albums under their belt. I believe they are part of the US ‘desert rock’ scene.
They soon started to get regular plays at Iguana HQ. I recall one particular moment, heading anticlockwise on the M25 on my way to visit aMegan in Croydon. The album ‘Burden of Restlessness’ was in the CD player. I was so lost in the music, I was a full twenty-five miles past the Croydon turn off before I realised I had missed it.
The first chance I had to see them was in the Exchange in Bristol. It had sold out months in advance and was rammed. I made a point of getting close to the front so I could get some decent photographs. I recall in my review of that gig saying that whilst it would be ridiculous to say it was the best gig I had been to in my over four decades of gig going, I was struggling to think of a better gig I had ever been to.
So when they announced a UK tour I was on the ticket case immediately.
BRISTOL
First gig was in the Thekla, Bristol. It’s a quirky venue: a former cargo ship, it was once owned by the wife of Viv Stanshall and run as a cabaret club, but started putting on gigs in 1986. It is a truly amazing venue, a veritable maze of corridors and hidden bars that keep you guessing every time you go to the toilet.
When the band and the crowd are right, there is no better venue to see a gig. It has one major drawback though. It has a capacity of four-hundred, which is my kind of intimate capacity. However, when it’s full to capacity, at least a third of the crowd can’t actually see the stage properly. It’s Shrodingers venue. Simultaneously the best venue in Bristol and the worst venue in Bristol at the same time.
After a swift pint over the road we headed into the venue early in hope of getting a good spot. Thirty minutes after opening, the venue was already full and the support band, Atomic Bitchwax, were just saying goodbye.
We headed upstairs to the balcony, but the only spots available were to the side of the stage with views obstructed by wire mesh. That will teach us to not get in first thing.
King Buffalo hit the stage at around 8pm. Wow, I thought to myself, we are in for a long set.
They kicked off with ‘Regenerator’ and ‘Hours’, both from the ‘Regenerator’ album. They were as hot as I remember them, but it wasn’t quite the same experience looking down through a cage.
After a few numbers I decided to fight my way down to the front to grab some close up photos. In my youth I had no issues with barging my way to the front of a punk gig, and nobody cared. Tonight I feel very self conscious and I get some stern looks, although the sight of my camera appeared to give me some leeway.
Once down the front, shots from the side of the stage was about all I could get. The guys front of stage didn’t look in the mood for shifting. After getting some reasonable shots I put the camera away so I could enjoy the gig.
I watched from the side of the stage for a bit, as they rolled out numbers such as ‘Mamouth’, ‘Laughing to be the Mountain’ and the most recent single ‘Balrog’. Whilst they have a bank of effects pedals and keyboards, they are used to enhance the sound, rather than make it complicated. A gloriously simple, enveloping, psychedelic blues. The rammed crowd is appreciative.
After a while I feel the need to rejoin my gang up on the balcony, but my spot has long since gone. Megan lets me take her place, as the heat is too much for her. I watched them play ‘Centurion’ before joining her out on the deck while they play ‘The Knocks’. We still get to hear ok as the sound is being piped into the upstairs bar.
Eventually we head for the downstairs bar. It is here we get to realise how many people cannot actually see the stage. It’s starting to annoy me now. They play an epic version of ‘Firmament’ then leave the stage. No encore.
I’m confused, it’s only just gone 9pm. I’m disappointed, but slightly relieved that this substandard experience is over. And that’s entirely down to the venue, rather than the band. We head out for our early ride home and find a massive queue of young kids waiting to go in. Presumably for a club night. That explains it, the venue are trying to squeeze two nights out into one evening. Hmm…
All is not lost though.
LONDON
Tonight we head across London to The Garage in Highbury. Formerly the Town and Country Club Two. It has a slightly bigger capacity than Thekla, with six-hundred able to squeeze in. Although it’s only two hundred more, it feels like treble. And everyone can see the stage. Towards the back there is a stepped area, allowing for a raised viewing platform – although no big boy’s cameras allowed tonight.
Again the venue is full to capacity, but this time the view is not an issue. The issue is heat. In fairness it is a sweltering August evening, but hundreds of sweaty bodies crammed in does not help.
After getting served with a two-pint jug, more by accident than design, we plot ourselves up directly underneath a cooling fan at the back.
The sound and lights are top draw, as you would expect from a venue that has forty years of experience.
Whilst still too full for my liking – last time I was here for The Peatbog Fairies, you could wander around with ease – it is still a significantly better experience than the Thekla. Which is quite sad. With not having to worry about the view it’s easier to let the performance roll over you. They don’t need to shred guitars and the music is not particularly fast, but it feels a lot harder and faster than it really is. A neat trick. My faith in the band is restored.
The set list is slightly different tonight, they include ‘Kerosene’, ‘Grifter’ and ‘Mercury’.
Tonight they play a longer set, finishing with ‘The Knocks’, and there is an encore with ‘Cerberus’.
It’s still an early-ish finish. But 10pm rather than 9pm, which gives us time to grab a pint over the road before heading home. And we need liquids. Fuck it was hot. In more ways than one.