"I'm letting you go to my head, like a bullet to the brain.."
Last night, much to my body's dismay, I crawled oozed went to the Philosopher Kings concert downtown.
They are an extremely talented group. So talented, that they don't need to rely on the attention PK draws; they all have their own side projects which are immensely popular.
The first subgroup to hit mainstream popularity was Prozzak. You may have heard of them. First on the cartoon/alter-ego band scene, Prozzak was formed from guitar prodigy James McCollum and Jay Levine. They released two very successful albums, and then went on to other projects.
Prozzak - Never Get Over You
Prozzak - Be As
James McCollum has gone slightly more solo and released a guitar-only album under the name James Ryan, and it is nothing short of spectacular. Kind of in the style of Satriani, but with a bit more of the trademark PK 'Bow-Chicka-Bow-Wow' groove. He's backed by the PK drummer Denton Whited.
Jon Levine has just released his own 'solo' project, and it's him jamming away on the piano with his awesome vocals going on. He's also backed by Denton, and the PK Bassist. Unfortunately, both James and Jon had sold out of their CDs by the time the Van date rolled around, and Jon's brother Jay didn't rejoin PK for the Castles album.
Lead singer Gerald Eaton produced a solo album under the name Jarvis Church. It did well in Canada, but it didn't cross the borders as Prozzak did. His vocals, though, are among the best. And showcasing them on his solo album was a fantastic step for him.
Jarvis Church - Shake It Off
I was extremely impressed by how they ran the concert, even if it started way later than I would have liked. Instead of having a seperate opening band, they gave Jon and James time to show off their side-project work as an opening act. Jon was up first, and his piano work drove the crowd insane. Everything he did was fantastically catchy. You could see everyone was enjoying it.
Everyone.. got up and danced, much to my amazement. The only other time I've been to a concert where people danced [as opposed to moshing or something along those lines] was Franz Ferdinand. It's so uplifting to see the entire crowd get into the music so much, that self-consciousness falls away, and everyone's just left with enjoyment.
Surprisingly enough, the Kings started out with the opening track of their new album, Castles.
Philosopher Kings - Castles In The Sand
That set the mood for the rest of the concert. I was a little disappointed that the PK's only played three new songs, but they knew very well where their strengths lay, and oldies-but-goodies had the girls in a frenzy. As well, Gerald knows he's a hetero sex god and uses it to his every advantage. He's quite the showman, and the crowd loved every bit of play-upping he did for them.
I think all their songs are borderline porn music for a good reason. Gets the gillies all fainty. He enjoys pulling them up onto stage for some touchy-feely and serenading. It's hilarious. And very alpha-hetero.
Philosopher Kings - Charms
Philosopher Kings - Hurts To Love You
Philosopher Kings - Oleo
It was an excellent concert, and I'm glad to see the Kings back together, back playing their unique brand of very un-Canadian groove with a maximum of talent.
They are an extremely talented group. So talented, that they don't need to rely on the attention PK draws; they all have their own side projects which are immensely popular.
The first subgroup to hit mainstream popularity was Prozzak. You may have heard of them. First on the cartoon/alter-ego band scene, Prozzak was formed from guitar prodigy James McCollum and Jay Levine. They released two very successful albums, and then went on to other projects.
Prozzak - Never Get Over You
Prozzak - Be As
James McCollum has gone slightly more solo and released a guitar-only album under the name James Ryan, and it is nothing short of spectacular. Kind of in the style of Satriani, but with a bit more of the trademark PK 'Bow-Chicka-Bow-Wow' groove. He's backed by the PK drummer Denton Whited.
Jon Levine has just released his own 'solo' project, and it's him jamming away on the piano with his awesome vocals going on. He's also backed by Denton, and the PK Bassist. Unfortunately, both James and Jon had sold out of their CDs by the time the Van date rolled around, and Jon's brother Jay didn't rejoin PK for the Castles album.
Lead singer Gerald Eaton produced a solo album under the name Jarvis Church. It did well in Canada, but it didn't cross the borders as Prozzak did. His vocals, though, are among the best. And showcasing them on his solo album was a fantastic step for him.
Jarvis Church - Shake It Off
I was extremely impressed by how they ran the concert, even if it started way later than I would have liked. Instead of having a seperate opening band, they gave Jon and James time to show off their side-project work as an opening act. Jon was up first, and his piano work drove the crowd insane. Everything he did was fantastically catchy. You could see everyone was enjoying it.
Everyone.. got up and danced, much to my amazement. The only other time I've been to a concert where people danced [as opposed to moshing or something along those lines] was Franz Ferdinand. It's so uplifting to see the entire crowd get into the music so much, that self-consciousness falls away, and everyone's just left with enjoyment.
Surprisingly enough, the Kings started out with the opening track of their new album, Castles.
Philosopher Kings - Castles In The Sand
That set the mood for the rest of the concert. I was a little disappointed that the PK's only played three new songs, but they knew very well where their strengths lay, and oldies-but-goodies had the girls in a frenzy. As well, Gerald knows he's a hetero sex god and uses it to his every advantage. He's quite the showman, and the crowd loved every bit of play-upping he did for them.
I think all their songs are borderline porn music for a good reason. Gets the gillies all fainty. He enjoys pulling them up onto stage for some touchy-feely and serenading. It's hilarious. And very alpha-hetero.
Philosopher Kings - Charms
Philosopher Kings - Hurts To Love You
Philosopher Kings - Oleo
It was an excellent concert, and I'm glad to see the Kings back together, back playing their unique brand of very un-Canadian groove with a maximum of talent.