scott schultz

If you’ve ever been to a James Brown concert while tripping balls on a hot summer night, you would have thought you were having a flashback if you were at the Echo on Thursday night for King Khan & The Shrines. The ten-piece psychedelic soul combo from Montreal threw themselves into an hour-plus sweaty set for a near capacity house with costume shedding, crowd surfing guitarists, brass section and several journeys through the crowd by the King himself. Playing tracks from their new CD, The Supreme Genius of King Khan & The Shrines Khan gradually stripped down from white suit, shades and cape to sweatshorts and Spartan helmet. I don’t blame the King for shedding his threads since the room felt 100 + degrees before Khan and his band turned up the heat with their sweaty psychedelic garage soul. Khan paid homage to L.A. legends Arthur Lee & Love that came off as a merge between James Brown and Sun Ra. Khan closed the run with a shirtless cover of Bowie’s Rebel Rebel, concluding with a King’s march through the crowd with helmet on head to the soundboard where he waved good night to his minions. The King also said that the band will be returning in November. If it’s at The Echo, I recommend you get your tickets early, and wear shorts.

- Scott Schultz

for more photos check out: larecord.com/photos