I was with a couple of friends at the iconic Republic Hotel in Hobart who had never seen Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds live before. I felt a certain level of envy about what they were about to witness for the first time. I recalled the first time I saw the band around ten years ago – it was a spontaneous decision at midnight during a white hot Sydney summer and ended up being, to this day, one of the best gigs I had ever witnessed. I didn’t know what to expect at the time – I had seen Kid Congo Powers perform with the iconic line up of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds years before (with Blixa Bargeld and Mick Harvey) and knew of his storied career, but nothing prepared me for the sheer joy of witnessing this band in full flight.
There is always the shock and pleasure of the first time, but tonight’s gig in the dusty old pub surpassed even that.
Powers’s performance was as enchanting as ever (more on that later) but the new songs from the album ‘That Delicious Vice’ added a certain level of nuance to the delivery: punchy dynamic and even psychedelic and mesmerising.
The legendary Kim Salmon (The Scientists) performed first solo, and he was joined by Mick Harvey (The Birthday Party, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) on drums for a few songs. He gave a mesmerising performance aided by loopers, his sartorial splendour and enigmatic presence.
Opening with ‘Silver For My Sister’ from the new album, Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Bird’s set contained a mix of Gun Club songs (not strictly covers since Powers actually played and wrote some of the songs), The Cramps and Pink Monkey Birds originals. The set reached a searing peak with The Cramps double ‘New Kind of Kick’ and ‘Goo Goo Muck’ (dedicated to the TV series Wednesday which featured it in an iconic scene). but it was the Pink Monkey Bird originals which really shone for me.
The autobiographical ‘Ese Vicio Delicioso’ (complete with Spanish lessons for the audience) was a rampant joy with its singalong chorus, and the completely mesmerising ‘He Walked In’, a song about a dream Powers had about his late lamented friend Jeffrey Lee Piece from The Gun Club (from the 2021 EP ‘Swing From The Sean DeLear’) was brilliant. This was an extraordinary rendition – psychedelic and hypnotic, wandering over brilliant landscapes and ebbing and flowing like an immersive tide. This song alone more than anything outlined the utter brilliance of the band and its growth over the years.
At this point and due to the transfixing bass line in this song, mention should be made of Mick Harvey’s presence. The Pink Monkey Birds had lost their bass player and played and recorded as a three piece, but upon hearing of the Australian tour, Harvey offered his services on bass and his contribution to the night was as superb as it was enigmatic. He played as if he was a lifelong member of the band and with great grace and presence.
Mention too must be made of drummer Ron Miller who provided a thundering platform and guitarist Mark Cisneros with his iconic Mosrite creating shimmering reverberated sounds, adding structure and sparkle.
‘La Araña es La Vida’ was blistering and joyful as was ‘Wicked World’ and ‘A Beast, A Priest’. The encore saw the live favourite ‘Sex Beat’ played and the band was joined by Kim Salmon for an extraordinary rendition of Howling Wolf’s ‘I Asked For Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)’.
It was the most explosive performance overall and certainly blew away the audience.
And Kid Congo Powers himself put on an extraordinary performance. In my recent interview with him, he spoke about starting his solo career seeing one of the last performances of The Cramps, where he had an epiphany of sorts. He realised that rather starting anew with a fresh new persona, he should, like The Cramps, be himself in performance – give it all and express himself. And he does just that. Larger than life in a cape and a cacophony of colours, he is expressive and totally immersed – a magnetic and enigmatic performer. It is as if he is in a deep trance – completely buried in the music, the lyrics and the delivery, gesticulating, rolling his eyes back, striking poses and evoking wild noises from his guitar. His inter song banter was hilarious and his presence luminous.
Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds play the last gigs of their Australian tour tonight at the Oxford Art Factory, Friday at The Gumball, Lower Belford and on Saturday at The Zoo in Brisbane (details and tickets for all gigs available here). Do yourself a favour. It is altogether too rare to see such a blinding performance that leaves you with a rictus smile as you leave the venue.
Feature Photograph and Gallery: Arun Kendall
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