“THE BEST NIGHT OF OUR LIVES” | THE K’S

INDIE RISER’S THE K’S TAKE ON A SOLD OUT MANCHESTER ACADEMY

Just south of the A580’s Iconic 29.5-mile bypass is the little town of Earlestown where The K’s were formed. Assembled by Jamie Boyle and Dexter Baker in 2017, they become a 4- piece along with Ryan Breslin and Nathan Peers.

Friday’s gig was much anticipated as the guys headlined a completely sold-out Manchester Academy.

As soon as they hit the stage the fans were already in high spirits from DJ sets and an awesome support band The Guest List.

These guys just didn’t disappoint at all. The energy was immense, feeding off the fans to create a buzz of anticipation as to what was up next.

As soon as they hit the stage frontman Jamie was straight on to a speaker to greet the manic crowd only for it to fly off the stage into the pit full of anticipating photographers only just missing our very own juddtookit.

The crowd are baying for it; with pints being thrown it’s absolute chaos. Getting straight into the single Picture the immense surge has security pulling out the unfortunate.

One banger after another with the new single Heart on My Sleeve being quite the crowd-pleaser. Even when things slow down with a little, a rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Wanna Have Fun still has the crowd singing along and throwing either pints or piss in the air. Who knows what’s being thrown but nobody cares because we are here and we are all part of it.

Finally we’re having a moment of calm – it’s surreal. The K’s are just going to get louder and more chaotic, but does the full capacity of the venue want anything less? Of course not. What these guys want is just riff after riff and these young guys are smashing out the park.

When a dimly lit figure appears on stage, there’s an air of confusion but soon enough it’s revealed Manchester’s own acclaimed poet, Tony Walsh. These K’s fans aren’t happy, but it’s received well by the people. It’s what we do in Manchester – we appreciate those special one-off moments so we can be the ones who can say “I was there”.

Some really special moments this evening – guitar riffs, drum solos, poetry and even some Stone Roses bass lines. The highlight of the night for me has to have been Sarajevo – it’s timeless and it’s relatable. 20 miles from home but it’s as close as a hometown gig as a band who are getting as big as The K’s are playing. It’s not indie, it’s not popular rock or even soft rock, it’s ‘Rock n Roll baby’.