Capturing the magic of an intimate venue, King No-One brought their tour to Nottingham's Bodega on September 18th. Lucas Mannion reviews.
After almost 3 years without going to a concert I was craving a chance to see live music again. What better way to kick start my reintroduction to gigs than indie-rock three-piece King No-One?
I moved to Nottingham as a fresher in September 2020, but due to COVID restrictions I had yet to visit any of the music venues in the city. For an independent band like King No-One, the smaller space of the Bodega was perfect for creating an intimate atmosphere. This made it all too easy for the trio to captivate their eager audience with their energy and the impressive vocal range and skill of lead singer Zach Lount.
With the frontman clad in a calf-length leather coat, the upside-down cross drawn on his forehead, and shirtless with his nipples covered in black tape, it is no surprise that King No-One have managed to accrue a large following of queer listeners. Halfway through the set an audience-member passed a pride flag to the stage. In response, Zach draped it around his shoulders, danced with it around the stage, and climbed on top of the speaker to hold it high for all to see. I managed to speak to the band while at the merch stand, where I learned that they normally bring their own pride flags – both the rainbow queer and the blue, pink and white transgender flags.
''The whole audience bouncing and shouting the lyrics up to the stage was a perfect example of the sense of community that the band have created with their music''
As their name comes from their belief that “no-one is king,” King No-One have been vocal advocates for social equality and standing up for minorities. Their lyrics don’t dodge around this, singing openly about class inequality in Roll of the Dice and the dystopian state of the world in New Prophet. In particular, the song Antichrist has become an anthem for the outcasts. It seems only fitting that this was their grand finale. The whole audience bouncing and shouting the lyrics up to the stage was a perfect example of the sense of community that the band have created with their music.
This feeling is not lost on the band themselves either – between songs Zach openly expressed his gratitude to the crowd for listening to their new releases throughout the pandemic and singing the lyrics back to him on the stage. He said it was really significant for them as unsigned artists to maintain such a strong following and thanked both new and old listeners for their support.
Long after the show ended the band were still outside the venue talking and taking pictures with the fans. It was a night to remember, and I look forward to seeing what King No-One do next.
Written by: Lucas Mannion
Edited by: Amrit Virdi
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