King Khan isn’t a genius but he thinks he's one, which is why his show is bananas. Purple underwear, great musicians, boobs (twice!), and Jello Biafra typified his stop at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall on July 11th, ‘08.The crowd was rambunctious, adding to the spectacle of Khan’s live show. In addition to an active horn section, and a workhorse of a drummer, the overall musicianship was solid. Garage-sounding-Gospel, with touches of Punk, Soul, and Psych, the band neither sounded derivative nor gimmicky (like they, and bands like them, sometimes do). Khan was Kool Keith-esqe at times, donning purple underwear, a plastic cape, a Cleopatra headdress, and carried a cobra-headed cane for a long-set that felt brief. In the spirit of the scenery, Khan allowed kids to jump on stage, dance and go nuts, before violently shoving them off. It was great crowd interaction. And at the sake sounding smitten over a hype show, I must admit that the mystique surrounding the band is well deserved. Complete with a Samoan-looking dude who’d dance onstage in a cheerleader outfit and many costume changes, Khan and the band were tremendously sharp for such a mangled show.
Khan mostly performed songs from his latest quasi-best-of comp from Vice, The Supreme Genius Of King Khan And The Shrines--adding to that a few songs from his King Khan & BBQ Show albums. Although my favorite song off the Vice release, a cover of Bo Diddley’s “Crackin Up”, wasn’t sung, the entire evening was very, very dynamic.Dig the lush, lazy groove of this Bo Diddley cover, "Crackin' Up", off The Supreme Genius Of King Khan And The Shrines (Vice, 2008).
The evening screeched to a stop when the revered Jello Biafra (of Dead Kennedys and Melvins fame), hopped on stage during the encore, belting out Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel” along with Khan and the Shrines. The version was slightly sped-up, more loose and, in typical Shrines’ style, had horns and booming bass that made it a Punk/Funk rendition. It was like Bowie minus the sexuality and double the energy.
This was King Khan and The Shrines' first tour in the States. But through his recent exposure and mounting rep, they're opening doors for many more tours to come. Don’t miss this unique show that hits all its strange marks.
Here's the OG version of Diddley's "Crackin' Up" for heads who wanna hear the original.
***For more info on King Khan And The Shrines' current tour, and to purchase The King Khan Supreme Genius Of King Khan And The Shrines, please visit: http://www.hazelwood.de/kingkhan/index.php and http://www.myspace.com/kingkhantheshrines .
