HIS LORDSHIP – THE PRINCE ALBERT, BRIGHTON 15.4.23
OK, gonna start this review like this – If you get the opportunity to see His Lordship, do not even think about it. Go grab a ticket and head for a set full of fire and vigour, a set packed with gut wrenching pure rock and roll! OK so there you have it, the end of the review at the start.
James Walbourne holds down present guitar roles for the Pretenders and the Pogues, he heads up this three piece delivering strong vocals and superb playing. They arrived on stage looking slick in smart black suits and black ties, topped off with crisp white shirts. Looking smart fellas! I had not seen these guys before, but had previewed a gig for them last year, and was so looking forward to seeing and hearing what His Majesty had to offer! Me, and the packed in matinee crowd waited with baited breath….
Opening up their set with a recent single release and lead track from their EP, ‘All Cranked Up’, there is no other way of putting it, smashed into us! OK, so the scene was set very early. His Lordship showed us what they were about, and I just had the feeling that this was going to be one of those inspiring, heart stopping performances. I was right! It was one of those shows where you wished you had continued to play that electric guitar you had when you were younger. Hell, this was great and it was loud! Perfect mix.
Next up ‘Joy Boy’ and ‘Bored’. The man at the back on drums, Kistoffer Sonne, had settled himself behind his kit. Adjusted his glasses and had a good look into the crowd, grabbed his sticks and proceeded to deliver a totally sharp, pin point set of powered hammering of his kit. Sonne has class, and he has drummed for Chrissie Hynde and Willie Nelson. The sticks, as the set proceeded, gradually whittled in size as splinters flew off. The cool black dress jacket was soon removed as it was a warm afternoon at The Prince Albert.
‘The Way I Walk’ powered up, from the EP release (‘Play Rock N Roll Volume One’). A cover of the Jack Scott original and later covered by The Cramps. I gotta say this incendiary version is the best I have ever heard it played. Some damn fine guitar-twanging going on, some screaming high notes ripping into us from his Gibson. James licking his way through the lyrics and with a hip swinging bass riff deliciously topping off the sound.
The delicious latest single release ‘Buzzkill’ was fired up, ‘Pixelated Polly’, ‘Catcall’ and ‘I Am In Amsterdam’ were in the set.
There was no let up as His Lordship powered at us with so many delicious crunching guitar riffs and solos, thunderous smooth gut moving bass lines and at times, what can only be described as some maniacal drumming. So many cracking tunes, we were served up 15 songs, all of which were sheer quality. Walbourne dedicated an instrumental number to Jeff Beck. A beautifully delivered number.
Sonne broke away from the kit and took over vocal duties aided with a large bullhorn. Sonne also showed us some of the 101 things you can do with a microphone during a live gig. He had a good try to decapitate us in the front row whilst swinging his mic in a Daltrey style. He then jammed it into his bullhorn, and then climbed up onto the kit and appeared to swallow the mic. Extraordinary does not cover it! The mic placed in front of the bullhorn as a ‘Blockbuster’ siren sound filled the venue. He is a tour de force, powering powerful fills and some wonderful expressions.
Walbourne up front didn’t stop; he delivered adrenaline fuelled guitar work and vocals. His hands flew across the neck of his guitar, it amazes me to think how the hell he did that without snapping at least one string! He is charismatic and engaging. A superb frontman. In the crowd was Chrissie Hynde, as she had stopped in to watch her bandmates deliver their fired up set. I managed to grab a quick hello with her, which was fabulous.
It was weird, those 60 or so minutes flew by, but it felt like His Majesty had only started when they left the stage! That set flew past. His Lordship thankfully returned to tear a new one into The Prince Albert with ‘Red Hot’, originally by William Robert Emerson or also known as Billy “The Kid” Emerson. His Lordship stamped their sound all over this, they owned it totally. And then…..they were gone.
I had a good catch up with His Lordship outside after the set. Had a natter about the Pretenders and Kistoffer said he was heading back home to Copenhagen as this was the last date on the UK tour.
That was a hell of a live set, and so, in case you missed what I said at the start… “If you get the opportunity to see His Lordship, do not even think about it. Go grab a ticket and head for a set full of fire and vigour, a set packed with gut wrenching pure rock and roll!”
