Live Review: King’s X at House of Blues • Chicago

Brassneck | October 18, 2026 | 0 Comments

King’s X

House of Blues

Chicago, IL

October 16, 2026

Review and live photos by Jeff Elbel

Originally from Houston, Texas, veteran hard rock trio King’s X has held longstanding esteem as musicians’ musicians and celebrated songwriters without attaining the full measure of financial reward to match the acclaim expressed by arena-filling peers like Soundgarden, Pantera, Alice in Chains, or Living Colour. However, while King’s X haven’t reaped broad success, they have sowed deeply. On Friday at the House of Blues, the trio performed to a crowd of singularly devoted fans. Everyone seemed to know the words, riffs, and drum fills to every song.

Someone inevitably found a fleeting moment of quiet to shout, “I love you!” Bassist and singer Doug Pinnick’s response went beyond the usual quips. “We love you,” said the lean and lanky Pinnick. “That’s why we’re here. And you love us. That’s why you’re here. So, we’re having a love affair. It’s a beautiful thing.” The shouts of devotion continued. “I love hearing that,” said Pinnick. “People can’t say ‘I love you’ enough, you know?”

The band’s signature mix of progressive technique, heavy metal thunder, soul, and pop melodicism is often described as a blend of Sly and the Family Stone, Black Sabbath, and the Beatles. That’s close enough to put newcomers in the ballpark. Doug Pinnick’s weathered and soulful baritone scatted around the sparkling harmonies of drummer Jerry Gaskill and guitarist Ty Tabor during “Summerland.” Fans cheered when Pinnick erupted with a Wilson Pickett-styled scream during “Alright.”

Gaskill kept tempos to songs including the ruminative “Cigarettes” restrained, sturdy, and steady. The slower grooves and measured rhythms gave the material visceral weight. More than once, the drummer’s acolytes erupted into chants of “Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!” Gaskill eventually rose from his drum throne to bask in silent appreciation.

Guitarist Ty Tabor played thrilling psychedelic rock and blues-based solos reminiscent of pantheon players like Jimi Hendrix, Robin Trower, Brian May, Allan Holdsworth, and Eric Johnson. Tabor’s enviable tone on songs including the relentless “The World Around Me” was a thick and creamy swirl of overdriven guitar, flange, and echo. Tabor’s lead vocal spots on songs including “Festival” and the sublime “It’s Love” were melodically clever and Lennonesque.

King’s X performed several songs from Three Sides of One (2022), the band’s 13^th and latest album. Gaskill drove the cathartic “Let it Rain” and its meditation on existential dread, fear, and division with precision and relentless power. Pinnick, 76, added muscle and room-rattling rumble with his 12-string bass. The psychedelic waltz “All God’s Children” kept a patient, mesmerizing pace, unfolding as a cautionary tale about blind faith.

The soulful “Pray” was a highlight from 2008’s XV. Pinnick sang as a deconstructed believer awaiting the grace those who still follow espouse. As the song built from hushed intensity to feral roar, Pinnick growled, “If you really do believe, then don’t forget to pray for me.”

Photo by Jeff Elbel

Vintage favorite “We Were Born to Be Loved” teetered between brash swing, bristling riffs, and brain-bending time shifts. The trio displayed a near-telepathic connection throughout, cheekily refusing to look at each other for cues as they navigated tricky, thrilling starts and stops. “Dogman” was comparably straightforward but mightily powerful, with a heavy groove that cemented King’s X’s reputation among its grunge-oriented peers in the ‘90s.

Some of the show’s most impactful moments relied on the band’s trust of their audience. Pinnick traded lyrics with the crowd in the call-and-response verses of Tape Head favorite “Fade.” For the amorous, anthemic show closer “Goldilox,” Pinnick and Tabor turned their microphones toward the room. While Tabor played the song’s cascading arpeggios, the audience sang the verses and leaned back to bellow the song’s soaring choruses. Gaskill and Pinnick leaned over their instruments, basking in the communal effort and stoking the emotion to fever pitch.

As the band joined at the front of the stage to say farewell, Pinnick offered his traditional blessing. After telling local friends, family, and fans to be good and look after each other, Pinnick added, “Don’t take no bullshit from nobody!”