The King Khan Cooking Show
King Khan

Hahahahha, yeah, that’s all you need to know.

The King Khan & BBQ Show:

09.Feb.10 Prinzenbar, Hamburg (Germany)
10.Feb.10 Gleis 22, Munster (Germany)
11.Feb.10 Trix, Antwerp (Belgium)
12.Feb.10 DBs, Utrecht (Netherlands)
13.Feb.10 Paradiso, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
14.Feb.10 Le Tipi, Liege (Belgium)
15.Feb.10 Le Grillen, Colmar (France)
16.Feb.10 Point Ephemere, Paris (France)
17.Feb.10 La Vapeur, Dijon (France)
18.Feb.10 Le Rex, Toulouse (France)
19.Feb.10 Le Transformateur, Fribourg (Switzerland)
20.Feb.10 St.Gervais Р̩tage, Bienne/Biel (Switzerland)
22.Feb.10 B72, Vienna (Austria)
23.Feb.10 Forum Stadtpark, Graz (Austria)
24.Feb.10 59:1, Munich (Germany)
25.Feb.10 Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin (Germany)
24.March.10 Biltmore Cabaret. Vancouver (BC)

Sled Island Festival, Primavera Festival and various mystery dates TBA SOON!

BBQ (Mark Sultan):

4.March.10 Pop Corn, Marghera (Italy)
5.March.10 Spazio 211, Torino (Italy) w/ Mojomatics
6.March.10 Officina 49. Cesena (Italy)
10.March.10 TBA, Stockholm (Sweden)
11.March.10 Truckstop Alaska, Goteborg (Sweden)
12.March.10 Pub Babar, Tranas (Sweden)
13.March.10 TBA
15.March.10 TBA, Helsinki (Finland)
16.March.10 TBA, Finland
17.March.10 House Of Rock. Moss (Norway)
18.March.10 Bastard. Tromso (Norway)
19.March.10 Hinsides. Bergen (Norway)
20.March.10 TBA, Oslo (Norway)
24.March.10 Broken City. Calgary (AB)
26.March.10 Double Double Land. Toronto (ON)
16.April.10 The Echo. Los Angeles (CA) (THE DAY BEFORE COACHELLA WHERE ALMIGHTY DEFENDERS ARE PLAYING….. YOU THINKIN’ WHAT I’M THINKIN’?)
19.April.10 Bottom Of The Hill. San Francisco (CA)

Brazil April/May dates TBA SOON!
Spain, Italy, Turkey & Israel May/June dates TBA SOON!

Below is the album art and tracklisting for Mark Sultan’s new album…

CD Tracklisting:

01. Icicles
02. Donʼt Look Back
03. Ten of Hearts
04. Status
05. I Get Nothin From My Girl
06. Go Beserk
07. I Am the End
08. Miseryʼs Upon Us
09. Iʼll Be Lovinʼ You
10. Waiting For Me
11. Just to Hold You
12. Catastrophe
13. Nobody But You

The CD’s ‘bonus track’ is the original ‘I’ll Be Lovin You’, which was later I later revamped to fit KKBBQ’s sound.

The Almighty Defenders:
SOOO many tourdates to announce, but I will wait until everything is 100%. What I CAN say is to expect a European tour in May, a show at Primavera, a show at Sled Island and a smattering of surprise gigs. More on that later…

DOWNLOAD -> The Almighty Defenders – She Came Before Me

Possibly one of my favorite ever live bands and one of the most fun to photograph have announced a new US tour culminating in an appearance at Coachella. While this makes me weep, I am genuinely considering going to the hellhole that is San Francisco to see them. Catch them, SERIOUSLY, catch them.

