I finally see'd Alyerpal......
Well I've been and gone and done it. I went to watch Kingpin this afternoon/evening at the Ighten Leigh in Burnley which is pretty much Burnley's primo music venue - renowned for only really putting top quality bands on.
I was late getting there on account of an ambulance blocking my cul de sac for half an hour just as I was due to leave but was still hell bent on going. As I drove up to the Club I was a bit intimidated to see a massive throng of people outside on the patio/car park. I'm not overly keen on crowds (that's why I choose to hide behind drums much of the time when out and about - it's a bit debilitating at Asda admittedly but the locals are getting used to me) but I felt assured that it probably meant the club was half empty and assumed it to be interval time. Not so. As I paid my quid (and worth every penny) and went into a packed club part way through a rousing Skunk Anansie cover I discovered that the place was absolutely heaving. In fact I haven't seen it so busy in a while and I've seen some good bands there. It's particularly impressive given that Burnley Blues Festival was in full swing this weekend and there was a lot of competition for the music viewing public of Burnley today.
I caught the last 20 minutes or so of the first set and had a proper sulk on by the interval. I really wasn't expecting them to be this good. There was a small guitar solo cock up in the penultimate number which cheered me up slightly but then it soon went back to far too good for my liking. I say almost because as good and full as the sound was for a 4 piece with "only" guitar bass and drums I do prefer more separation in the drum sound and found the kit slightly woolly sounding. However, this is due in large part to the venue itself which is notoriously difficult to sound engineer - wall to wall soft furnishings and an extremely long room. I can't fault the drumming whatsoever (goddammit) and was heartened to see an almost total lack of "drum wanker" song endings which are a personal hatred of mine.
I moved to the back of the room for the second set as I felt like a complete div stood on my own for what felt like an eternity between sets (it wasn't but try as I might I could not pluck up the courage to say hello to Alyerpal who was sat inches away from me as I tried not to look like a complete Billynomates for far too long). Interestingly the sound was still great right down by the pool table notwithstanding the mass of bodies in the way. The audience at the back of the room were the "out for a drink and largely indifferent to the band" types but straight away in the second set they were all singing along, glasses aloft and much more engaged than I've seen previous audiences be.
There was much more audience interraction from the singer in the second set (which was my only other very slight niggle from my limited experience of the first set). He actively engaged with the crowd from the off and they were quick to reciprocate.
I will never again cast aspersions on AYP's age and/or physical prowess. His ability to carry off bright red converse hi-tops with shorts may be questionable but his ability and stamina at the kit is no longer in doubt. The energy and tempo of the songs I saw would have had me stropping had that set list been imposed on me. I hate having to play romps but AYP scampered through every tune with ease.
There was one drum wanker ending in the early part of the second set which made me smile. The "how low can you go" rock stance adopted by the bassist at times made my eyes water. I feared he may split his kipper. The singer could have at least worn trousers that didn't have massive paint splodges all over them. Honestly, where's the decorum. I couldn't stay for the whole of the second set because I had to leave to make voodoo dolls and stick pins.....er I mean I had another band I'd promised to go and see.
Excellent band. The banner/bass drum logo was especially impressive. Not sure about the projection of images onto the backdrop, I'm unsure whether it adds to or detracts from the performances but it's a trivial qualm. Brilliant gig. I hate them all.