When a band are as good live as The Duke and the King were last September, it would be churlish not to make the effort to see them again. The HiFi club was born from the flames of the Underground, when Leeds Town & Country Club was turned into a Disco. In the 90’s there were a lot of painful Thursday mornings to struggle through after attending Move on up – Leeds best night out by a long chalk. Had mark and I reminiscing about those heady days. It was never quite the same at the HiFi – but that’s the kind of thing all old gits say isn’t it!
Was great to see a packed house for this gig: Mark, Lee, John, Steve, Sarah and Rich were all bumped into. Missed the first act but caught most of Danny and the Champions of the world. Tight country style harmonies – worth checking out again.
The Duke & the King were on great form again. The HiFi isn’t the ideal venue for a gig of this intensity – bit too much chatter from the bar at the back that distracted a bit from the quietr numbers – we found ourselves pushing closer to the front to avoid the noise pollution. These guys are ridiculously talented. Swapping drumming and singing duties at will “They’re just showing off now!” quips Mark. “I saw my first plane in the sky today..” (after the recent Icelandic ash episode) “..and I felt like a caveman who’d been put in a time machine”.
There wasn’t a dull moment. Even a cover of Floyds Brain Damage from Dark Side of the Moon to close the night. With Mr Felice all bulging eyes and the eeriest violin playing that you’ve ever heard, had you thinking – he really could be a lunatic! “And if the band you’re in starts playing different tunes….,” well, the only minor complaint was a lack of new material (the band hung around after the gig and Steve made sure he told each of them) but I guess they’ll be off home now to sort that out.
Just one thing – If you ever get famous, don’t forget about Leeds.
Bob the Chiropodist