Review: The K’s at NX Newcastle
The K’s – NX Newcastle – Friday 10th March
Well, what a throwback walking through the doors of NX. I haven’t been there since my many Wednesday party nights and teenage year gigs of it being the o2 Academy! It felt so nostalgic to me and brought back so many good memories. I can’t wait to visit again.
The band in question for our evening, The K’s, are a real up and coming hit and they have circulated the festival scene for the last few years. We first saw them three years ago at Hardwick Live where they were the first band to kick off the Sunday line up- me and my partner have been hooked ever since! We actually made all of our friends come to watch them on the main stage at Kendal Calling last year! However, we are waiting for an album drop eagerly but the boys won’t do this until the time is right… please let this be soon!
They are a young band consisting of Jamie, Alex and Dexter who in their own right are all as mad as each other. They hail from a small town in the North West called Earlestown however, there is no secret that Jamie (the lead singer) is a HUGE Newcastle United fan and must have started about 12 chants off throughout the show last night- much to my Mackem boyfriends delight! I just loved watching their sheer delight and passion on stage all night. It just looked like they were having fun from beginning to end… but more on that later!
Kicking off things last night was the wonderful Baltic. A young local band, very young (or am I just getting old?) took to the stage with their upbeat melodies and psychedelic vibes. Their name was a nod to their heritage of Newcastle but also fitted the weather that night. It really was Baltic even inside the venue! Turn off the air con! They gave me big Vampire Weekend/ Mystery Jets vibes and it was refreshing to hear such a unique sound. I loved how they shared the songs- the lead guitarist and the rhythm guitarist shared the singing throughout the set. Both had very different voices but they blended them together beautifully with stunning harmonies. Bravo lads! All three of their songs on Spotify are named after women with their most played being Hazy Jane – a great tune – give it a listen! My only issue was the vocals for the last song were turned right down and it was such a shame as I would have loved to hear more of that beautiful voice.
Next up, we were treated to a set from the iconic Seb Lowe. I say iconic as he is one of the most unique performers I have ever seen. I was gripped by him last night but I think his style may be a Marmite situation. Think beautiful vocals mixed with almost spoken word rap. The only comparisons I can make are a mix between Jamie T and The Streets. He is incredibly intense on stage but he had me gripped. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him – or the incredible electric violin – Wow! Petition to add these to every band please?! His lyrics are insanely intelligent and performed with such passion and vigor. He had stage presence in abundance that’s for sure. I can’t wait to watch this guy perform again and I’m hoping he’ll be hitting up some of the festival circuit this year! Check out iPhone and Kill Him (He’s a Socialist) on Spotify for a glimpse into the brain of Seb! Thoroughly enjoyed and a great choice of support act.
The crowd got busier and busier as the night went on and these young lads managed to pack out NX by the time they entered the stage. This is no mean feat but it just shows you how big their following has gotten already!
A buzz filled the room as the band took to the stage. They opened with the electric Got a Feeling which got the audience going. I will say throughout the whole set the mosh pit had to be one of the biggest and craziest I’ve ever seen. This could be because the average age in the room was about 18. I stayed well clear of course as these days they terrify me!
They looked like they were having the time of their lives and several times Ryan the guitarist got into the audience … and surprisingly made it out alive! You can just see their friendship and genuine love for each other – just best friends living their best lives. Fun fact, Jamie and Dexter have been best friends since Nursery.
They followed with banger after banger. My favourite song of theirs is Hometown and boy did they do it justice. Jamie has one of the most unique and beautiful voices I’ve ever heard. They really have honed in on their own sound and when one of their songs comes on you just know it belongs to them. This isn’t an easy feat but wow, the boys have nailed this down. Their lyrics are also so relatable so I can see why they’ve created such a big following already.
They played their new release Hoping Maybe which is a slower song and really allowed the audience to hear the vocal skills of Jamie, the frontman. Give this tune a listen because it really is special. They introduced their new song Chancer – which will be out Friday- and no surprise it had that terrific ‘The K’s’ upbeat melodies and clever lyrics.
I really enjoyed their rendition of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun too! A little acoustic number with the whole crowd singing along. Finally, they came back out and sang their first ever release – Sarajevo. The whole crowd went wild and sang the words back to the boys. I mean I don’t think I’ve ever heard another song namecheck Austro-Hungary. A short but sweet set – I can’t wait to see these boys grow more and more and wait hopefully for an album!
A properly brilliant gig. Loads of energy. Perfect support acts and stunning vocals throughout the night.
Review by Robyn McGough
Venue – 5/5
Performance – 5/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️