Kottonmouth Kings @ The GaelicClub, Sydney (07/05/09)

Tue 12th May, 2009 in Gig Reviews

At the entrance to the Gaelic Club, fans of So Cal punk rappers Kottonmouth Kings were greeted with a sign: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, Sen Dog will not be performing, though his band will be.” No doubt those who came to witness the Cypress Hill master felt a little ripped off – perhaps that’s why they got so ripped. After all, this was a gig hailing all things dope. If you were sober and straight, you just weren’t going to get it.

First up, and a little out of place, was Western Sydney outfit Recoil and their brand of hard-up thrashcore. Their metal riffs and double kicks were enough to impress, although the singer’s unrelenting from-the-depths-of-hell snarls failed to capture the imagination of a crowd well on their way to wasted.

Fortunately, West Coast rappers The Literates managed to inject their brief timeslot with enough energy and smart rhymes to fill the vibeless room. By the time the five Kings stepped onto the stage, it was as if the circus was in town. If slam circle soundtracks like Full Throttle and the swagger raps of Where’s The Weed At? weren’t enough to sate fans’ appetites, there were plenty of entertaining gimmicks instead.

Hidden behind sunnies, drummer Lou Dog could have been playing in an igloo for all he knew (or cared), a bandage-masked “visual assassin” swigged beer, smoked and staggered for the entire set, and a megaphone-wielding clown sporadically yelled at the crowd for no particular reason. And then there was the falling glitter. It was like watching Cirque Du Soleil – there was so much going on you didn’t know where to look.

For vocalists who have toured with the same material for the past 15 years, Daddy X, Johnny Richter and D-Loc raced through their trademark skate video rip-hop with surprising fervour. Watching them bounce off each other was like trying to keep up with a tennis match. Although as each stoner anthem quickly ran into the next, their set-list seemed more like a barrage of sound with the tempo set to ‘relentless’. It was refreshing to focus attention on other antics: mantras (“Legalize not legal lies!”) were paraded around on cardboard by the bandaged mascot, joints were ferried from punter to rapper, while slam circles fuelled by people who could barely stand up made for amusing sideshows.

The Kottonmouth Kings proclaim their music is more like a movement or a lifestyle. There’s no missing the point here: that movement revolves around the legalisation of weed. For the devoted fans who wanted to join in the chorus of munted mantras and who hoped to take part in the Kings’ ripped rhetoric (even if only for one night), they definitely got what they paid for.