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Kings X In Nashville

By Newsferatu, Writer
Monday, June 12, 2006 @ 3:20 PM


At the Exit Inn

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By Michael Fischer.

Gretchen goes to Music City!

It's a rockin' Wednesday night in Nashville and the perfect evening for a Mississippi size rock n roll shit kicking by Americas favorite Texas based rock trio Kings X!

Tonight's Concert Bill Features Kings X, Mardo and Be It The Means.

I've been a fan of Kings X since first seeing them at the Country Club in LA back in 1988. Mike Inez ( Ozzy, Heart, Alice in Chains ) and I worked a crappy day job for a record distributing warehouse in the valley. One day Mike said, "Have you ever heard of Kings X"? I replied "No, who are they"? Mike said, "Dude, you have got to see this band"! And so began my unforgettable musical journey with Kings X. Kings X was a much needed music software upgrade amongst all the Sunset Strip Hoopla. To this day, Kings X still continues to deliver the same vibe in so many new layers of sounds. Their song writing and recordings in 100 years will easily stand along side trocks greatest bands whether Kings X are in the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame or not. Kings X are certainly in my Rock Hall of Fame and would be a choice of my top ten favorite CDs to have on a desert island.

Tonight Kings X are invading Nashvilleıs lengendary Exit Inn stage in support of their latest new CD release "Ogre Tones" on Metal Blade Records. Let me tell ya folks, I've seen King's X over a dozen times and I have to say this was one of my favorite KX shows to date. Ty was on, Jerry broke his tom tom, and Doug screamed to the point of making Axl Rose look like an American Idol wanna be. The show was five stars all the way!

"The Exit Inn" is one of the great american rock venues still untouched by time and corporate development take over. The Exit Inn still smells the same as it did 30 years ago which actually makes me play better. If you can smell the trash cans from the stage, chances are it's going to be a good night for me. The Exit Inn bathroom would rival the original Rainbow bathrooms on Sunset with the exception of getting blown in one of the stalls by some drunk stripper from Canada. The Exit Inn has a rock history dating back to Kiss playing there in 1973 before they hit it big. I once saw Randy Hanson of Jimi Hendrix clone fame play the Exit Inn back in 1980 when I was too young to be in a club. Randy jumped off stage during his guitar solo and ran out of the club into the street stopping traffic and jumping on the hoods of cars with his guitar still soloing. Now thats Rock n Roll! Kings X certainly lives up to all the past memories of the Exit Inn and all the good times gone by.

Itıs 8:30pm, the beer is cold and the club is hot as hell as the first opening act tonight hits the stage. The first opening act tonight was a kick ass raw four piece band from Birmingham Alabama called "Be it the Means". These guys rocked and stirred up the room well. This band wielded volume and a heavy style sorta like Big Jim Slade meets Soundgarden with screaming band vocals. Very good band. Be it the Means has a heavy garage band influenced raw vibe thats really unique. It's great to see rock bands like this from the south as groups like this are going to keep the spirit of rock alive for the next generation to come. Be it the Means rocked the first slot and thanks to Ty Tabor for allowing them to play! http://www.myspace.com/beitthemeans

The second act tonight was a killer swaggering four piece LA rock rock band called Mardo. Mardo are a raw, live-wire energy incarnate. Their unique brand of rock is loud and they are undoubtedly from another era. Mardo is unpolished and very good! This band makes you feel like everything is coming around again full circle. Mardo really captures that classic 70s rock vibe. Mardo use their heavy Zep, and Grand Funk hair influence right down to the Orange Amps and solid John Bonham style drumming to deliver some old school throw back rock. Mardo was great on stage and had a thick, moving sound. Mardo rocks like a hungry Black Crowe and humors it up to give their show a loose party atmosphere feel to their show. Their drummer deserves a notable mention for his performance. Be sure to get to the show early to catch these guys next time they are on tour with Kings X this fall! http://www.mardomusic.com/

Its 10:30 pm and showtime for tonight's headliner Kings X! At this point in the night, the crowd is well liquored up on Corona's and Springtime Fever. It's a united spiritual connection to stand along side several hundred loyal Kings X fans anxiously waiting for the concert to begin as the crowd gets louder with each passing minute. Kings X Drummer Jerry Gaskill's solo CD Come Somewhere is gently playing over the PA for the pre show like the calm before the storm. Very awesome CD and it put a nice mood over the room as the house lights begin to fade to dim red on stage to the roar of the crowd.

Our three usual suspects hit the stage on time at around 10:38 or 10:40. The band was a few minutes late on stage because Jerry was fixing his hair, Ty had to call home to his dog to go over the set list, and Doug was slamming a couple Tequila Shots to get the blood flowing before the show. It's great to see these guys hit the stage because you know your in for a great ride. Doug, Ty and Jerry are like old high school friends or family, you can't wait to see them after a year away from home. Kings X's music is a perfect blend of Stevie Wonder and the Beatles meets Sly Stone and Robin Trower with an edge. Everything about this band is first class and is effortless levels above everyone else in the trenches of rock.

Kings X opened to the roar of a packed house chanting "Kings X, Kings X"! I almost felt like I was at a Ted Nugent Live Gonzo concert in 1978 waiting for the arena doors to open with my face smashed up against the glass with my $8 concert ticket. Kings X opened with three new songs of the new record. STAY, MUDD and FLY. It was not the Dogman punch I was expecting, but that's the great thing about Kings X. Most rock bands will open their shows with fast heavy material and grab you right by the throat. The beginning to tonight's Kings X show creeped up on you like some killer weed. Before you know it, five or six songs into the show, your officially getting your shit rocked with your seat belt fastened tight to the floor. As Doug said, "If you don't hear what song you want, come back next year because they might play it." Were talking about a band that has a song list that goes beyond the Beatles catalogue and could virtually heal the worlds problems. Or at least stir up a crowd of drunk Kings X fanatics!