His Lordship:
James Walbourne – vocals, guitar (the Pretenders, the Pogues, The Rails)
Kristoffer Sonne – vocals, drums (Chrissie Hynde, Willie Nelson)
Dave Page – vocals, bass, drums
His Lordship setlist:
‘All Cranked Up’ (from 2022 ‘All Cranked Up’ EP)
‘Joy Boy’ (unreleased)
‘Bored’ (unreleased)
‘Jackie’ (unreleased)
‘Rock Fall Echo Dust’ (unreleased)
‘The Way I Walk’ (from 2022 ‘Play Rock’N’Roll Volume One’ EP)
‘Buzzkill’ (unreleased)
‘Pixelated Polly’ (unreleased)
‘The Repenter’ (from 2022 ‘All Cranked Up’ EP)
‘Brother’ (unreleased)
‘Sleepwalk’ (unreleased)
‘ I Live In The City’ (from 2022 ‘All Cranked Up’ EP)
‘Catcall’ (unreleased)
‘I Am In Amsterdam’ (from 2022 ‘All Cranked Up’ EP)
(encore)
‘Red Hot’ (from 2022 ‘Play Rock’N’Roll Volume One’ EP)
Aircooled were the support for this afternoon’s concert. Their ranks consist of ace bassist Katharine Wallinger who has played with all sorts, including Viv Albertine and The Wedding Present; Justin Welch who has really has played with everyone including Suede, Elastica, Lush and The Jesus And Mary Chain and many more, along with Aircooled, he is the drummer for Piroshka and JAMC; Ollie Cherer who was the big beat dance music operator back in the 90s and has since followed his nose through the margins of ambient, electronic, folk and psychogeographic ghost music under a variety of noms de plume, occasionally even using his own; and completing the Aircooled lineup is Riz Maslen who has had an extraordinary career so far as Neotropic, and releasing work on a who’s who of independent labels including R&S/Apollo, Oxygen Music Works and Ninja Tune and the story of her involvement with Future Sound of London at the inception of acid house is well documented.
I love to see a visual outfit and experience the dynamics of music being performed live. Aircooled matched all of that and exceeded my expectations. Aircooled were recent support for Suede on part of their tour!
I had missed the start of this super cool set from this super cool outfit Aircooled, thanks so much British Rail! This was a matinee show, a precursor to the gig later that afternoon. If anyone was worried about how many people were going to be there, on a Saturday afternoon, worry not! It was pretty much jam-packed!
This was a chance to show off their skills following the release of their debut album ‘St Leopards’. And those of us lucky to catch this set seemed to love it from the opening song onwards. The musicians who were on stage were all excellent, and each got a chance to “step out” and do their own thing.
I think I got into the venue half way through the first song – it was massive! Lasting some 16 minutes and then some. Quite different from the set we were due to experience with His Lordship. Their material ranged from around 5 minutes to 16! The longer songs, all from their debut album ‘St Leopards’ are broken down into sections. Aircooled are bristling with talent, and are all virtuoso musicians and I just love the way Ollie played every note on his guitar, he threw everything into his performance. All brilliantly performed by all!
Ollie is upfront on guitar (superb playing), keys and some vocals, there was no real chat with the audience or banter from him. It was heads down for him and his bandmates to let the sounds and music do the talking. Moreover, they did it really well and impressed the hell out of me! Almost a prog rock, early ELP sound mixed in with some nice garage rock vibes. An incredible afternoon set for all of us. A nice performance if I may say so guys and hope to catch more of what you do next time you are in town.
You can catch Aircooled performing live in Sussex as part of the bill for the ‘Seaview Festival’ which is taking place at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea on Saturday 8th July. Find out more HERE and purchase your tickets HERE.
Aircooled:
Oliver Cherer – vocals, keys, guitar, programming
Riz Maslen – vocals, keys
Katharine Wallinger – bass
Justin Welch – drums
Aircooled setlist:
‘Airport’ (unreleased)
‘Roadrunner’ (unreleased)
‘Tommys Strut’ (from 2022 ‘St Leopards’ album)
‘Hyperproduktiv!’ (a 2022 single)
‘Supamotodisco’ (from 2022 ‘St Leopards’ album)
