I went to a gig at The Craufurd Arms in Wolverton, Milton Keynes last Wednesday night (2nd December). The outing was rather impromptu because I only found out the event was taking place that morning. My buddy “Hughesy” alerted me because he’d been on the Facebook page of Desert Storm where a notice about the impending show had been posted.
Hughesy subsequently pinged me an email, tinged with regret that he was going to miss out; I was able to respond that there was a bright side because I could probably make it - a ticket was duly purchased via the venue’s website.
As an aside though, that did leave me with a dilemma because the only clothing I had was the suit I was wearing at the office, which wouldn’t cut it at a heavy metal concert. The solution was a quick trip out at lunchtime to get some alternative duds.
On the undercard for the evening: Desert Storm (DS), The Champions of Euthansia and headliners, The Atomic Bitchwax (TAB). I’ll break my write up into two articles, that way you get to read something whilst I am still working on the other piece.
I have posted about Desert Storm a few times this year, in fact Wednesday’s gig was the third time I have seen the band in 2015. To save repeating myself, why not read the previous posts by clicking on the links below (I’ll benefit from a few more page hits too).
http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/eating-drinking-and-rocking-on-the-cowley-road
http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/desert-storm-and-some-other-noisy-bastards
Though DS was first up on the running order, it was this band that was the draw to the gig for me because I hadn’t come across the other acts before.
When Desert Storm took to the stage at 8:00pm, it was immediately evident that the guys were down a man. Bass player, Chris Benoist was absent and guitarist Ryan Cole had the four-string instead.
I found out later that Desert Storm had been approached directly by the venue and booked at the last minute. Having been able to accommodate the request, the downsides for the band were that the short notice caused an issue for the bass player, the ability to promote the outing effectively and draw in more fans was curtailed and the place in the running order was lower than the band deserved. But I am sure that some new fans were won. Hopefully some money was earnt too.
It impressed me to learn that the band has musicians that are capable of picking up different instruments and filling in for one another - surely that must take some planning and have an impact on rehearsing? It also impressed me that the guys were still tight and the complex sound was spot on. I imagine that the set list had to be carefully selected to take an absent guitar into account but, and this is praise indeed, if I hadn’t seen DS a few times before, I wouldn’t have known that the band wasn’t meant to be a four piece. I am familiar with the back catalogue and I didn’t notice holes in any of the tunes either.
The following seven tracks were played (and I state this with absolute confidence, because vocalist, Matt Ryan, passed me the band’s A4, marker-pen-scribbled set list when it was no longer required).
Afterwards, I got chatting to the Cole brothers and Chris White. The guys are sociable and conversational and they even remembered that I had posted articles from previous outings - which was kind of cool for me. Ryan was being self-critical of his bass playing, he reported that his hands were cramping up and that he dropped the pick a few times. I reassured him that from my punter’s perspective, he had done a heroic job. Chris, the guitarist, had stepped up to the plate too and had seamlessly managed the rhythm and the twiddly stuff on his own.
All in all Desert Storm are nice guys, good musicians and they play some fine music too - I genuinely rate this band and if you listen to stoner metal, I would recommend that you buy a CD…
…or go here for a trial listen: http://desertstorm.bandcamp.com/.
But for the best experience of all, find a gig to go.
And do it soon because I suspect that in the not too distant future these guys will be playing in the largest venues and charging significant entrance fees - and you will have missed the chance to enjoy something altogether more rewarding.
In November I wrote about a Megadeth concert; the differences between the O2 Academy and The Craufurd Arms are marked, but the ability to get close to the bands and engage with the members actually makes a gig at a smaller, more intimate venue (like the Craufurd) a better experience in so many ways. And whilst I came away from the Megadeth gig feeling tired and slightly disappointed, I came away from The Craufurd Arms feeling energised and upbeat and looking forward to the next Desert Storm gig.
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Hughesy subsequently pinged me an email, tinged with regret that he was going to miss out; I was able to respond that there was a bright side because I could probably make it - a ticket was duly purchased via the venue’s website.
As an aside though, that did leave me with a dilemma because the only clothing I had was the suit I was wearing at the office, which wouldn’t cut it at a heavy metal concert. The solution was a quick trip out at lunchtime to get some alternative duds.
On the undercard for the evening: Desert Storm (DS), The Champions of Euthansia and headliners, The Atomic Bitchwax (TAB). I’ll break my write up into two articles, that way you get to read something whilst I am still working on the other piece.
I have posted about Desert Storm a few times this year, in fact Wednesday’s gig was the third time I have seen the band in 2015. To save repeating myself, why not read the previous posts by clicking on the links below (I’ll benefit from a few more page hits too).
http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/eating-drinking-and-rocking-on-the-cowley-road
http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/desert-storm-and-some-other-noisy-bastards
Though DS was first up on the running order, it was this band that was the draw to the gig for me because I hadn’t come across the other acts before.
When Desert Storm took to the stage at 8:00pm, it was immediately evident that the guys were down a man. Bass player, Chris Benoist was absent and guitarist Ryan Cole had the four-string instead.
I found out later that Desert Storm had been approached directly by the venue and booked at the last minute. Having been able to accommodate the request, the downsides for the band were that the short notice caused an issue for the bass player, the ability to promote the outing effectively and draw in more fans was curtailed and the place in the running order was lower than the band deserved. But I am sure that some new fans were won. Hopefully some money was earnt too.
It impressed me to learn that the band has musicians that are capable of picking up different instruments and filling in for one another - surely that must take some planning and have an impact on rehearsing? It also impressed me that the guys were still tight and the complex sound was spot on. I imagine that the set list had to be carefully selected to take an absent guitar into account but, and this is praise indeed, if I hadn’t seen DS a few times before, I wouldn’t have known that the band wasn’t meant to be a four piece. I am familiar with the back catalogue and I didn’t notice holes in any of the tunes either.
The following seven tracks were played (and I state this with absolute confidence, because vocalist, Matt Ryan, passed me the band’s A4, marker-pen-scribbled set list when it was no longer required).
- Outlander
- Astral Planes
- Signals (I think this was a new tune)
- Pocketwatch (my favourite tune of the set)
- Night Bus Blues
- Shadow of an Eagle
- The Jackal
Afterwards, I got chatting to the Cole brothers and Chris White. The guys are sociable and conversational and they even remembered that I had posted articles from previous outings - which was kind of cool for me. Ryan was being self-critical of his bass playing, he reported that his hands were cramping up and that he dropped the pick a few times. I reassured him that from my punter’s perspective, he had done a heroic job. Chris, the guitarist, had stepped up to the plate too and had seamlessly managed the rhythm and the twiddly stuff on his own.
All in all Desert Storm are nice guys, good musicians and they play some fine music too - I genuinely rate this band and if you listen to stoner metal, I would recommend that you buy a CD…
…or go here for a trial listen: http://desertstorm.bandcamp.com/.
But for the best experience of all, find a gig to go.
And do it soon because I suspect that in the not too distant future these guys will be playing in the largest venues and charging significant entrance fees - and you will have missed the chance to enjoy something altogether more rewarding.
In November I wrote about a Megadeth concert; the differences between the O2 Academy and The Craufurd Arms are marked, but the ability to get close to the bands and engage with the members actually makes a gig at a smaller, more intimate venue (like the Craufurd) a better experience in so many ways. And whilst I came away from the Megadeth gig feeling tired and slightly disappointed, I came away from The Craufurd Arms feeling energised and upbeat and looking forward to the next Desert Storm gig.
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