The Kingman’s Saturday Night concert series kicked off on Saturday with Line of Force, a funk-rock outfit from Portland. The doors opened at 9 p.m. and Line of Force took the stage at 10 p.m.
Located at 283 Main St. in Old Town, Kingman’s is a bar and concert venue that has featured live entertainment for some time. Over the past year, owner Tim Taylor has been aiming to move his business away from being a bar and more toward being a concert venue. With the Kingman’s Saturday night concert series, Taylor hopes to have a new band in every Saturday, which will further establish Kingman’s as a concert venue rather than just a bar.
“I wanted to get something going that was going to be consistent,” Taylor said. “In the past we would try to […] pack too much into a weekend, trying to get a live band every night. It’s hard to pack the place every night. We’re trying to be consistent with Saturdays so people know that every Saturday there’s going to be live music.”
The series began on Sept. 14 with The 220s, a progressive rock trio out of Belfast, Maine. In keeping with his goal of having an upbeat funky sound in the bar, Taylor brought in Line of Force for the show on Oct. 5. Line of Force have played at the venue before and were happy to return. The band consists of Adam Montminy on bass, Chuck Prinn on drums, Mat Leighton on the sax, Kyle Friday on keyboards and Frank Hopkins on lead guitar and vocals. Hopkins also acts as the band’s songwriter.
“We had a very interesting gig [at Kingman’s] last time […] it’s probably not something I should go into,” Hopkins joked. “We’re friends first, we just like to hang out and play music. We let the music do the talking.”
The band launched into the night with their signature funky groove. Hopkins’ grungy vocals fit with the sound, which mixed elements of funk and jazz for an upbeat sound that is very conducive to dancing.
Taylor is looking to sign bands with this sort of upbeat sound. Although many of the bands he gets are local, Taylor is also looking to bring talent in from out of state.
“There’s a lot of talented musicians in the state and New England. We’re going to try and reach further and pick up bands who are on tour and start to work with Port City and the State Theatre to piggyback shows,” Taylor said. “For [Line of Force] it’s only Portland, but if we get somebody from Connecticut or Boston, they can go to Portland and play a show, then come up here and play a show. It splits the cost of traveling and works out better for everybody.
“Bigger bands book [shows] further out so we’re trying to plan out next semester now,” Taylor said.
Taylor also runs the infamous Rage Bus, which can be rented out by parties for a safe and fun way to travel between various party destinations.
“I started that after I started [Kingman’s] as a good way to bring people out here,” Taylor said.
As a venue, Kingman’s does very well. The bar features good deals and open mic nights as well as other events keep things fresh. The stage also now features a large graffiti mural painted by Kenny Hess, an artist and friend of Taylor’s who also goes by the name “Yedi Fresh.” The design features a colorful band of extravagantly designed animals that act as a good backdrop for whoever happens to be playing.
“It’s fun to operate as a bar, but I want to push the loud music in here,” Taylor said. “I want people to come here because there’s something going on, there’s a show tonight.”
The next concert in the series will be Roots, Rhythm, & Dub, a fusion-reggae act from Portsmouth, N.H. on Nov. 9. Kingman’s will also host the FatZon PromoZ Electronic Resin Ball on Halloween night with a costume contest and free prizes. Doors open at 9 p.m. and all patrons must be 21 year or older.
Joshua Quinit