King King, The Bluebuds - Sedgefield RnB Club 18/2/12

Well, missing King King 2 weeks ago wasn't that much of a disaster, knowing that they were playing 15 minutes down the road at Sedgefield, one of the more recent R'n'B clubs to spring up, but one that's gathering a lot of appreciation and kudos from bands and punters alike. This gig was sold out (120ish capacity) nearly a month before the gig; one of the committee telling me he alone had 40 extra requests for tickets. Not bad for a small Durham town only known for Tony Blair and a "last-man-standing" football match every Shrove Tuesday.

So, first band up, The Bluebuds; an acoustic quartet from Fishburn, and you're going to love trying to find that town if you thought Sedgefield was out-the-way. They don't describe themselves as a "blues" band, but an "organic" band, but what's in a label? As soon as a mandolin appeared I thought them more as a "folk-rock" band, reminiscent of old Lindisfarne and the singer had a husky side to his voice, not unlike early Rod Stewart. their 40 minute set was mainly self-penned, think "cheerful" Ian Parker with a couple of interesting covers of Ryan Adams and Old Crow Medicine Show. Yeah, they are far removed from King King and being local aside, got a very warm reception and did a confident set; worth looking out for if in the mood for something different.

Lordy though, what can you say about Alan Nimmo and King King? They have to be one of the best groups on the circuit in the UK despite being made up of members who's main "job" are resting. Wayne Proctor once again on drums, on break from producing Oli Brown's new album and one of the few guys to have been on stage twice at Sedgefield. This time it was the 3rd keyboard player I've seen with them, Johnny (embarrassed here, missed his surname....) but he fitted in as if he'd been born in the band. Set-wise, no great changes but a nice moment when during the Feels Like Rain sing-a-long Alan heard a woman's crystal clear voice giving a soulful conterpoint harmony to his, so he got her on stage; what a highpoint! 6 In The Morning and Gravy Train are King King oldies, but got a good few oldies up and dancing. And finally, during the guitar break in Old Love, Alan was able to take the sound right down so that all you could here was the guitar strings being struck without someone walking from the bar to their seat without sounding like they were leading a horse through the hall. Everyone in the band gave it their all, and with musicialns of that calibre, that's a hell of a lot to give, and the capacity audience took it and wanted more. Brilliant, brilliant night, and well done Garry, John and all for organising a great gig and a class RnB club.

Mike