Salient

The King Brothers with Knife Fight

By Stacey Knott | 14 May, 2007

San Francisco Bathhouse
Thursday May 3

Claiming to make Guitar Wolf look like Belle and Sebastian is a mammoth statement, so I was equally sceptical and enthusiastic to see if this was justified. Like Guitar Wolf, the King Brothers are a destructive rock and roll outfit from Japan. And as Guitar Wolf did last year, the four piece King Brothers ripped the San Fran to shreds, nearly making my ears bleed.

Their style was a mix of blues rock and roll, punk and had metal tinges with sporadic rap, like a Japanese version of Rage Against the Machine.

They attracted one of the most diverse crowds I have seen at San Fran; hippies clearing space around them with swinging dreads, drunken punks stumbling into this space, rockers, scenesters, indie kids, the young and older. All well educated on rock enough to bear witness to the explosive mayhem of the King Brothers.

Until I saw the King Brothers, Guitar Wolf held best stage antics in my books. But when the King Brothers moved their gear - drum kit and all - down to the floor of the San Fran to play among the audience, and then lead singer/guitar crowd surfing while playing - the award has changed hands in my opinion.

A collective ‘pat on the back’ for those who ventured out on that freezing night to check out this band (especially if you had not heard of them before - as I hadn’t). Definitely the best gig I have been to this year to date.