Live At The Old Waldorf
Liberation Hall, 2023
9/10
Listen to Live At The Old Waldorf
The Kingsnakes were part of the punk/New Wave scene of San Francisco in the early ‘80s, where the founder Daniel Jeanrenaud (aka The Camden Cat) is joined by James Ferrell (guitar), Ze Moita (bass), Danny Mihm (drums) and Karl Malinowski (guitar) for this set opening for Robert Gordon at the Old Waldorf in 1981.
“Rock’n’Roll House” begins the listen with crisp drums and throbbing bass, as rhythmic and playful rockabilly enters the lively climate that will get your body moving, and “My Babe” follows with some proto-punk energy entering the head bobbin’, toe tappin’ delivery of retro rock’n’roll.
Further along, the busy and melodic “Not Nice” is full of swirling guitar, a lively rhythm section and smooth singing, while the conversational “Look Out Mabel” will get anyone out on the dance floor thanks to the acrobatic bass and playful drumming.
Ending the set is the rowdy “Good Rockin’ City”, which might be the best track, where the rawness of the instrumentation makes for a thick, loud and memorable closer, but we’re also treated to a couple of bonus studio tracks, where “More” is a cultured, multi-faceted version of rock.
Jeanrenaud would eventually bring The Kingsnakes back to Europe, where he’s from, and the band would exist in different forms for many years. This release, which comes with excellent sound quality, preserves the early days of the band, who were an important piece of the Bay Area scene, and certainly deserve more recognition than they received.
Travels well with: APB- Something To Believe In; The Mutants- Curse Of The Easily Amused