King King, Birmingham Town Hall - review

I first saw the band two years ago at the same venue on the back of their Reaching For The Light tour. The first track on that superb album, Hurricane, was a force of nature and enjoyed ample airplay on Planet Rock radio. But while most blues experts in the audience sat nodding appreciatively for 20 or 30 minutes during an epic and almost inaudible guitar solo, it was my moment to head to the bar.

So at this latest gig, expecting many opportunities to grab another beer, I alas went thirsty.

The stately venue was pretty much sold out, and swaggering onto the stage to the familiar thud of AC/DC's Highway To Hell, the four-piece King King launched straight into their good-time rock'n'roll She Don't Gimme No Lovin - the first track on their recently launched fourth studio album Exile & Grace.

Reinstated keyboardist Jonny Dyke pulled out all the stops on the organ for the slower Waking Up and was utterly superb for the whole gig, a salute to the god of the Hammond, Jon Lord.

Nimmo sang about his older brother Stevie's brush with cancer on You Stopped The Rain, so it was crowd pleasing to see the sibling on 'roadie duties', appearing regularly on stage to swap Alan's guitars.

The evening got better and better, the keyboards hotter and hotter, Nimmo's Bonamassa-esque vocals soaring on the haunting Long History of Love with its echoes of Whiter Shade of Pale.

There was a birthday to celebrate too, with bassist Lindsay Coulson seemingly delighted to be working instead of partying.

There were times when the band ticked almost silently along in full blues interlude mode, but Nimmo's voice came into its own in these moments, uncluttered by anything but the occasional cough from the otherwise super-silent fans.

Cranking things up a bit, there was the chance to dance after Nimmo requested everyone get on their feet - and everyone dutifully did.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with King King. The evening was a mesmerising mix of skilful blues, lots of rock and a wee sporren of funk. The Hammond so beautiful it could have been a choir of female backing singers. Nimmo was in constant praise of his adoring fans, regularly thanking us all for just being there.

King King are heading off around Europe in February, nipping back to the UK for the odd gig and festival, including the Robin 2, Bilston, in May. Catch them when you can - they are always happy to partake in a selfie after a gig.

By Debbie Bennett