The Kong-Kings!!!

Some days ago I was invited over by some juveniles to a smoky bar in one of the suburbs of Noordscheschutte. Unfamiliar with their group I was a bit reluctant, but upon entering “De Stee” I see three young guys occupy the stage. This is a good start. Too often we are confronted with old men doing some punk rock just to get past their midlife crisis. The band members are all either nineteen or twenty, perhaps still going to high school. Calling themselves The Kong-Kings, Johnny Kong, Marky Kong and Pete Kong are playing for some friends and the regulars on this Friday night. Too much music is fake, done because it’s cool or because they’re trying to become famous. I could tell instantly that this was the real shit. These boys have no other choice. The only music that they will ever play is bluesy rock´n´roll. It’s in their blood, just as much as drinking a cold beer or watching FC Groningen (probably). Judging is wrong when you think about it, but always judge a man by his shoes. I saw two pairs of converse all stars and one pair of Beatle boots. We can now proceed with the rocking portion of the evening seeing as they have passed the shoe test. Kicking off with their theme tune and then hitting me with a sure athem "I can see it in your eyes". And they know their stuff, covering some Meppel classics; “Love” originally from the Garage Kids, “I want it” from the Josephs & “Psychedelic Blues” from the No-Goods. Recently they also recorded a fine bunch of tunes, easily available through their myspace, www.myspace.com/kongkings. On there the last one is properly titled Psychedelic Blooz, because it swaggers all over the place. Like the boys, changing instruments whenever they feel like it. Johnny fell over the bass drum, Marky was bumming a fag and Pete would riff, solo, wail…whatever. Trying to decide whether a band is fucked on drugs is great. They could be smacked, drunked, coked out of their mind…or they could be so into the music that they are just feeling it, soaking it in, feeling like a sponge. An acquaintance of mine said if they tightened up they’d be great. No, fuck you…they are great, stuff like this is best left sloppy, bowing at the home plate of Chuck Berry, the New York Dolls and the Oblivians. It’s times like this when I’m at my happiest…when I see a band DOING IT RIGHT!!! Like nothing else matters. That god himself has divinely inspired the group in front of me in such ways that perfection isn’t an option, it’s the only choice. The recordings they made are no let down either and captures their spirit on stage perfectly. These Noordscheschutters connected to me. I can smell my own, they pissed in my face, and we were soon apes on the same rock.

The Kong-Kings - I can see it in your eyes