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There are some bands that you love that you only get to see every few years or so and then there are bands like Kingswood that will tour as often as they possibly can….which is why I couldn’t resist seeing them play for the fourth time this year!

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Dear Seattle

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Dear Seattle was the first band to take the stage opening with The Things You Do, Cut You Deep and Concrete. “It’s the first time we have been to WA!” lead singer Brae Fisher told the audience. “First of many!” came the reply from one fan at the front. “We hope!”

They finished their set with Quiet, Afterthought and The Meadows. Of course, they couldn’t leave the stage without doing a shoey with Fisher calling out “Shoey! Shoey! Shoey….TINEA!” Dear Seattle has a good sound, an abundance of energy and a great stage presence and as the one punter said…hopefully, it’s the first of many times that they visit our great state.

Next up was The VANNS and they opened with Keep My Cool, Joker, Operator and Skinny Legs. They had a slight issue on stage but were professional about it; fixed it as quickly as possible and carried on with their set. “Sorry about that! We’re gonna try this one more time!”

Their energy on stage was that intense that guitarist Cameron Little managed to knock the mic off its stand with his hair alone. They ended their set with Drunk You, Sunday To Sunday and Harder To Find.

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The VANNS

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With all bands, there is an inbuilt need to be able to pigeon-hole their sound; to work out who they sound similar to so that you can file them away with the same kind of groups however, it was almost impossible to do that with this band. They have a vaguely familiar sound but the names remained on the tip of the tongue and nothing came to mind. This is what separates good music from GREAT music and The VANNS have nailed it.

Kingswood have started a new tradition of playing older songs before they come out on stage including The Voice (John Farnham) and Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) and it really does bring the audience together and creates a warm, fuzzy feeling as everyone sings at the top of their voices together and with massive smiles on their faces.

They came out on stage and got stuck into it with Library Books, Suckerpunch and Like Your Mother (and no…the lights weren’t better…). “I tell you what! It’s so good to be back here!” Fergus Linacre told the audience.

As always, Kingswood put on an absolutely brilliant show. The banter between Linacre and Alex Laska not only makes everyone laugh but it also shows just how much they love being on stage and performing for their fans. They played all their hits including ICFTYDLM, She’s My Baby and Atmosphere.

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KINGSWOOD

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It was just before Golden that Laska said “Some of you with keener eyes might have noticed that we are looking a little different. Some of you may recognise Beaker Best from Sticky Fingers!”. He went on to explain that Justin Debrincat couldn’t be there as he was “Making a human being so he’s with his very pregnant wife.” While it was a shame that he wasn’t there, at least it was a very good reason and Best did a fabulous job – especially seeing as he had to learn all new songs for the tour.

They ended the first part of their set with Medusa and soon came back on stage. “Gonna sing a song for you which is a particularly hard song for me because it’s about my wife,” Laska told the audience before playing Big City.

After Linacre tried to free poor Laska’s nipples (no he didn’t succeed), they did their latest Like A Version – Say My Name by Destiny’s Child – A couple of really drunk ladies decided to create their own little space by doing all the moves and not caring what anyone thought. For those who haven’t heard it, it’s actually a really good version of the song and dare I say it? Better than the original…

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KINGSWOOD

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They ended their set with Ohio, Microwars and Creepin’ with Linacre getting off stage and leaning over the barrier for Ohio and getting some of the crowd to sing the chorus. Arms were around him and he looked a tad worried but kept going.

While as a photographer, the light show is something that is less than desirable, as a punter and reviewer, once again Kingswood put on an excellent performance – which is why it’s the fourth time I have seen them this year (and their sixth or seventh show). It is also why myself and so many others keep coming back over and over to see them as much as we possibly can…and why we will continue to do so time and time again.

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AMNplify – BD