"Blue Onyx and Kindred Spirit", May 10th

The concert at Central Studio was almost a sell out and both bands were very well received.

Review from reporter, Elliot Grimes of the Basingstoke Observer

They may be a tribute band, but Blue Onyx sure know what they are doing. Moody blues’s classics such as “Gypsy” and “The Actor” were played with passion and a unique flare at times. The wide selection of song styles kept the audience transfixed until the end, along with extremely zealous members, one of which was using her flute to play guitar and the drums.

Despite having a band of seven, including a flautist and a keyboardist, the band kept a tight set of which the Moody Blues would be proud of.

With such a hard act to follow, Kindred Spirit would have their work cut out. It was not long, however, until it was obvious that this was a band who enjoyed every second of being on stage. They were playing in front of those who appreciate their music and are as passionate about it as the members themselves. Long instrumentals allowed both flautist and violinist to show off their hidden talents. The introduction of a saxophone in a selection of songs was an interesting change.

“Songs of Dragons” and “the Devil” were something very special and a brilliant example of Folk Rock at its best. The bassist coped extremely well playing his double necked bass, bringing another air of individuality to the band. A well deserved round of applause from the audience allowed the band to sneak back on stage, and, accompanied by the members of Blue Onyx, play through one last song. After thanking the crowd, it is brought to everyone’s attention that they will be playing in the not too distant future. Maybe an event worth checking out for those looking for a relaxing evening of live music?

"You Tube" footage
Some good camcorder footage has been taken and some "You Tube" footage from this gig is being uploaded. Here are the first few:-

1. Child Inside with Bouree
2. The Hunger
3. Siren Song
4. All Fall Down
5. Best Days
6. One More Day (the encore number pictured above)
7. Devil went down to Georgia (for people with fast broadband the option to view in high quality - good in full screen)
 

Review from Martin Harold

"Hi Elaine, Just got back from Central Studios on a big high. What a great night, that's some band you have got. Put you in a proper music venue and you can hold your own with anybody on that performance. I thought you were superb, even better than the last outing at the same venue in '05 and I remember writing to you then that it was a brilliant gig and time just flew. Its the first time I have seen Gavin, what a find he is, I thought you might miss Sim till I saw him play, loved every moment, I thought you all seemed so at ease and having a ball, I could not help smiling at some of the interplay between Annie and Gavin. I bet you have trouble keeping Annie in check sometimes, I think she would give Ian Anderson a run for his money no problem."
 

Big Fat Guide Review of the Kindred Spirit + Nina McCann, Central Studio Concert, November 25th 2005

Many of you have told us what a great gig you attended at Central Studio on 25 November. The gig in question featured two artists we’ve covered in previous issues of the big fat guide – Nina McCann and Kindred Spirit. Here’s what one member of the audience had to say about Kindred Spirit:

"Kindred Spirit were brilliant and they played more than planned as the audience loved them. Ray and I were calling 'more, more' with the rest of 'em. We will probably go and see them again as we picked up a gig list from them and talked to the lead singer (Elaine?) at the end. She is a fabulous singer, and a talented song writer. They played most of their own stuff which they were really pleased to do, as they said they often have to play a lot of covers in the pub gigs."

Riverside Arts Centre, Sunbury, March 2008
The acoustic band gig at the Sunbury Arts Centre on 29th March was a great success and was well received by a very attentive audience. Here is the write up from the June 2008 edition of the centre magazine, volume 28, no.4:-

"This is a band which engages so well with the audience and all members really enjoyed the concert. Again a group we hope will feature in next year's Festival."
                                          By Catherine Black, SSAA Chairman

Video clips of all the numbers performed at the Sunbury, Riverside Arts Centre concert are currently being re-mixed using the audio from our more central camcorder (which gives a much better stereo balance) and are now available on You Tube. Here are the links to them:-

1. I'll Always Love You
2. Child Inside
3. The Web
4. Dragonfire
5. Morrigan
6. Siren Song
7. Run Red
8. All Fall Down
9. Best Days

The Ibex, December 2007
In December 2007 the band performed a much quieter gig at the Ibex, in Chaddleworth, since it is quite a small pub and we were performing in a conservatory with plenty of glass (this can exacerbate feedback). This has allowed us to get some good video footage of the band, which you can now see some of on both band sounds pages (festival and pubs) as well as on "You Tube".

As an editor / publisher by day (with experience in the hospitality and catering side of publishing) and electrifying violin player plus food appreciator in between, Gavin has earned the revered nickname of "Gannet” amongst his colleagues and friends.
An aspiring food critic (with a gradually expanding waistline), Gavin has steadily been tasting his way around gigs and has discovered some outstanding food / music venues. At these particular venues, Gavin has described the meals on offer as being “so wonderful” that we thought he should be able to mark them as "Gannet Approved Venues" (or GAVs), with the "Gannet" logo.

A new feature of the Kindred Spirit “Pub Guide” then, will be the much sought after “Gannet” mark (see right). Those venues achieving this high accolade will have the mark placed beside the picture of their establishment on the “Pub Guide” as an indication, to anyone looking for a superb meal (as well as some excellent live music), that here is the place to visit.

Any venues thinking that they truly deserve a “Gannet” mark should encourage Gavin to sample some of their culinary delights, a prospect which we are sure he won’t be too unhappy about.

Look at the Guide so far

Our "Pub Guide" page is evolving all the time to make it even more useful. Have a look. 

You can also access this page from:-

"Gigs" page navigation bar
"Links" page
"Pub Guide" gig links

We have started issuing a special stamp of approval to pubs serving outstanding gourmet food. Have a look at "Gavin's Gourmet Gannet Guide"