King King & The Damn Truth

The Apex, Bury St Edmunds

Wednesday 23rd February 2022

A packed and expectant crowd had assembled at The Apex to see King King, who were almost at the end of their 2022 tour promoting their latest album, Maverick, albeit released pre-Covid

First up was The Damn Truth. A Canadian band on their first visit to the UK, and if you keep an eye on such things, well worth a watch. They launched into a high energy set from the off, and it was immediately apparent that yes, they are worth a watch. The band is fronted by the interestingly named Lee-La Baum, who certainly grabbed the attention with her powerful vocals, but is closely followed by bassist PY Letellier who never stopped moving and added an extra dimension to the performance. Tom Shemer on lead guitar and Dave Traina on drums completed the line-up. There is a late 60’s/early 70’s rock vibe to their music, and they have a look to match, with a sprinkling of hippie. They have three albums to their name & most of the songs came from their latest (2021) Now Or Nowhere. When you encounter a good support band, the obligatory short set is always over too soon, as was the case tonight.

There was a buzz in the room as the lights dimmed and AC/DC’s Highway To Hell pounded through the speakers. After a tension building delay, the band came on stage: Zander Greenshields (bass), Andrew Scott (drums) & Stevie Nimmo (guitar) followed by the kilt wearing King King main man, Alan Nimmo, who took up centre stage and we were off. Old favourite ‘She Don’t Gimme No Lovin'’ got the crowd going, and from there, no looking back. A couple of songs from Maverick followed, ‘Fire In My Soul’ & ‘One World’ before we were treated to a selection of fan pleasers: the up beat ‘Waking Up’; the slow ballad Rush Hour; which included band intro’s; the epic bluesy ‘A Long History Of Love’ at over 11 minutes & the moving ‘You Stopped The Rain’. A standing venue allows the crowd to fully enjoy the experience, and this selection of songs had the crowd fully engaged, heartily singing along when enticed by Alan Nimmo. More treats from Maverick followed, during which somebody threw a tartan scarf on-stage. Alan Nimmo observed it was a funny pair of knickers & suggested he knew nothing about tartan except his was red, a ripple of laughter ensued. Before we knew it, we were at the last song of the set, ‘Let Love In’, an oldie but goodie from second album ‘Standing In The Shadows’ which was accompanied by plenty of hearty crowd participation.

Finishing on such a high can only lead to one thing, rapturous applause and an enthusiastic call for an encore, which was duly provided with two songs. Maverick’s ‘When My Winter Comes’, is a slow soulful ballad addressing life in older age, with a simple evocative piano accompaniment from Jonny Dyke which the crowd listened to in silence. Following heartfelt thanks to the crowd for coming back to live music. The all time favourite ‘Stranger To Love’ topped off the evening. This gave Alan Nimmo an(other) opportunity to step to the edge of the stage and embark on a stirring guitar solo, taking the volume down to virtually zero before building up to a final crescendo. This had the crowd on that side of the stage transfixed, mobile phones to the fore.

King King had delivered, again. The crowd went home happy, still humming the closing song.

Words & Photos: Laurence Harvey