Live Review: Kill It Kid @ Babylon's Newcomers Festival

By The Guide Istanbul ~ "Kill it Kid at Babylon's Newcomers Festival

Kill_it_kid_3
The four-day Newcomers Festival in Babylon opened its first night with two bands, one from Turkey and the other from the UK, to remind the crowd why rock will never die.

The Ringo Jets, a Turkish rock ensemble composed of three young musicians, started the night enthusiastically, to a comic degree, with a set reminiscent of the original punk rock sound of The Stooges and The New York Dolls. At times the sound began to slide into White Stripes and Arctic Monkeys territory, yet what was truly monumental was the energy exuded onstage that gave the crowd no other option but to dance, increasing the mass energy for the main act: the Kill It Kid.

The band came on stage with raw power and presence playing songs from both their albums Kill it Kid and Feet Fall Heavy. Using tracks from famous blues artists and legendary activist Alan Lomax, they managed to bring the feeling of the Mississippi Delta to Istanbul. The powerful vocals of both Christopher Turpin and Stephanie Ward broke the pretension that has characterized much of the Gospel and Blues revival in the UK, putting them center stage with the tremor of Marc Jones beating on the drums and the discreet but assertive Dom Kozubik on the bass.

After presenting new songs that got the crowd clapping and dancing along, technical difficulties rendered the show unfulfilled as some of the band’s equipment simply stopped working. Anxiously waiting for an encore the crowd clapped and screamed as the band left, worried the concert was going to end on a bad note. But the power of blues and its improvisational capacity came forward and the band returned with just a guitar and the voices of both singers. With a good sense of humor they performed an encore that would close the night's performance in a very personal and emotional fashion for it was the band's last concert from their European tour."

Tagged Alan Lomax Americana Arctic Monkeys Babylon Bath Blues Chris Turpin Dom Kozubik Feet Fall Heavy Istanbul KIK Kill It Kid Live Review Marc Jones Mississippi Delta New York Dolls Newcomers Festival Rock Stephanie Ward The Guide Istanbul The Ringo Jets The Stooges White Stripes

Live Review: Kill It Kid @ The Borderline, London by MBrown's Blog

By MBrown's Blog ~ "Kill It Kid – Borderline

Just a quick post, as I’m still buzzing from having seen an immense performance by Kill It Kid at The Borderline off Tottenham Court Road on a Monday evening of all nights.

I booked the tickets a while back, having been alerted through Twitter (Where else?) that they were doing a single show in London.

I had only been to The Borderline once before for a friend’s birthday a month or so back and had forgotten how much it smells of sick! The nearer to the back you get, the worse it gets, prompting a number of theories for how it had got so bad.

Luckily the support act (The Shoestrung) were impressive enough to distract us from this, I was particularly impressed with their drummer, who seemed like the calm rock within the storm they were serving up.

We were quickly on to the headline act. Those who have been reading my blog for a while (Yes both of you) may remember me touting their second album Feet Fall Heavy at the end of last year. Their music is a dirty sound that reminds me of both The Black Keys and The Dead Weather.

Chris Turpin, their lead singer looks about 15 (This is probably something that everyone notes, but it’s important to bear in mind), yet he has the gravelly voice of a man many, many years older and far more world weary than appears, meaning the sound that comes out of him all the more astounding. Between songs he was pondering the lack of live bands around and urging the crowd to search out the likes of Woody Guthrie. It reminded me of the way Jack White speaks to the crowd, simultaneously coming across as both humble and musically knowledgeable.

The rest of the band should not be overlooked though, Stephanie Ward has a great bluesy voice that’s a bit like Alison Mosshart, Dom Kozubik and Marc Jones are an explosive duo on bass and drums respectively. I was particularly impressed with the variety of styles that Jones incorporated into a very short set.

I really liked that they used the punchy audio clips of blues characters of the Deep South from their album that introduce many of their songs.

It was a rowdy kind of gig, as a unit they have evidently been on the road for a while and have drawn on their influences to produce a visceral performance that stays with you a while after they’ve left the stage.

Standout tracks were Pray on Me, Wild & Wasted Waters and their album opener You’re in My Blood, I recommend you check them out and catch them if they swing by London anytime soon!

~ Martin Brown"

Tagged Alison Mosshart Americana Bath Black Keys Blues Chris Turpin Dom Kozubik Jack White KIK Kill It Kid Live Live Review London MBrown's Blog Marc Jones Martin Brown Pray On Me Rock Run Show Stephanie Ward The Borderline The Dead Weather The Shoestrung Wild And Wasted Waters Woody Guthrie You're In My Blood

Live Review: Kill It Kid @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester by I Are Yeti

By I Are Yeti ~ "Kill It Kid, Deaf Institute, Manchester – 15/03/2012 By James Wood

Kill_it_kid_2
Bath is better known for it’s historical Roman bath rooms and it’s hot water springs rather than grunge-blues bands. In fact you would expect that sound to come from America’s southern states, but it would seem Kill It Kid are breaking the mold! After releasing their second album ‘Feel Fall Heavy’ in 2011 they have toured extensively since and now finishing up on a mini tour of the UK only playing Manchester, Bath and London.

