Photo by Seva Galitskiy
I’ve been listening to King Krule religiously since my sophomore year of high school. Blending influences from countless genres of the past six decades, there’s really no one that sounds quite like him. After dropping his dreamy sophomore record The OOZ in October, Archy Ivan Marshall, a.k.a. King Krule, will embark on an international tour and I had the pleasure of seeing him live at the Showbox last Friday on the first night.
The atmosphere was super alternative Friday night with people of all ages coming to see the King (no joke though, there were at least three old-heads that came by fangirling about this crazy ancient jazz that Marshall was bringing back to the youth). King Krule opened his set with “Has This Hit?”, a deep cut off his debut 6 Feet Beneath the Moon (2013). With a five-piece band accompanying him, Marshall reworked practically every song for a live experience that felt completely new. The drummer’s talented improvisation, the harmonies created by the saxophone and the original guitar chords, and Marshall’s voice submerged in reverb and delay created a psychedelic experience I was not prepared for. Marshall originally published “Has This Hit?” in 2010 on his Bandcamp page with a description reading: “The climax of the eyes of the world and the view of a very depressing future.” Halfway through a live version of this song six years later, the band broke out in a jazzy, beautiful, and brighter rendition of the original recording. This type of radiant delivery was consistent throughout the entire set.
“A Lizard State” was the most punk performance resulting in a mosh pit that spread the diameter of the venue with the sax player at the center of the debauchery. It was ridiculously satisfying to finally let loose to a song I have been internally getting down to for the past four years. This was the moment I realized how devoted King Krule’s fans really are, knowing many of his songs by heart and recognizing the opening chord to every song—this was my type of crowd. The track “Dum Surfer” had a similar vibe with an emphasis on backing vocals and a fantastic saxophone solo during the bridge.
“Baby Blue” had to be my favorite performance of the night (as it is my favorite song by the King). You could hear the heartbreak in this live version from the changes in time signature to the sax flourishes after every phrase, crooned in utter desperation.
The closing track “Easy Easy” provided a beautiful contrast to this somewhat romantic misery with a more optimistic look at trudging through hell. The lyrics themselves are darker but they are sung over major chords and the live animated drumming produced a feeling of understanding that nobody is truly alone in their struggles:
“When positivity seems hard to reach /
I keep my head down and my mouth shut /
Cause if you going through hell /
We just keep going.”
After roughly three minutes of applause Marshall returned to the stage to sing “Out Getting Ribs,” the cult hit that propelled him into viral fame, for an encore. It was the perfect song to end a night of great music.
Friday was a very memorable night for me and even though I completely tore the sole off one of my boots in the last mosh, King Krule’s soul made up for it.
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SEVA GALITSKIY | Who’s gonna buy me a new boot though lmao | KXSU Music Reporter