Show Review: King Khan and the Shrines w/ Hellshovel & Black Zinfadel

Hellshovel

As a first time passenger of the Bridge Bus, a bus that runs between Durham and Raleigh at night on the weekends, I wasn’t entirely sure if I would make it to the show. My bus anxieties were dissipated very quickly and I made it to Durham just in time to catch Hellshovel play.

Although I missed Black Zinfandel, I can tell you that they are a band not to be missed even though I did just that...They blend conventional punk stylings with psych-rock recklessness to create a crass, yet refined style. Regardless, Black Zinfandel gives me hope that the punk scene in Raleigh will eventually become much more visible.

When Hellshovel began to play all I could think about is how much better their shoes were than any of the shoes I own. That's actually not all I thought about but these dudes had some good shoes and very mod style that fit well with their rockabilly psych rock that was a lot more jam-band than a typical garage band, but it was refreshing to hear. Hellshovel played mellow garage tunes that still had energy infused into them to keep the crowd going until King Khan hit the stage. 

King Khan and the Shrines

King Khan's specialty lies in his live performances that tend to be over the top and exposed. Literally exposed, as most of the time, he sings in a cape and nothing else but his underwear. Because this is not what immediately happened, I was a bit surprised and maybe even disappointed to see him in a dapper suit, however the show proved to be nothing but a riot.

A moshpit formed very quickly and everyone in it seemed to be convulsing to the soulful sounds the band created. With a live band consisting of eight people, it was surprisingly tame until the encore when Khan finally came out dressed as I would have expected him, commando, with a cape. This show was first of hopefully many shows where I witnessed the span of fifteen to fifty years of age all together in the same moshpit, having a blast. And when an artist can elicit that big of a response from that wide of an array of people, there's obviously something fantastic happening.