With Manchester’s Deaf Institute almost at capacity, Kill It Kid played an hour set mostly consisting of material from their second album. The bands biggest singles ‘ Heart Rested With You’ and ‘Pray On Me’ were inevitably the most well received tracks of the night. Kill It Kid are one of those rare bands that sound as good as they do on their recordings. On the night the band were very tight and are technically one of the best new bands about at the moment.

The one and only flaw in the bands live show is that they don’t seem to enjoy them selves. In a way it feels like they practice, practice, practice, do a gig, pack up their gear, go to bed and then up at 7am to start practice at 9am again. Of course I am not knocking the band for practicing a lot but if Kill It Kid were to just let loose on stage more they would go from a great band to an exceptionally brilliant band.

Overall Rating : 3.5/5"

Tagged Americana Bath Blues Deaf Institute Heart Rested With You I Are Yeti James Wood KIK Kill It Kid Live Live Review Manchester Pray On Me Rock Show

Live Review: Kill It Kid @ The Louisiana, Bristol by Inter:Mission

By Inter:Mission ~ "Review: Kill It Kid

The opening act of the evening were Ulysses, a self-proclaimed seventies comedy band that, judging from the smiling heads nodding along to upbeat tracks such as ‘Eye On You’, lived up to their title. Unfortunately by track ‘Lesson One’ their one-dimensional style began to grate a little, as we waited for headliners Kill It Kid to take to the stage.

Having parting ways with their violin and banjo players in 2011, I wasn’t sure how Kill It Kid’s transition from Nu-Folk to Blues Rock band would sit with the audience. By ‘You’re in My Blood’ it was clear from their infectious onstage chemistry that they’re a band very much in charge. Taking aspects of country and blues, and combining them with gritty vocals, flawless harmonies, and loud drums, saw the creation of a truly unique sound.

Vocalist Chris Turpin’s melismatic vocals in ‘Heart Rested With You’ complemented his tonally resonant voice, which was incredibly emotive when paired with Stephanie Ward’s enchantingly subdued and almost sultry vocals in ‘Sweetness Has a Hold On’. At times, however, the vocals felt unnecessarily forced, and it would have been refreshing for them to have been pared down.

Overall Kill It Kid delivered a fresh and exciting performance that made venturing out on a Sunday night thoroughly worthwhile. ~ Sarah Brown"

Tagged Americana Bath Blues Bristol Chris Turpin Eye On You Heart Rested With You Inter:Mission KIK Kill It Kid Live Live Review Rock Sarah Brown Show Stephanie Ward The Louisiana Ulysses

Live Review: Kill It Kid @ The Louisiana, Bristol.

By Bristol Times ~ "Kill It Kid @ The Louisiana 18/03/12

Bath-based band blues-rock band Kill It Kid have just returned from a European tour and this gig at The Louisiana is one of three “wind-down” gigs in the UK to finish off the tour.

Lead vocal duties in Kill It Kid are shared between both Chris Turpin and Stephanie Ward, sometimes at the same time but more often taking turns. Turpin’s vocals are quite at odds with his boyish features and slender frame – a powerful, howling, blues voice that’s similar to the growl of Foy Vance (whom they have supported in the past) – while Ward’s are smoother, sultry even, but with an occasional blues yelp!

Though their vocals compliment fine when they sing together, there is a kind of tension between the two styles that is apparent on their latest album Feet Fall Heavy and similarly so in the live setting. Not that this is a problem, indeed it’s part of what makes their sound interesting, but it does make the set feel a bit disjointed – after getting everyone moving to a few loud songs with Turpin’s heavier spin on blues-rock guitar, Ward’s stripped back rendition of Dark Hearted Songbird was powerful in its relative quietness but felt slightly out-of-place.

Having moved away from the more folky sound of their earlier work (due to departure of their violinist), Kill It Kid are now, in my opinion, at their best when they are at their most rocky, turning up the distortion pedals and hammering away at their instruments while Turpin provides his wailing guitar and wailing vocals over the top of Ward’s softer foundation as in the first track from Feet Fall Heavy, You’re In My Blood (below).

Though this was a Sunday night and the Louisiana crowd seemed a bit subdued, the band, and particularly Turpin, bring plenty of energy to their performance and the slight roughness compared to the album only added to an excellent way to delay thinking about Monday morning."

Tagged Americana Bath Blues Bristol Bristol Times Chris Turpin Feet Fall Heavy Foy Vance KIK Kill It Kid Live Live Review Rock Show Stephanie Ward The Louisiana You're In My Blood
Tags
Contributors
Sites I Like
Friends
​