Itch / Astroid Boys / Bleach Blood / Polar ZU 100 Club, London 6th May 2014

Former King Blues Frontman Itch 600 x 300 photo

Tonight in the 100 Club you can feel a buzz in the air. There are high hopes and speculation that The King Blues are to be reunited. This is the first time Jamie and Itch have shared a stage since the bands devastating split in early 2012. Itch had also been teasing fans by stating, “Will there be a special encore?”  Well you’ll just have to read on to find out!

The relatively new and applicable Polar ZU (6.5) opened the stage with great presence, promise and energy. They have some raw talent, confidence and decent music with songs like ‘First Time’ showing nostalgia and relatable subjects. They slipped in a short but surprising rendition of Nirvana anthem ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. Between the rapping/singing and all around good atmosphere, they had strong support in the audience. This band have a fair amount of potential.

Bleach Blood (6) almost immediately took over the stage. Jamie Jazz, as per normal was more active than the music, rocking out and leaping around. This Pop-punk dance band showed their uniqueness and emotion through their performance and without giving too much away Jamie kept giving short anecdotes for particular songs and dedicating some to Itch for having them. However they did have some difficulties with feedback and getting the audience involved. ‘H.O.P.E’, ‘London In The Rain’ and ‘Anything, Anything’ were the highlights. We also noticed a watching Itch approving and enjoying the set, they have built some broken bridges it seems.

Astroid Boys (7) turned it back up a few notches with strong beats, fast paced rapping and funny crowd interaction. They were a great choice for the main support leading into Itch. Mid-set Astroid Boys explained to the audience that they were missing a member who is being held in prison, and he shall return in a few months. They successfully got some of the crowd rapping along with arms in the air, getting rowdy and warmed up to their punchy dubstep and dance musical fusion.

Itch (8) then took over the stage, pacing up and down smashing it with ‘Ricochet’. Doing his best to make up for not having a full band, he creates a lot of physical distractions by going into the crowd frequently, climbing on the barrier and getting people involved. He ironically introduces ‘Like I’m Drugs’ by stating he has recently become clean.  It wasn’t all in your face and aggressive, he did slow down for songs/ballads like ‘Life is Poetry’, ‘Not My Revolution’ and ‘True’ before picking it all up with ‘Best Shot’, ‘Spooky Kid’s’ and ‘London Is Burning’. It was a fantastic effort and good experience, he always puts 100% into his shows.

Itch then proudly walked off to prepare for what we were ecstatic to witness – a King Blues one off reunion performance (10). It was like a completely different gig, the room escalated in excitement rushing to the front of the stage with arms waving strongly in the air as ‘Headbutt’ kicks off the 3-track encore. Phones were out, there was chanting and everyone was dancing. This was more like a celebration of the eight years they were together, and it was like they had never been away. After a little recognition of the band members, and a statement that they were back together for one night only ‘Futures Not What It Used To Be’ blasted out. This was followed by a speech about how it’s a shame times haven’t changed politically and how King Blues songs are still relevant. They finished in style with ‘Save The World, Get The Girl’ where half the crowd stormed the stage to dance the last few seconds with The King Blues.

Tonight was a special show, and we felt lucky to be a part of it.

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