King King Sets Rock City Nottingham on Fire with an Unforgettable Night of Blues Rock

March 13, 2023 rocknews

Heading into Rock City Nottingham tonight are Scottish Blues Rockers, King King. Having decided that Scotland is too cold at this time of year, the brothers Alan and Stevie Nimmo have packed up their kilts and headed out on the tour bus to perform at a whopping eighteen venues during the month of March. Joining the brothers on the tour are Jonny Dyke (Keyboards), Zander Greenshields (Bass) and Andrew Scott (Drums).

Looking like he has just stepped off a box of Scotts Porridge Oats, Alan Nimmo strides out on to the stage wearing what is now his personal trademarked outfit of red tartan kilt, black shirt and sand coloured timberland boots. Alans face turned in to a great big beaming smile as he raised his arms in acknowledgement of the cheers coming from the crowd in front of him.

King King opened their thirteen song set with their crowd pleaser ‘Dance Together’. It wasn’t long into the song before Alan Nimmo was stood at the front of the stage for a bluesy guitar solos. ’Long Time Running, Heed The Warning & By Your Side’ came next. In between songs Alan bent down to pick up his bottle of water. A wolf whistle came from a member of the audience as the big Scotsman’s kilt rode up. Alan turned to the crowd and responded with “You need to get out more!” To which the crowd burst into laughter.

Alan had another laugh with the crowd when he introduced King Kings song ‘Waking Up’. He shouted out to the crowd “You should know this one by now. If you don’t copy the person next to you.” He then joked “It’s what we [King King] do!” He was laughing as he began to play the first bars of the song.

The best song of the night came in the form of ‘A Long History Of Love’. A slower song in comparison to those that had come before it. Alan sang its great lyrics joined in the harmonies by Stevie, Jonny and Zander. Jonny played a fantastic solo his fingers dancing across the keys in front of him. Alan performed his solo, and the whole of the band joined in during the big instrumental in the song. If you wasn’t at the gig check out one of the band’s YouTube videos and you’ll get a sense as to how good this song is live.

A number of songs tonight came with a dedication. The first was ‘Whatever It Takes To Survive’ and was dedicated to Danny Bowse of Thunder fame. Danny, last year fell down the stairs after experiencing a bleed on the brain. British Rockers Thunder have clearly been an influence on King King. Alan emotionally announces “I don’t mind hearing Danny talking Shite on the radio” he continued “I really want to hear him sing again.” The crowd cheered in Alan and Dannys support.

Another dedication was made to a loyal fan called Carl. Carl had travelled from Jersey to Scotland to watch the band. On entering the Scottish venue Carl only made it half way up the stairs before falling back down, breaking his shoulder in six places. Alan laughed as he made the dedication to the unfortunate fan “If you’re watching Carl, You’re a F**king Idiot, I told you not to get drunk before the show!”. The band appropriately played ‘I Will Not Fall’ in Carls honour.

‘Stranger To Love’ was the last song in the regular set and was introduced with what is becoming the obligatory statement for live music. Alan stated to the Rock City Crowd “if you keep buying tickets we’ll keep playing”, in a bid to keep live music going. The song started with a strong bass line. Alan powerfully sang the verses. As the song ventured into the instrumental the sound got softer and softer until the only sound that could be heard was the metallic strings of Alans guitar which was now void of any sound amplification. The sound came back louder than it had been all night for the thundering drumming and guitars of the songs finale.

There was only one song on the encore tonight and that was ‘Old Love’. Alan told the crowd that he had been playing the song since he was a kid touring the country and playing in all the dives. Alan thanked Stevie for his guidance over the years, suggesting he wouldn’t have made it in the business without him. The song gave the brothers one last time to stand shoulder to shoulder playing their guitars in unison. Stevie played an excellent solo during the song which was met with a massive cheer from the crowd. Alan went on to introduce the rest of the band before taking his turn at the front of the stage for his final solo of the night.

King King are a fantastic live band to see. They are a hardworking group who travel miles on the road delivering their great blues rock sound to the audiences they play in front of. They have an extensive catalogue of brilliant songs to choose from with every one of them being a fan favourite. If you want a great night of entertainment by a group of musicians who are at the top of their game then grab yourself a ticket for a King King Gig near you!