(all photos by Keith Klenowski)
It seemed that everyone was at Northside Tavern Thursday night to see The King Khan & BBQ Show.  The bar was packed, even for the tour’s opening band,Tennessee-based Those Darlins.  Everyone seemed enraptured by the twangier, Southern-style Sleater-Kinney as they ripped through their set.

What I came to see though was King Khan.  I had seen him earlier in the year with The Shrines, and I had left the venue that night covered in birthday cake, a testament to the ridiculousness of a KK show.  King Khan stepped onstage in a skimpy gold dress and a blue wig, while partner-in-crime Mark “BBQ” Sultan sat at the drums in a turban and cape before ripping into their first song.   While KK and BBQ’s set was the usual unapologetically sloppy mix of  garage rock, doo wop and soul, the two proved to be surprisingly subdued throughout the night.

Granted, the band were recently arrested for alleged drug possession in Kentucky, and it was their last show of their U.S. tour.  It also couldn’t have helped the mood when someone in the crowd yelled something about ‘shrooms, to which BBQ mumbled something along the lines of  “Yeah, only in this part of the world do you people get so uptight about that shit.” The show eventually picked up when a handful of people – mostly members of opening band Those Darlins – bum rushed the stage in masks during “Animal Party.”

Though The King Khan & BBQ Show may not have lived up to the hype set by previous shows Thursday night, it was still a damn good time.   As one friend at the show put it,  “I got to hang out with friends, drink some shitty beer, and listen to some rock and roll.  I had a great night.”