Doug's voice sounded great tonight and he was really strong as always along with the rest of the band. These guys make it look easy. Much like Grand Funk, Rush and Triumph, how can three guys make so much sound!?! Harmonies were superb. Ty was really on fire tonight! Tyıs Randell 4 x 12 Cabinets sounded warm and really good and his guitar tone was unbelievable as expected. His tone rivals Doug Aldrich! When Ty Tabor plays live, his guitar sounds just like the records. Ty went off and milked a few solos tonight bringing the Hendrix jam element into the mix without actually playing MOAN JAM. Ty really smoked tonight! He's one of my favorite guitar players.

What can you say about these guys besides Simon please cut them a huge check for their sacrifice and talent. This by far is still one of the best rock bands around and will endure long after all these half ass major label corporate bands are moaning and groaning out their latest homogenized material. As the Japanese say, "We are not that depressed for new rock music"!

Local famed rock producer Michael Waggoner and his posse were in attendance tonight. Michael could be seen camping out by the mixing board like a proud new father sporting his high tech ear plugs and humble kraut grin. What a great bloke. Michael produced the first Malice record entitled "In the Beginning" back in the mid 80s and really saved their duffs from their original producer meltdown. To this day that Malice record is still one of my favorite metal records. Michael did an excellent job on the new Kings X record, OGRE TONES. Michael Waggoner is a true studio genius!

Kings X played a lot of new material tonight which I really enjoyed. You can tell the band enjoys playing new songs. They cut into some fan favorites like VISIONS, SUMMERLAND and their classic BORN TO BE LOVED. I was just totally blown away by the end of the show. They played a little longer because the crowd kicked ass.

For the first KX encore, Mardo came out onstage and joined Kings X in a free-for-all improve jam just goofing and having fun. Everyone took turns singing which was funny. A Kings X roadie sang a ChimiChaunga flick bit that's funny. Funny because he can't sing. Kings X keepin it real and not too serious! It was just another roller coaster dive in the evening. The first Kings X encore finale was the highlight of the evening! After the jam they spun the microphones towards the crowd and played GOLDILOX. As if to say, "If you want to hear it, you sing it"! We know Doug, those are some notes to hit after 2 hours of screaming your guts out. The crowd sang like a Rio rock n roll church, it was fucking awesome!

After the crowd went ape shit for a few minutes yelling and screaming waiting for the house lights to come on. The band reappeared for a suprising a 2nd encore belting out their classic BLACK FLAG which I haven't heard them perform live in years. And they ended the night with LOOKING FOR LOVE off Ear Candy. A perfect ending to a perfect evening!

The front house sound tonight was excellent for this boomy concrete room! Hats off to the crowd tonight! The Kings X fan troops were out in full force, stayed late and really helped drive the band into 5th gear to make the entire show experience complete. The ultra plus for seeing this band is the fact that it's in a club atmosphere and creates an unforgettable personal performance that would rival seeing Rush for the first time. Seeing Kings X in an Arena would be awesome, but seeing them perform in a club is UNREAL!

Hang around after a Kings X show because the band hops down off stage to the merchandise booth before last call to sign autographs and snap a few fan photos ( and listen to everyone tell them that they are God. ) It's amazing what these guys do and have done for us and music. $15 per ticket cannot repay Kings X for something so passionate and priceless as the gift of music. Thanks to Kings X, my soul and ears are still ringing from last night.

Tonight was a special night because it's a couple weeks away from June 5, the anniversary of the death of my best friend and former guitarist for 1985 Black Oak Arkansas Mike Martin. I honor of Mikes life, I invited Mikeıs sister Tori, and daughter Jessica along with Toriıs husband to see the show and turn them onto Kings X. What better way to celebrate a friends life by seeing Kings X live for the first time. They were completely blown away by the show. They originally said we'll have to leave the show early because they had to work in the morning. In high spirit they ended up staying the entire show and afterwards until 1 am to meet Kings X and get an autograph. That's the power of music and what Kings X brings to the table. Special thanks to Kings X Tour Manager Jay Phebus for getting Mikes family into the show and making it all happen. Jay is the silent hero in the long time road success of this band.

The Kings X show ROCKS kids! Be sure to see them when they hit your town later this fall. Please take the time and make the effort to support Kings X while they are still here. If it wasnıt for us the fans, there would be no Kings X. It's disheartening to see Jay Z with 320 million dollars and Kings X with much less. All the money in the world couldn't buy the tour, and war medals, and fan love Kings X has earned over the last 13 records! 1000,s of shows! And the last 25 years of the bands career since meeting at college in Missouri from day one. Kings X is and always will be one of my favorite bands!

Wake up Corporate Clear Channel Clown America and so called Tour and Industry Record Label Giants because your missing out on pure genius! Take note: Kings X is without a doubt the greatest most underrated band of all time and deserves to be in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame right next to Blonde and the Sex Pistols. Oh, Iım sorry I meant AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. Enjoy the show!

KINGS X 2006 Summer Tour Set List:

    1. Stay
    2. Mudd
    3. Fly
    4. Dogman
    5. Finished
    6. Screamer
    7. If
    8. Hurricane
    9. Sooner than Later
    10. A Box
    11. Over My Head
    12. Summerland
    13. BeBop
    14. Freedom
    15. Alone
    16. Visions
    17. We were born to be Loved

    Encore One...
    18. Kings X / Mardo Jam
    19. Goldilox ( Crowd sing )

    Encore Two...
    20. Black Flag
    21. Looking for Love



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