Live Review//Ikil Oriion at The Alley Cat, London.
There’s a street in
central London that many musician readers will know for the fact that it’s
so, well, musical. And that’s because it’s a street full of music shops and
venues for music to be heard and performed. Denmark Street is the name of that
place and there’s a rather cool bar called The Alley Cat where I saw a certain self-styled
intergalactic star recently.
Ikil Oriion is a name
that is well known among a certain set and judging by the memorable
performance him and his Asteroidz gave on this otherwise quiet Tuesday evening
that set can only grow wider. Arriving on stage with a bang he launched into a
ten song set that flew by faster than it should have done and far too quickly
for many.
With a razor sharp punk
edge to the music and a noticeably physical manifestation of said energy he was
in the crowds faces like nothing else, even trashing his own merch table at one
point by jumping at it suddenly. (Of course, it was rectified soon after!) The
set was powered by the bands powerful punk-rock backing to the truly powerful
stage presence of the man himself. In your face has never been so descriptive
as he stalked the tiny stage like a panther on the loose, regularly launching
himself into the crowd with an aplomb rarely seen.
Highlights from the set
included a rocked up version of our album fave Revolution with Ikil on full performer
mode and excellently so. Rock Out also did exactly as its title suggested – and
anyone suggesting otherwise needs to get down to see this man in action! The
whole set was really one huge highlight, a never ending rock out that ended
with a well chosen cover of a certain Mr Bowie’s I’m Afraid of Americans that
was concluded with a message that we shouldn’t be afraid of Americans, because
“contrary to popular belief, we come in peace!”
And there’s no reason
to deny that when they come in the form of the new Prince of Punk, Ikil Oriion.
Check this guy out when he comes to your town, as he surely will...
Reviewed by Sebastian
Gahan.