Relentless Boardmasters 2009
Wednesday 5th to Sunday 9th August 2009Watergate Bay, nr Newquay, Cornwall, TR8 4AN, England MAP
£54.99 adult ticket for both days, £14.99 per beach session
Daily capacity: 12,500
London's The King Blues have enough band members to more or less fill the Main Stage for their late afternoon set.
With two guitarists, a mandolin player, all manner of percussion, bass and drums, the seven-piece whip up a diverse and interesting sound, flirting with ska, pop-punk, folk and reggae. Their songs of protest and social commentary are overtly political and fired from a left-of-centre-position and their set is engaging throughout.
On 'Let's Hang The Landlord' singer Jonny Fox's voice turns from its warm reggae-ska tones to a thick cockney punk snarl. Taken from last year's album 'Save The World Get The Girl', it's influenced heavily by The Clash and a defiant, spiky anthem, with an instantly catchy chorus, delivered with in-your-face petulance, Fox commanding his audience to "Get the fuck up!"
Fox berates the BNP before unveiling a cover of Tracy Chapman's 'Talking About A Revolution', the barked vocal stripping bare the lilting, wistful feel of the original, and something of a Radio 1 One Big Weekend moment develops as a captivated crowd resort to synchronised arm waving.
The gentle acoustic guitar of 'My Boulder' is quickly swept aside by gnarly pop-punk, with an infectious melodic chorus that bares more than a passing resemblance to George Harrison's cover of Rudy Clark's 'I Got My Mind Set On You'. Another handbrake turn in direction by The King Blues then sees them launching headlong into a cover of Dizzee Rascal's 'Bonkers', roared on by a bouncing throng in front of the Main Stage.
The King Blues' conscious punk, ska and reggae, depth of ideas and political consciousness make them a stimulating, surprise find and their set is a genre-hopping success.
review by: Gary Walker
photos by: Steve Palmer
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