THE K'S: SOUTHAMPTON, UK - 08.10.21
Down the opposite end of the country to their homeland of Earlestown, The K’s showed Southampton what it means to be an indie band on the rise at the tiny 100 cap venue Heartbreakers.
Their catalogue of shows speaks for itself, having shared stages with the likes of Liam Gallagher, The Who, Richard Ashcroft and, more recently, James. As if this isn’t impressive enough, their own headline tour up and down the country will do it; multiple consecutive sold out shows with a whole lot of travelling in between solidifies their determination and sheer passion for doing what they love. What makes it even more admirable is that they’re doing this off the back of just 5 singles, with the latest ‘TV’ being released almost one whole year ago.
Is there a better way than to get the crowd going at an indie gig than to open with the intro to the Roses’ ‘I Wanna Be Adored’? Those few instantly recognisable bars captured everyone’s attention before they kicked into their opener. It seemed as though they didn’t expect the reaction they got, with frontman Jamie Boyle laughing, ‘you’re a lively lot ain’t ya?’ For such a small venue and stage, the band managed to pack it out in the sense of both volume and charisma. Massive instrumentals gave opportunity to appreciate everyone’s talent and again, the outpouring of passion that goes into every show both individually and as a team. Chemistry between each band member doesn’t go unnoticed either and makes all the difference in putting on a show and simply just performing.
The crowd’s requests for older tunes such as ‘Sarajevo’ and ‘Glass Towns’ were honoured and saw the band and crowd have it off together. Despite being squeezed on stage, they each managed to make use of the space they had, which included playing guitars above heads and encouraging the audience to get down on the floor mid song. The energy between both band and punters was reciprocated throughout the whole gig which made for a buzzing atmosphere; it won’t be long before they’re back down south and even further afield for even bigger headline shows.