Sat 3/27 The Earl Atlanta GA
Mon 3/29 Cat’s Cradle Carrboro, NC
Tue 3/30 Orange Peel Asheville, NC
Wed 3/31 JJ’s Bohemia Chattanooga, TN
Thu 4/1 Exit/In Nashville, TN
Fri 4/2 Hi-Tone Cafe Memphis TN
Sat 4/3 Bottletree Birmingham AL
Mon 4/5 Emo’s Austin, TX
Tue 4/6 Sons Of Hermann Dallas, TX
Thu 4/8 Bluebird Theater Denver, CO
Fri 4/9 Urban Lounge Salt Lake City, UT
Sat 4/10 Neurolux Boise ID
Sun 4/11 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR
Mon 4/12 Venue Vancouver, BC
Tue 4/13 Neumo’s Seattle, WA
Thu 4/15 Bimbo’s 365 Club San Francisco, CA
Sun 4/18 Coachella Indio, CA

mp3 | King Khan & The Shrines – Land of the Freak (Live at Amoeba)

10) Dananananaykroyd @ Dirty Dog Bar, SXSW, Austin, March 18th

Dananananaykroyd are so energetic live it’s almost unreal. They’re like the Energizer Bunny on meth or something similar and freaky. They amount of joy and humor and jumping and yelling at each gig is unreal. To add to this, this was my first show at SXSW where I got to go into a 21+ show (thnx, Sarah Pesin!) so I was even more jacked up. Hearing one of my favorite songs of the year, ‘Some Dresses’, live was just amaaazing and the Wall of Cuddles was just so excellent. Perfect way to start my SXSW 2009.

DOWNLOAD -> SOME DRESSES by DANANANANAYKROYD

9) Fool’s Gold @ The Echo, LA, April 27th

This show just fucking expanded my mind in a completely non-stoner kind of way. Each Fool’s Gold show that I’ve been to has such a wonderful sense of community and the joy just radiates from the band to the crowd, this time it was a bunch of Echo Parque hipsters who were grooving to their ‘world music’ and sensational beats and horn sections. The freedom and structured jams are what make Fool’s Gold gigs almost spiritual but without the ‘seriousness’ of that word. This was the last night of their April residency at the Echo that launched them into national view. Rightly so.

DOWNLOAD -> SURPRISE HOTEL by FOOL’S GOLD

8) King Khan & The Shrines @ The Echo, LA, May 30th

King Khan & The Shrines played two nights at the Echo in May 2009. Choosing between them was one of the toughest choices I’ve had in a long time (hello, I have an easy life!) but I think the second night trumped the first. Both had an incredible amount of energy and ridiculous outfits and organ and sax to boot. Both had King Khan being a crazy motherfucker with a voice from who knows where. What put me over the top, you ask, in favor of the second night? One of the Shrines getting up on the amp, pulling down his pants and tucking it back and waving it around during ‘I Wanna Be A Girl’. Yep, folks, that’s all it takes to sway me. Both these nights were FUCKING excellent. King Khan was one of the performers I saw most during 2009, and I bow down to him anytime I see him. So great.

DOWNLOAD -> NO REGRETS by KING KHAN & THE SHRINES

7) Beans on Toast @ Friends Bar, SXSW, Austin, March 20th

Beans on Toast has one of the greatest ethos’ in music today. He’s just a street poet who stands on a chair and plays a childs guitar and sings rudimentary songs with social and political commentary with plenty of humor and an excellent penchant for rhyming. This was such a special gig. I’ve loved his hilarious music since 2006 but had no idea who he was and thought I’d never see him live and then I met him at Jay Jay Pistolet’s gig and got to get to know the man a little – he’s such a hilarious little thing (Yeah, I’ve told this story about 1500 times but STILL), and seeing him at FRIENDS Bar just was … amazing. He’s so hilarious and the entire crowd was hanging on every word. Who else could get an entire crowd (cocaine users and non alike) to raise their hands and proudly proclaim they were addicted to cocaine?

