I finally got to see @king810flint live this past Sunday at @soniamideast in Cambridge, MA with @pixiemooncave
It’s taken me a few days of rest after the fact for me focus enough to make this post(s), but here we go…
The entire experience was so cool. I love going to shows with @pixiemooncave. I just wish I didn’t have so much pre-show anxiety. I really get in my own way of having fun a lot of the time.
There weren’t very many people there, but the energy was high. I basically had my elbows resting on the stage. I tried to keep my distance and be respectful though because I didn’t want to interfere with their performance in any way.
It was unreal watching them play. I honestly can’t think of too many artists that put on a better performance than them. Absolutely flawless.
They played songs from every album aside from Midwest Monsters.
@dkgunn and @eugeneaaron were so cool for listening to me ramble on and ask them a million questions after the show.
Things just kept popping into my head and I just kept saying everything. David seemed really engaged. We just talked like normal people. He’s really calm and quiet despite how intense he is onstage. We must have talked for a half hour, maybe more. I honestly can’t remember.
I’m glad that I was last in line for the meet and greet though because I just could not shut up and am glad I didn’t get in anyone else’s way. I just hope I wasn’t too annoying 😬
I brought David’s book “Summertime in Murdertown” and had him sign it. I also brought the inserts to all seven of their CDs and stuck them inside his book so they wouldn’t get damaged on the way there and back. Him and Eugene signed all of them.
I got a VIP pass so it would be a guarantee that I’d meet them. The things that came with the VIP were worth the price alone.
I bought two t-shirts the minute I walked in the door, and their merch guy was nice enough to hold all of my belongings inside my VIP bag.
I also noticed that they had their “follow my tears” EP on vinyl for sale at the merch table. It was the only one of their albums that I didn’t own on vinyl.
It sold out almost immediately online and has remained out of stock ever since. I mentioned it to the band and they said that they just forgot to put it back up on the site.
However, after the show I noticed that my exclusive VIP shirt was missing from my bag. They told me that they didn’t have any more in my size and that I could pick out any other shirt design I wanted from their table.
I was a bit bummed and slightly disappointed, but I saw what the shirt design was from other people’s bags and wasn’t in love with it to be honest. I still would have liked one just for the memory of being there for that specific tour.
Instead of asking for another shirt design, I asked if I could replace it with the vinyl that I was missing and the merch guy said “done deal” or “sounds good to me”. Something along those lines. David said “see, you manifested that shit”.
I opened it right up and David and Eugene signed it. I also asked why their last two releases both said K5 and David confirmed that they are parts one and two of the same release.
However, after the show I noticed that my exclusive VIP shirt was missing from my bag. They told me that they didn’t have any more in my size and that I could pick out any other shirt design I wanted from their table.
I was a bit bummed and slightly disappointed, but I saw what the shirt design was from other people’s bags and wasn’t in love with it to be honest. I still would have liked one just for the memory of being there for that specific tour.
Instead of asking for another shirt design, I asked if I could replace it with the vinyl that I was missing and the merch guy said “done deal” or “sounds good to me”. Something along those lines. David said “see, you manifested that shit”.
I opened it right up and David and Eugene signed it. I also asked why their last two releases both said K5 and David confirmed that they are parts one and two of the same release.
KING has been one of, if not my favorite band for years now, and David Gunn is without a doubt my favorite lyricist. It was surreal to finally meet him to say the least.
I first discovered KING because I had read somewhere that there was this band who played with armed guards onstage, so I had to see what that was all about.
The first song I heard was “War Outside”, which was the video where they had people with guns on each side of the stage.
I remember watching the video and not quite understanding it at first. I liked the music and could tell they were nu metal. I just wasn’t enthralled yet, and I couldn’t quite make out what David looked like because he had a shaved head and was in all black jumpsuit type of thing. Gloves and all. It seems as if he was trying to neutralize his identity entirely.
I first discovered KING because I had read somewhere that there was this band who played with armed guards onstage, so I had to see what that was all about.
The first song I heard was “War Outside”, which was the video where they had people with guns on each side of the stage.
I remember watching the video and not quite understanding it at first. I liked the music and could tell they were nu metal. I just wasn’t enthralled yet, and I couldn’t quite make out what David looked like because he had a shaved head and was in all black jumpsuit type of thing. Gloves and all. It seems as if he was trying to neutralize his identity entirely.
Once the bridge of the song started, I began to understand that they were singing about drastically different things than the hardcore bands I knew of growing up were.
This wasn’t the cheesy and embarrassing posturing I was used to hearing from “tough guy” bands. This was real. This felt like the person writing these words was doing the opposite of bragging about living a rough life on the streets. It seemed to have affected him in ways that he wished he never had to witness or experience.
However, it was the final lyrics of the song that sold me on the band immediately. I won’t just sit here and copy & paste the lyrics (go listen to it for yourself).
I could tell that there was so much more to this band than meets the eye and that they would definitely evolve and change in ways that other bands can’t. Looking back, I was completely right.
This wasn’t the cheesy and embarrassing posturing I was used to hearing from “tough guy” bands. This was real. This felt like the person writing these words was doing the opposite of bragging about living a rough life on the streets. It seemed to have affected him in ways that he wished he never had to witness or experience.
However, it was the final lyrics of the song that sold me on the band immediately. I won’t just sit here and copy & paste the lyrics (go listen to it for yourself).
I could tell that there was so much more to this band than meets the eye and that they would definitely evolve and change in ways that other bands can’t. Looking back, I was completely right.
I immediately started clicking all of their videos and kept finding one incredible song after another. I couldn’t believe some of the things coming out of this guy’s mouth. It just kept getting more and more intense. Very blunt but poetic.
To summarize this long post - Their music has been a constant companion for me throughout all of the mental and emotional turmoil that I’ve experienced over the last 5 or 6 (?) years, and made me realize a lot of things about my own traumas.
I identified with certain lyrics literally and some metaphorically. Others just plain made me grateful that I didn’t have to go through as bad of an upbringing as others have.
David Gunn is a genius, and I will be a fan for the rest of my life.
#KINGISLOVE
To summarize this long post - Their music has been a constant companion for me throughout all of the mental and emotional turmoil that I’ve experienced over the last 5 or 6 (?) years, and made me realize a lot of things about my own traumas.
I identified with certain lyrics literally and some metaphorically. Others just plain made me grateful that I didn’t have to go through as bad of an upbringing as others have.
David Gunn is a genius, and I will be a fan for the rest of my life.
#KINGISLOVE