A good ritual maketh the show!
It’s been a whirlwind past few months for Kingswood, who came out of Melbourne’s strict lockdown with a new album and a host of new music, including October’s Reveries – a rejigged edition of their March 2020 album, Juveniles.
Released a year ago on the cusp of the pandemic, as the world was turning on its head, while Kingswood have played stripped-back gigs post-COVID, Juveniles hasn’t been honoured with a full-scale rock show since its fateful March 2020 launch at The Corner.
Now, on Saturday June 5 in 2021, Kingswood will finally perform their first proper rock show back, invigorating St Kilda’s Palais Theatre for one night only. Supported by Cry Club, Shannen James (solo) and Psychobabel, the return of Kingswood’s full-scale setup is much-anticipated, even yearned if you will, by their fans and the like.
To gear us up for the big event, we asked Kingswood’s lead vocalist, Fergus Linacre, about the band’s pre-show rituals, and there’s more to a band’s pre-game processes than you might think.
Keep up to date with all the latest music news here.
Morale-making
Ensuring myself and the whole Kingswood (KW) gang are in the best possible frame of mind before a show is extremely important. Whatever energy is within you at that time will inevitably be brought onstage with you, and in turn that’ll affect those performing with you and the audience.
I always have an eye on team morale – annoyingly so to many I’m sure. Being aware if someone needs to vent, needs some alone time or needs a distraction is an important habit in order to bring the team closer together. I think it also helps to break down the fourth wall, making the audience feel like they are part of the team too.
Family dinners
I like to softly enforce a family meal before each show. Where possible, no closer than two hours before we go on. We know that if you play on a full stomach, your tempos will drop and the show will feel very lethargic. You also may vomit. On the other hand, if you don’t eat you will get too drunk in the show and play bad. Take Braiden (Michetti) at The Metro for example: “Ferg I’m so sorry, I’m wasted, I can’t play bass.”
Real world fruit ninja
I especially like to be free of all duties at least an hour before the show, and hang with everyone in the green room for drinking, games, drinking games, and general fun. If there is a fruit platter and a knife, real world fruit ninja is excellent.
Pump up the band
Throughout a tour someone is always assigned to deliver a pump-up speech. This goes for both the band and crew and is always a laugh. Everyone must pay full attention and adhere to any requests with full enthusiasm, i.e. taking a knee, holding hands, even chanting.
Lectures (the fun kind)
If the green room has a white board, I will deliver a lecture. The subject matter for these lectures is secret – no photos or recordings of the lecture are allowed and the white board is to be cleaned upon the lecture’s completion. The lectures are always inspirational, and guide those listening through many aspects of life.
Lastly…
Another pre-show ritual is called ‘Finding Alex’, this involves finding Alex because we have to go on stage.
Kingswood will bring their full-scale rock show to The Palais on Saturday June 5. Grab tickets here.
