King Me

While that was certainly interesting, ‘To Kill a King’ is what I’m here for.   To say they didn’t disappoint would be a huge understatement. I knew I liked them already, but to hear the crisp, borderline better than studio quality sound coming from such a small stage was beyond impressive. The first thing you’ll notice when you listen to them is Ralph’s distinctive voice. It’s captivating, but to be honest it can’t be appreciated in it’s full quality without hearing it in person.  What you can hear on the album, but isn’t obvious till you see it harmonized on stage, is the extent of the range in which Ralph and the rest of the band can hit.  And I mean the rest of the band.  All five band members have a mic and all five band members seem to be an integral part of the whole picture.  If you’re listening closely enough you’ll be able to hear each note, each band member is bringing to the table.

Now this should have no effect on how good you think a band is, but fuck it.  These guys are the nicest, most down to earth musicians I’ve come across.  For the amount of talent displayed, they showed zero pretension.  I’ve seen far less successful bands that act far and away more pretentious.  Ralph rocked a star wars t-shirt and interjected his own performance make quick quips and all around charm the crowd.  They even stuck around at the bar after their set to hang out with their fans. It was there I shared a beer with drummer, Josh Taffel, who is a Chelsea fan, and if you didn’t bring it up to him proactively, you would never know he’s performed on sold out stages with bands like, the current “it” band, ‘Bastille’ (who they happen to be friends with and are continuing their US tour with).

Bottom line is not only should these guys be more famous, but if they were, they’d probably be pretty cool about it. If you happen to be lucky enough to be able to see them this time around , my only advice would be to definitely do it.  As their album, ‘Cannibal With Cutlery’, is about to have its delayed release in America on April 22nd, I can’t help but be reminded of the Chuck Klosterman’s article that he wrote about ‘The Streets’.  He was certain everyone already knew about him as he traveled to the UK to interview him.  It wasn’t till later that him and his editor realized that maybe everyone doesn’t know about the next big thing, especially if it’s in another country.  And that’s the best description for ‘To Kill A King’.  Difference is the internet is a lot bigger these days, and word travels fast.  So I’d put my money on the fact that I probably won’t ever be able to see them for 10 bucks again in NYC.