Rock ‘n’ Royal

A review of King Charles and support The Whiskys and Silver Coast at the Ironworks, Inverness on the 15th of September.

A good sized crowd turned out at the Ironworks last Sunday to see King Charles with no doubt, high expectations from the West London singer songwriter who was the first ever British winner of the International Songwriting Competition.

There were two local support acts to set the evening in motion. First up were The Whiskys, the band are a five piece folk rock band based in Inverness. The band is fronted by Kris Douglas who it can said, put nothing less than his all into delivering an energetic performance. The Whiskys opened with ‘Survive’ which set a spirited tone for the rest of the performance. A few episodes short of a soap opera,The Whiskys have undergone some changes in relation to band members, giving them a slightly different sound but this is not necessarily a bad thing as a new version of ‘Take You There’ were well received by the crowd.

Once upon a time there used to be a fiddle in the band but this has been replaced with a banjo and so for a part of the set, a banjo was introduced. This seemed a welcome addition to the sound, as one of the punters said, it was ‘better with the banjo’

The band who are currently recording a new album will be supporting Alabama 3 at the Ironworks on the 8th December.

Next on were Silver Coast, an alternative rock band from Inverness who are fairly new on the scene, having only started gigging this year. However, their cool and relaxed stage presence would tell a different story, suggesting they have been around for quite a bit longer. Given the reaction of the crowd it would seem that the band have established quite a local following.

Silver Coast have some clear influences such as British rock bands You Me At Six and Feeder and anyone who enjoys these bands are sure to enjoy the dynamic performance of these young men. Some of their songs including ‘Feel Again’ and ‘Lifelines’ are sure to appeal to a young, fresh audience.

Finally it was time; King Charles took to the stage with a dramatic entrance fit for a monarch. His royal ensemble played him in and he appeared under spotlight, launching straight into one of the songs from his debut album Loveblood. Behind the band was written ‘In mundo sed non de mundo’ which means ‘In the world but not of the world’ which is fitting, as we were provided with a performance which was out of this world.

King Charles – born Charles Costa – plays up to a regal and illustrious character. The set flowed smoothly from one song to another with very little in the way of banter from the London based performer. ‘We are going to play a song about polar bears and crocodiles’ with these few words, the imagination of the crowd is set whirring. And low and behold, the song Polar Bear does indeed involve polar bears and crocodiles.

King Charles draws from some very diverse influences, listening carefully one can hear shades of Prince, T-Rex and Adam Ant and some more modern contemporaries such as Vampire Weekend but somehow he manages to mold these influences into a cohesive sound, so although it might not be unique, it is certainly engaging and winsome.

Some of the King’s lyrics are poetic and well crafted, yet they are always set to a frivolous and fun rock ‘n’ roll sound. What is more, just as a familiar rhythm set in, a new and exciting sound would emerge, keeping the crowd foot tapping and head bopping.

After a euphoric end to the set the crowd cheered enthusiastically for an encore and King Charles kindly obliged returning to the stage to play a humorous, contemporary rendering of Billy Joel’s ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ in which he has changed the lyrics and made it relevant to modern society with some significant cultural references. New lines including the likes of ‘The Rolling Stones still play, We all know Tom Cruise is gay’

It was a truly unique end to the night, and one which left King Charles’ loyal subjects smiling.

Photos by Roddy MacKenzie.

Please have a look at out further photographs of King Charles at the Ironworks.