Gorillas in our midst..
Mark White and his King Kong Company ready for their biggest indoor show at the Olympia
They have built up a reputation as one of Ireland’s finest live acts on the festival circuit but Waterford dance outfit King Kong Company are intent on proving they’re more than just a field-filler.
Fresh from their blistering sets at Electric Picnic the band – famed for their infectious onstage energy and enthusiasm – are gearing up for a headline show at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre on October 13.
“It will be the biggest headline show we’ve done yet,” frontman Mark White told The Beat.
“We set our sights on The Olympia earlier this year, we’re looking to put on a really good night and I think we will.
“We’re conscious of the fact that people have to put their hands in their pockets a little bit deeper than some other places that we play.
Stepping from the familiar surroundings of the summer festival circuit into major venues is a significant moment for the band who are not for the first time moving into uncharted territory.
The collective from all four corners of the country have worked to meld together elements of rock, electro and dub music, to create a unique sound and feel to their dynamic live show.
Mark has an intimate knowledge of festivals having wrote a ‘A Year Of Festivals In Ireland’ blog and column for The Irish Times.
He would regularly attend three festivals a week, building up valuable knowledge and formulating a game plan for his King Kong Company venture.
“When we got started the festival circuit is something that we had our eye on, and I think we’ve done well out of it because our music has that element of fun in it, he said.
Planning and preparation is key to the success of band who’s visual presence on stage is almost on as important as their music.
Their bonkers stage shows boast everything from dancers bouncing around stage with cardboard boxes placed on their heads to laser shooting bunny rabbits and fist pumping gorillas.
With a huge creative team, balancing inputs has been a challenge, but one that brings with it huge benefits.
“We work in a team of about 12 people who are all involved in the creative process – lights visuals and sound, you name it,” Mark explained.
“Within that group you have a hell of a lot of different tastes and we all want to try and represent ourselves as well as possible.”
Setting goals is part of that same planning and preparation exercise, who set out to achieve specific milestones for each year they enter.
“It’s just something we’ve always done you know, three years ago we set the goal of filling the largest tent at Electric Picnic, and we did that.
“This year we wanted to fill the Olympia and we’re well on course to achieving that.
“To that end we’re a success, these are the goals we set ourselves and it’s a really nice feeling when you achieve them.”
King Kong Company are crowd pleasers and like any great live act, thrive on giving their audience something unique to take away from a show.
Their
spontaneity means that you’ll never see the same set twice as a punter.
“What we try and do is to have something new every time we play a set, something that nobody has heard before.
“This year at Electric Picnic we paid tribute to Aretha Franklin (inset).”
Perhaps the most endearing thing about the band is that they very obviously live for what they do.
And they’re good at it.
While selling out arenas may be the game plan going forward, the band’s spiritual home will always be the tent or the field.
For Mark especially the festival atmosphere is one in which he feels very much at home.
“Playing
Glastonbury was amazing,” he said.
“You know three of us would have regularly gone as punters and to get picked up in an airport and be driven to play at the festival was a huge moment for us.
“It was actually quite surreal in a way to experience it from the other side of things.
“It was like playing in an All Ireland final”
lking Kong Company play The Olympia Theatre Saturday October 13. Tickets €22.50 are available through Ticketmaster.ie and all other usual outlets.