23 November 2023 (gig)
24 November 2023
The walk to Islington's Garage is a hop, skip and two jumps from Highbury underground. Met by blue neon lights and pleasant door staff, after a quick pat down, and receiving a smudged black ink stamp on the back of my hand, I enter the former billiard hall and local gangster hang out and, for the last 3 decades, a premier London venue. No-one, however, is confirming or denying if the gangsters have left. The audience is diverse, from the young, cool fashionistas, to the less young, who can just about remember being cool and those hoping that they will one day come back into fashion. I include myself in the latter.
When does a project become a band? Is there a difference? James Walbourne's latest outfit with his Pretenders cohort, Danish drum supremo, Kristoffer Sonne, may bridge the two. Live, His Lordship are a three piece duo with Dave Page, a constant live band member adding bass to guitar and drums. The band have been building a fanbase over the last few years and tonight's audience know what to expect and can't wait.
His Lordship start their set with "All Cranked up", they already were and we soon joined them. High octane delivery and volume turned up to 11, and we off to a flying start. "Joy Boy" follows with its falsetto chorus and pumping bassline. The band, suited and booted, fly into "Jackie works for the NHS", released as a single and more of a love story than social comment on healthcare, definitely a crowd favourite. "Lonely Saturday Night" is a slower interlude, but is a real highlight. The Link Wray cover of "Run Chicken Run" is a worthy tribute to the 50's country rockabilly guitarist. "The way I walk" is another cover from the same genre but with a little more grit in the ointment than Jack Scott's original and edging closer to The Cramps version. Another single, "Buzzkill" keeps up the energy and thankfully doesn't live up to the name.
James's Gibson SG fires off notes like a gatling gun shoots bullets. If The Boss "got his guitar and learned how to make it talk", then James taught his guitar to talk, walk, study micro-economics and help out at lambing time. There are few as good or better, maybe his father-in-law....
Kris has his nightly moment in the spotlight with lead vocals on "My brother is an only child". Balanced on his bass drum and swinging the microphone above his head, he then morphs into a bespectacled albatross flapping its wings as he barks lyrics to an adoring crowd..If none of this makes sense, it shouldn't and that's ok. Another virtuoso performance on guitar for "sleepwalk" before finishing the set with a few bangers, "I am in Amsterdam" closes the set.
A quick wipe with a towel and the band return to cheers and go pure rock and roll with "-ruisin" before the grand finale, a cover of Billy "The Kid " Emerson's "Red Hot". And they were. His Lordship are a tour de force, mainlining rock and roll with a sneer. They are proud to wear their influences on the sleeves of their suit jackets and are at the peak of their musical powers. I believe a debut album is on the horizon, if it captures half of the stage presence, it will be a must listen.
