King Charles
Playing the Arts Club mid-way through a hectic schedule, Getintothis’ Shaun Ponsonbury see King Charles keep a calm head and deliver a regal performance.
You’ve got to hand it to King Charles; the dude doesn’t mess around. Take his current tour, named 28 Shows in 28 Days, which does just that. 28 straight days throughout the month of February, gigs every night and not one day off in that time. That, Sir, is grafting.
He took to the stage at the Arts Club in Liverpool on day 16 of his lap around the UK with an air of anticipation. His sole album, LoveBlood, was released in 2012 and tonight sees him mix tracks from that release and new songs from his forthcoming second album.
In fact, he opens with one of those tracks. Looking not unlike his namesake, he starts with a solo Carry Me Away, which brings some laid back summertime romanticism to this cold February night.
Although the crowd understandably lapped up the tunes from LoveBlood – especially a wonderful Bam Bam that only a stone cold hater could resist moving to – we would argue that it was actually the newer material that came across best. Charles himself seemed slightly more invigorated performing them, and they pointed to a slightly ballsier direction that definitely wins Getintothis’ approval.
Along with the mix of new and old songs, there were some surprises along the way, such as the intro to the main set-closing Lady Percy which featured a warmly received verse of Paul Simon’s You Can Call Me Al.
It was clear that Charles has a dedicated set of followers, who were lively throughout, even if his interaction with the audience was at a relative minimum. By the time he reached the final encore of his signature Love Lust – winner of the International Songwriting Competition as judged by Tom Waits, thank you very much! – it was clear who their king was (and, Charles, you can thank us for that horrifically cheesy line later).
Photos by Getintothis’ Vicky Pea
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- King Charles
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- King Charles
