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Concert Review - King Apparatus
Concert Review
Lee's Palace, Toronto - March 24, 2000
Canada's kings of ska are back! The band has been lying low for the past few years, but the re-release of their back catalog on CD has prompted the Kings to end their Apparatus hiatus. The band's mini-tour brought them to Lee's Palace in Toronto for a packed show. The evening's mood was established quickly, as the band opened with their rollicking party anthem, "Non-Stop Drinking". Constant fluid replenishment proved to be a wise course of action, as King Apparatus rapidly transformed a club-full of stodgy Canadians into a seething morass of grinning, dancing fools. The crowd was operating under an equal opportunity dance policy, joyfully accepting new tunes "Ex-Darling" and "Switchblade to Soul" with the same abandon as veteran favourites like "Break Your Heart" and "Hold Me Down". Lead guitarist Sam Tallo's fluid adornment turned "Peyote" into a surreal Tex-Mex-ska hybrid. "Michael and Anne" was introduced by vocalist Chris Murray as "a song about the dead body in your apartment". The band wrapped their set up with "Tom Metzger's Big Plan", a euphoric run-through of their biggest hit, "Made For TV", and a faithful rendition of Desmond Dekker's "007 (Shantytown)". The band's light, eminently danceable music, coupled with their wry humour, make their live show a sure thing. See them if you can. If you don't manage to see them on tour, you can pick up their CDs on Stomp records in Canada, or Asian Man records in the U.S.
Canada's kings of ska are back! The band has been lying low for the past few years, but the re-release of their back catalog on CD has prompted the Kings to end their Apparatus hiatus. The band's mini-tour brought them to Lee's Palace in Toronto for a packed show. The evening's mood was established quickly, as the band opened with their rollicking party anthem, "Non-Stop Drinking". Constant fluid replenishment proved to be a wise course of action, as King Apparatus rapidly transformed a club-full of stodgy Canadians into a seething morass of grinning, dancing fools. The crowd was operating under an equal opportunity dance policy, joyfully accepting new tunes "Ex-Darling" and "Switchblade to Soul" with the same abandon as veteran favourites like "Break Your Heart" and "Hold Me Down". Lead guitarist Sam Tallo's fluid adornment turned "Peyote" into a surreal Tex-Mex-ska hybrid. "Michael and Anne" was introduced by vocalist Chris Murray as "a song about the dead body in your apartment". The band wrapped their set up with "Tom Metzger's Big Plan", a euphoric run-through of their biggest hit, "Made For TV", and a faithful rendition of Desmond Dekker's "007 (Shantytown)". The band's light, eminently danceable music, coupled with their wry humour, make their live show a sure thing. See them if you can. If you don't manage to see them on tour, you can pick up their CDs on Stomp records in Canada, or Asian Man records in the U.S.
