The historic Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, played host to legendary trio King’s X on Sunday night. Out on the road promoting their latest release, Three Sides of One (2022), King’s X was supported by Nashville-based Sound & Shape. Built in 1930, this 1,800-capacity venue was originally designed in a Spanish baroque style has a general admission floor setting with an upper seated balcony area and is always a great indoor setting to catch a live show, especially when it is 95 degrees outside.
Sound & Shape, a trio made up of Ryan Caudle (guitar/vocals), Pat Lowry (bass/vocals), and Ben Proctor (drums/vocals), took to the stage at 8pm. Showcasing tunes from their latest release, Disaster Medicine (2022), the band delivered an amazing set of originals over the course of 45 minutes, including my favorite, “Someday Maybe.” I have always had deep respect for any three-member band, as not only is there no room for error live, but I believe it forces tighter songwriting and provides opportunities for more robust vocal melodies across bandmates. Self-described as having “songs that range from the heavy and fierce to the soothing and gentle,” Sound & Shape seemingly impressed the early crowd with their set, with Caudle joking at the end that Atlanta needed to beat Nashville’s prior night’s merchandise sales record.
Sound & Shape
Ryan Caudle – Lead vocals, Guitar
Pat Lowry – Bass
Ben Proctor – Drums
Following a fairly quick equipment turn – and to the excited chants of “Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!” as he stepped behind the drum kit – Dug Pinnick, Jerry Gaskill and Ty Tabor took to the stage a bit before 9:15pm. As expected, there were no theatrics with King’s X. It was just three stellar musicians with amps and instruments kicking off the evening with “Groove Machine” from their 1998 release, Tape Head.
It goes without saying that King’s X is one of the most respected progressive metal bands of our generation. Their sound has always been unique and innovative, driven by Pinnick’s vocals and definitive bass tone, Tabor’s memorable guitar riffs, and Gaskill’s timed hammering of the skins. Having last seen King’s X back in 1992 when they opened for Living Colour, it is almost hard to believe they have been at it for over four decades.
The initial 14-song setlist pulled heavily from Three Sides of One following early song performances of “The World Around Me,” “Pillow,” and “Flies and Blue Skies.” With Pinnick grinning ear to ear, the band seamlessly moved from these recognizable deep catalog tunes to showcase seven tracks from their new release, including my two favorites in “Give It Up” and “Watcher.” The distinctive harmonies and catchy choruses continue to remain as the through-line for what makes King’s X’s music so special. Closing out the pre-encore set was an electric delivery of “We Were Born to be Loved” off their third studio album, Faith Hope Love (1990).
After a quick break and on-stage instrument re-tuning by the techs, the band returned and launched into fan-favorite “Dogman” to start the encore set, immediately followed by “King,” a song 72-year-old Pinnick joked was “for the old-timers that remember Headbangers Ball.” However, the highlight of the night was clearly the emotional, crowd-lead sign-along of “Goldilox” to put an exclamation point on the evening. Pinnick simply turned his mic around to point out towards the audience, and along with Gaskill and Tabor, clearly just took in the moment of passionate adulation from their adoring fans singing at the top of their lungs.
Following a few weeks off, King’s X will next appear at the Sellersville Theater in Sellersville, PA, on Thursday, August 3rd.
King’s X
Doug “dUg” Pinnick – Lead vocals, Bass
Jerry Gaskill – Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Ty Tabor – Guitar, Vocals
Setlist
1.) Groove Machine
2.) The World Around Me
3.) Pillow
4.) Flies and Blue Skies
5.) Vegetable
6.) All God’s Children
7.) Flood, Pt. 1
8.) Nothing but the Truth
9.) Give It Up
10.) Let It Rain
11.) Festival
12.) Pray
13.) Watcher
14.) We Were Born to Be Loved
Encore
15.) Dogman
16.) King
17.) Goldilox
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Elliott is a music photographer covering shows in Atlanta, Georgia, and the surrounding area. The highlight of his photography career was back in the early ’90s, when he sold Neil Diamond the rights to his negatives from a show and then purchased a set of tires for his 1979 280ZX during college with the money.