DOWNLOAD -> FUCK THE SMOKING BAN by BEANS ON TOAST

6) The Strange Boys @ The Echo, LA, June 30th

The Strange Boys have been a live favorite of mine since early 2008. They continuously blow me away with their refreshing take on Nuggets-esque Garage Rock, their cool swagger, and Sambol’s howling caterwaul. This show was particularly amazing because of the support: The Growlers. The combination of the two was just unstoppable. The Strange Boys were way on the top of their game, but it feels weird to be going on and on about it because they are always that good. I’ve never seen them perform poorly, even the time I saw them playing in front of people playing dodgeball. No joke. The second best band in America right now – behind the Growlers. Funny how that happens.

DOWNLOAD -> DRUGS IGGY DRUGS by THE STRANGE BOYS

5) The Sonics @ The Echoplex, LA, August 21st

The Sonics. THE SONICS! I can’t even describe, figuratively or literally, what it was like to see these legends. IT’S THE FUCKING SONICS!!!! When they played ‘Have Love, Will Travel’, I was brought to my knees. They lumbered out of their coffins to give us an amazing early show at the Echoplex proving that the old timers (not to be confused with Alzheimers) still fucking GOT IT. They could actually play their instruments with dexterity, but that didn’t take away from the grungy, can’t-get-outta-the-garage, lo-fi before lo-fi was a real thing feel that has made the Sonics the legends that they are. Not to mention that Freddie Dennis can fucking sing. It was just deleriously amazing.

DOWNLOAD -> SHOT DOWN by the SONICS

4) The Maccabees @ Komedia, Brighton, September 29th

The Maccabees played a part in bringing together one of the most important friendships of my young life during their first American tour back in 2007, so seeing them play in Brighton at a much smaller venue than they could get away with – with the important friends…. just BLEW MY MIND! They fucking stormed the Komedia and played with more confidence and energy and …. experience than I’d ever have expected from them. Their second album hadn’t done anything for me up to that point, but hearing those songs echoing live and Orlando’s expansive, unique vocals really brought it together for me and from that gig, it became one of my favorite albums of 2009.

DOWNLOAD -> DIAMOND SOLITAIRE by THE MACCABEES

3) Black Lips @ Glasshouse, Pomona, May 2nd

Having severly disappointed me the evening before at The El Rey, I wasn’t expecting much out of the Black Lips. I know that’s rude, but I’d seen them like 7 times in the past 13 months or something so what more could they bring to the table? However, they came out and bounced back from the shitshow that was the El Rey and rocked my world. It was singularly the most rough, dangerous Black Lips gig I’d ever been to (bruised ribs for two weeks to prove it, ROCK AND ROLL) and Jared even stepped on my head! They played everything I wanted them to play and the energy and atmosphere, while way more rough than LA was just so much more… Black Lips! I emerged drenched with sweat, severly hurt and grinning like a maniac. That’s how I always want to leave shows.

DOWNLOAD -> NOT A PROBLEM (from LOS VALIENTES DEL MUNDO NUEVO) by THE BLACK LIPS

2) The Growlers @ Bootleg Theatre, LA, October 30th

I wish that I had taken photos of this gig. The costumes for the halloween gig were just incredible. But that’s to say nothing of the gig, which was just the best time I’ve ever seen the Growlers, who just like the Strange Boys are consistently consistent at being amazing. This gig was a two hour long Snake Sex special that saw Brooks Nielsen just act like a snake charmer – goading the audience into the most ridiculous dancing (MYSELF INCLUDED HOLY SHIT); and at the same time being charmed himself by Matt Taylor and the rest of the band. They played like a Greatest Hits (not their first album, just all their best ones) including ‘Underneath Our Palms Blues’ which saw me practically writhing on the floor from joy and amazement. And if my endorsement is not enough… Fab Moretti and Devendra were there. The Growlers are the best band in LA. Period.

