Last Wednesday, live music returned to Soho for what felt like an eternity. Just 100 yards from the site of the dear departed Astoria, Earlestown’s The K’s headlined This Feeling’s Teenage Cancer Trust night at the new venue Lower Third.
Whilst the packed intimate crowd was deep below ground, the government was falling apart, again! Hour upon hour a new catastrophe was unfurling, culminating in the now ex-Prime Minister not voting for her own bill. That crowd needed The K’s more than ever!
In the same week ‘Up The Bracket’ turned 20, it was fitting The K’s headlined This Feeling’s Teenage Cancer Trust gig at Lower Third in Soho. Rock music has a new great duo to call upon Ryan Breslin and Jamie Boyle. Performance-wise, they share more with Brown and Squire than Pete and Carl, the superstar on the guitar and the polemicist on vocals. Like the early days of the roses, Breslin and Boyle know when to step back and let the other shine. They exist to serve each over and it’s exhilarating to watch!
The room explodes into life again and again as they rattle through classics ‘Sarajevo’, ‘Glass Towns’, and ‘TV’. Pulling from Slade, The Courteeners, and The Rifles is a surefire way to make a name for yourselves but, their ability goes way beyond their influences. They’ve consigned the 00s to the bin in the same way the Pistols and Clash did to the 60s. Lyrically, they eclipse the last great wave of bands with Weller’s Jam era sharpness. Only Tom Clarke can stand up to them but, Boyle’s rapid-fire delivery includes so much more depth, he is surely in his rearview mirror now.
Breslin’s playing has the power of Pete Townsend and the technicolour of John Squire. It should render him untouchable and aloof yet, he has a playfulness and charm that makes him the cool kid that lifts you up to happier climates. On ‘Picture’, he takes the indie-punk of The Courteeners’ debut and blows it up to stadium-sized euphoria. Heaton Park beckons!
On ‘Valley One’ they have an iconic pin drop moment! Hardcore fans boisterously singalong to begin with but Boyle’s vocals are beset with so much emotion they step back. They’re carted back to lockdown, trapped, and alone when this song was released. It was the mood of a generation, lost, down, but defiant to come back and be heard.
Encores, frankly, are a pain in the arse at rock ‘n roll gigs. The adrenaline dissipates and often struggles to come back. However, when ‘Hometown’ was demanded by a fan on the microphone, the sense that the band are one of us was palpable. Except for the drummer who was visibly bricking it as he’d never played it live before.
Working-class grit was lit up by this gang of humble escapists. The perfect release from the myriad of doom we’re all facing!
*Image by Kristopher Tolley, courtesy of Songbird PR