Preoccupy My Brain Tour
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Lola’s Room; Portland, OR
If you find yourself witnessing an excessive amount of hair flipping, spastic jamming, and a uniform of tie-dye and Vans, you’re most likely at a King Shelter show. The foursome commanded the small stage in Portland on Tuesday night with a natural ease and exuberant presence. The Southern California-based group coined the term “salad rock”, best described as a combo of surf/indie/grunge/pop music.
Opening the night with their playful track, ”LuvSub”, the bond of the group was clear from the start with their youthful energy that couldn’t help but put a smile on your face. The night started on a lighthearted note with the theme of failed love and cheery guitar. The vocalist, Taylor, is extremely animated and entertaining to watch as the consistent pang of emotion emerges with each quivering lyric. King Shelter accomplishes a truly organic sound that doesn’t forced when on stage.
The three guitarists Taylor, David, and John bounced spastically along the stage during the majority of the set, colliding into each other, and at one point, dismantling a few speakers and tripping up cables from Adam’s drum set, all in the end brushing it off like it was a normal occurrence.
Their set had a few micro guitar jam sessions sprinkled in that let their more grunge-rock side come through with shouty vocals and heavy drums and guitar, and some more hair flipping. The tracks “People Change” and “Failure” was a genuine, blunt portrayal of their sassier, emotional sides. The trembling, imperfect vocals mixed with their surfer-edge guitar aesthetic is what differentiates this group among other cookie cutter indie-rock out there.
The group played a new track titled “Everything Hurts” they introduced: “To David, R.I.P., man”, which was a lighthearted, comedic track despite its title. Ending the show with the catchy track “Holy Ghost” brought their fun-loving demeanor full circle. These guys have an automatic, natural likability and edge that oozes West Coast cool. They know how to have fun and how to command a room with their versatile sound that keeps listeners engaged.