Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Well, Well

A couple weeks ago, I blogged about the travails of one Mark Sultan, AKA BBQ, and his efforts to get across the border from Canada to play rock n roll shows. He was thwarted by a jerk-off border patrol officer looking to bust balls like a overpaid, bored cop on the beat. Well, Mark made it after all, and thank goodness he did:

King Khan & BBQ Show
@Magnetic Field
Brooklyn, NY – November 11, 2005


Responsible for one of the best albums of the year, the Montreal guitar/guitar & foot pedal duo King Khan & BBQ Show reflect what’s best about the stripped down minimalist retro movement when it takes different roads. In this incarnation, it’s old time 50’s rock n roll and doo-wop with a twist of hardcore punk. Opening up with a surf rock/Chuck Berry-ish wallop, Khannie & The B drive right into a bevy of hard driving but foot stomping good rock n roll. “Fish Fight”, arguably the single best song of 2005, is the ultimate garage rock anthem while “Shake Real Low” maybe even surpasses it’s dance-craze ancestors of rock n roll yore. Forget maybe. It blows “The Twist” away, that’s for sure. In between, songs like “I Love You So” and “Outta My Mind” reflect the skill with which the duo ferry between hard and soft. If there was one problem this night, besides instrument problems (which seem to haunt BBQ every time he comes to Brooklyn) it was the venue. It was too small in its anticipation of a crowd for King Khan & BBQ as well as headliners the Black Lips. The stage was too small and was obscured from all in the bar except for the handful of people right upfront.

The Black Lips; King Khan & BBQ Show; DC Snipers
@Maxwell’s
Hoboken, NJ – November 13, 2005


I caught the Black Lips this time, at the much more comfy Maxwell’s, but I didn’t stay. It sounded like good rock n roll fun. But once again, King Khan & BBQ ruled the night. With more room to wiggle (and Khan to change into his girl outfit, before spitting beer all over my fedora), the makers of the year’s swingin’est rock n roll record had the whole place jumpin’. Utterly flawless. Openers DC Snipers had an offensive name (it’s like having a band called The 9/11 Hijackers, ya know?) and played marginally good hard punk n roll.

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