The Gig: Connor Clark and the Matador Kings

Connor Clark and the Matador Kings headline a fantastic night of Aberdeen talent at Drummonds. Kimbo was there.

Drummonds 20th May 2022 

I had first heard Connor Clark and the Matador Kings when they supported The Rahs in October 2021. I could tell then that this was a band that was right up my street. So knowing they had a headline of their own back at Drummonds, I was quick to purchase a ticket 🎟 

To kick the evening off, they had support in the form of one half of Aberdeen band She’s Taken. Sadly they were a few members short due to illness. But stepping up for the band James Emslie and James Croft took to the stage. What they lacked in band members, they made up for in humour,  joking we could call them “He’s Available” then confessing that one of them with guitar in hand was actually the drummer!

They still pulled off a set smiling at one another the whole way through it and finding their groove as they went. James Emslie struck me as having a powerful vocal and they harmonised well while sipping their Red Stripe but giving me a blues rocky vibe . The tracks they played were an eclectic mix. I would be interested to hear them as a full band. Even with two of them on the stage there was some serious jamming going on. They seemed to enjoy their time on stage with lots of laughs and banter with us all. They definitely deserve more listeners on their Spotify and I would look out for them again.

Marc Culley

Next up was another local North East lad Marc Culley. I’ve listened to Marc over the years but hadn’t heard him live in a while. I’m so used to hearing his tracks blaring through the speakers at Pittodrie so it was a treat to hear this set as so stripped back. Just him, his guitar and his ability to sing so well through the pain that he mentioned to me his wisdom teeth were causing him!

Hearing his own track Outta My Mind straight away draws you into Marc’s smooth vocals and immediately you hear the Gallagher/Ashcroft influences. He was confident on stage and did a blinding version of Bittersweet Symphony after having also thrown in Stereophonics’ Maybe Tomorrow which showed off a rasp to his voice that you need to pull that tune off. I particularly enjoyed how he worked James’ Tomorrow into the end of another of his own tracks See Feel Love. This is another act I would love to hear with a full band behind him. 

Connor Clark and the Matador Kings

Then the volume went up to 100 when Connor Clark and the Matador Kings took to the stage encouraging us to “Come on down that’s mare like it” and created a wave of fans ready for a bounce down the front of Drummonds and opened up with their powerful 2021 hit Can you Feel it… yes yes we can. 

It didn’t take long to realise this set was going to be all levels of rock n roll and all the lads were buzzing to be on stage. I didn’t realise until Connor said later that Fergus Clifton, Lead Guitarist was having his first gig experience on stage with them, you wouldn’t have known, they were blasting through the tracks accompanied by Craig on bass smashing it while Euan, drummer threw out some phenomenal beats from the back of the stage.

Highlights for me from the Aberdeen rockers included, Once a Pretty Liar, no idea how Connor can play the guitar so well and concentrate on that while all those lyrics flowed out of him so quickly through that track but he did it with ease and had the whole crowd involved.

Their indie inspired catchy tunes and the beat to the intro of Echoes and Patience sounded absolute fire and after a belting cover of I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, their most recent single Bitterness is Empty which I’ve had on repeat for weeks was another level live, they had it down to a fine art and they do it all again at Broadcast Glasgow on the 27th May, if you want a large slice of rock n roll to add to your weekend, go see them! 

Kimbo 💜🎧