Review: King's X at The Orange Peel
Doug Pinnick is an alien.
How else to account for not only the King’s X bassist/vocalist’s extremely long, sinewy arms, but his ability to hold court at The Orange Peel and enthrall his loyal fans a few months shy of his 74th birthday?
Though the venue was slightly less than half full on June 18, the dedicated audience compensated for its numbers with rapt attention and loving commentary, lobbing various praises and words of thanks at Pinnick, guitarist Ty Tabor, and drummer Jerry Gaskill. (“Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!”)
The long-running rock/metal trio reciprocated that energy with rip-roaring renditions of songs that spanned its 40-plus year history, primarily spotlighting its latest album, 2022’s Three Sides of One, whose seven featured tracks fit seamlessly alongside “World Around Me,” “We Were Born to Be Loved,” and other works they’ve been performing together for three-plus decades.
As Pinnick’s lanky fingers traversed his instrument’s strings with measured ease, Tabor let loose on a number of impressive solos (and vocal leads) while Gaskell relentlessly kept the tempo, his long hair billowing in classic rock-star fashion, courtesy of an unseen box fan.
His voice fading in the lead-up to the night’s 20th and final song, Pinnick turned his microphone so that it faced the crowd, which accepted his pantomimed request to take the lead on “Goldilox.” United in mutual appreciation for one more tune, King’s X temporarily welcomed a few hundred new members into the band, the bulk of whom aced the audition.
(Photo by Edwin Arnaudin)
