We caught up with King Charles on the last night of their tour in Bristol which must have been a breeze after completing 40 gigs in 40  days....while running 40 marathons from John O’Groats to Lands End (1782km), and what a show he put on.

Back on the boat in the wonderful Bristol venue, Thekla, a full capacity were greeted with a slick pop show with shades of indie, soul, and pop driven by fantastic musicianship.

First up was Eli Carvajal, a singer songwriter with beautiful tunes, perfectly complimenting his accomplished guitar playing.  But something looked a little off and I couldn’t figure it out...until I looked at my photos when I got in. He was left handed.....and played his right handed guitar upside down. It sounded stunning. After writing and self recording 3 albums during the pandemic, he had a wealth of material to draw upon and regaled us with stories of his family, his latin American roots and ex loves. The songs were heartfelt and passionately delivered and the in between song dialogue was engaging and drew the audience in.  The light can always be a bit challenging for the support acts here at Thekla, at least for the photographers (!), but the moody, shadowy pictures that came out fitted perfectly the tone of the set.  A great start to Sunday evenings proceedings.

King Charles offered something quite different, backed by a 4 piece band delivering a real power to the set. The king (Charles Costa) is a showman and a very accomplished multi instrumental musician and it wasn’t long into the set that he beckoned the crowd forward to the front of the stage as the songs heated up.  The set traversed his 3 studio albums, his various singles and EP’s as well as previewing some of his soon to be released new material. The songs were longer, extended with additional musical input to really deliver something extra for the live experience, which has got to be the aim, not just reproducing what is on the record. The guitar solos were beautifully executed, as the outro’s drew to a conclusion. The tempo’s meandered though the set but the guitar solos and pulsing beats were never too far away, with the synths delivering layers and depth.

The performance was slick and tight and Charles delivered it all with a musical intensity accompanied by thoughtful and deep lyrical content, while not swaying from an energetic, optimistic feel. The songs feel ‘positive’, while still being soulful, and carrying some deep undertones and messages. On stage, they come alive.

Now that the world has opened up again King Charles will be looking to get up and running again in more ways than one. And I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Words and Pictures by GM Gig Photography