DOWNLOAD -> UNDERNEATH OUR PALMS BLUES by THE GROWLERS

1) Peter Doherty @ The Roundhouse, London, September 20th

I felt really weird about making this my number one gig of the year due to the fact Doherty and I have fallen out a little bit this year, but nonetheless I’d been waiting almost 5 years to see this motherfucker turn up for a show (see: France, 2006). But he did turn up and it was beyond all my wildest dreams. We were on the left-hand side of the stage and I was peering backstage and I saw this tall man in a hat lighting a fag and I just didn’t know what to do with myself! Regardless of the fact that musically, I’ve almost moved on, Pete Doherty had a very heavy hand in shaping my world for a time and shaping my musical taste, too. Hearing songs from ‘Down in Albion’ one of my most played albums EVER just killed my heart. I was sad, to see all the production that went into his show frankly because he doesn’t need it. He doesn’t need an orchestra and five people on stage and two ballet dancers. He needs a mic and a fucking old guitar. But he has what he has, and he does what he does and he charms the bees knees off of everyone. ‘Arebours’ and ‘the 32nd of December’ and ‘For Lovers’? I have been and always will be a P.Doh fan and this sealed my fate: the most excellent concert of 2009.

DOWNLOAD -> A FOOL THERE WAS by PETER DOHERTY

The Almighty Defenders Tracklisting/OUT on SEPTEMBER 22
01 All My Loving
02 The Ghost With the Most
03 Bow Down and Die
04 Cone of Light
05 Jihad Blues
06 30 Second Air Blast
07 Death Cult Soup n’ Salad
08 I’m Coming Home
09 Over the Horizon
10 She Came Before Me
11 The Great Defender

mp3 | BOW DOWN AND DIE by THE ALMIGHTY DEFENDERS

03-06 St. Augustine, FL – Harvest of Hope Festival
03-07 Miami, FL – The Vagabond
03-08 Orlando, FL – Wills Pub
03-10 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
03-12 Asheville, NC – Orange Peel
03-13 Nashville, TN – Exit In
03-14 Memphis, TN – Hi-Tone Café
03-15 New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks
03-16 Dallas, TX – Palladium Loft
03-17 San Antonio, TX – The Warhol
03-20 Austin, TX – Emo’s (Vice Records SXSW Showcase)
04-29 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
04-30 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
05-01 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
05-02 Hoboken, NJ – Maxwell’s
05-03 New York, NY – Santo’s Party House
05-07 Boston, MA – Paradise
05-08 Ottowa, Ontario – Babylon
05-09 Montreal, Quebec – La Sala Rossa
05-12 Toronto, Ontario – Phoenix Theatre
05-13 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
05-14 Columbus, OH – Wexner Center
05-15 Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
05-16 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock
05-19 Calgary, Alberta – The Warehouse
05-20 Edmonton, Alberta – The Starlite Room
05-22 Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore Ballroom
05-23 Quincy, WA – Sasquatch Festival
05-25 Portland, OR – Dante’s
05-28 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
05-29 Los Angeles, CA – Echo
05-30 Los Angeles, CA – Echo

What Is?! tracklist:
01 (How Can I Keep You) Outta Harms Way
02 I Wanna Be a Girl
03 Welfare Bread
04 Land of the Freak
05 I See Lights
06 69 Faces of Love
07 No Regrets
08 Cosmic Serenade
09 Le Fils Du Jaques Dutronc
10 Let Me Holler
11 In Your Grave
12 Take a Little Bit
13 Fear & Love
14 The Ballad of Lady Godiva

Dates:
03-06 St. Augustine, FL – Harvest of Hope Festival
03-07 Miami, FL – The Vagabond
03-10 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade *
03-12 Asheville, NC – Orange Peel *
03-13 Nashville, TN – Exit In *
03-14 Memphis, TN – Hi-Tone Café *!
03-15 New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks *!
03-16 Dallas, TX – Palladium Loft *$
03-17 San Antonio, TX – The Warhol *$
03-20 Austin, TX – Emo’s (Vice Records SXSW Showcase)

The Black Lips / Soft Pack (The Muslims) / King Khan & the Shrines / The Thermals / Akron/Family / Japanther / Coalesce / Monotonix / Trash Talk / Jason Lyttle / The Bronx / Vetiver / Abe Vigoda / Vivian Girls / Gentlemen Jessie /Death Set