Gig Reviews
The Music Room at Pizza Express, Maidstone - 14th August 2009
Imagine a cluster of candle-lit tables surrounding a small and intimate stage. Carefully positioned on it were a set of drums, a baby grand piano, a saxophone and an assortment of guitars. For the musicians who were soon to appear, these were the tools of their trade and with them they would create their magic.
The scene was set for what was destined to be yet another incredible night in the Music Room with the utterly fabulous Ben Mills, once again supported by some amazingly talented musicians. We live in an age where it seems to have become the norm for artists to play and sing along to pre-recorded backing tracks, but you honestly cannot beat the sound and atmosphere created by a live band. "Music's for the soul", we are told, and when it's played live right in front of you, that's when it reaches deep inside and you don't just hear it, you feel it.
Ben opened the evening by introducing his fellow band members, who each began to play as they were announced - Richard Bates on bass, Jay McCluskey on drums, Paul Jobson on piano & keyboards, David Gwilliam on lead guitar, Tony Rico on saxophone and finally Dudley Ross, also on lead guitar. By this time the band were playing the intro to "I Got A Woman" and I was instantly swept up out of the hum-drum of a normal day and into a world where nothing mattered but the music.
A dip in the tempo next for the soulful "Ain't No Sunshine" and that was followed by Van Morrison's "Moondance" - because Dudley Ross has to get it out of his system!! It's ok Dudley, you take all the time you need!!!
There was some debate over whether they should actually do the next song as Ben got voted off the X Factor after he sang it on that, and he joked that he was worried he might get voted out of the Music Room too! Needless to say there were no real concerns and they played "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Lookin' For" anyway, giving the audience a chance to exercise their vocal chords.
Since Ben's first appearance on national TV he has constantly been likened to Rod Stewart, with those gravelly but spine-tingling vocals of his. Never is that likeness so apparent, however, as when he covers a song that Rod Stewart has sung himself. Cue Van Morrison's "Have I Told You Lately". This featured on the set list for the first time at the Music Room gig back in March, one of a number of songs being rehearsed at that time in readiness for the launch of "Simply Rod".
The evening continued with James Morrison's "Undiscovered" and then Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home To Me", the song which took the nation by storm and put Ben on the musical map. It really was a stunning rendition of this classic which featured an amazing guitar solo by David Gwilliam and an equally spectacular piano solo by Paul Jobson who, according to Ben, has "fingers like a centipede"!!
With just two more songs to go until the end of the first half, they played Ben's self-penned "I Can't Take You With Me". This is one of the tracks to be featured on the EP, due for release later this year, and to my untrained ear it sounded like the arrangement had been changed a fair bit from previous performances of this song. It had a much more modern feel to it and if this is a reflection of the studio recording then I really can't wait to hear it.
The last song before the break was "Handbags & Gladrags", which still gets to me despite having heard it so many times now. Sat listening with my eyes closed, I was awash with the memories of the first time I'd heard Ben sing it and, just as had happened back then, my spine tingled and I could sense the fluttering in my stomach as the butterflies responded to the music.
We were lead softly into the second half of the show with a beautiful rendition of "Nothing But The Truth", featuring just Paul Jobson on the piano, David Gwilliam on lead guitar and Ben with his acoustic guitar. As the new songs are becoming more regularly included in the set lists, it's understandable that the older ones will take a back seat, but this is such a wonderful song and it deserves to be heard once in a while.
It was time for the roof to be raised and with a complete change in tempo we were treated to an outstanding version of "Emily", one of Ben's new songs and hopefully also destined for the EP. Drawn in by the bluesy rock sound, I had no choice but to give in to the craving and get up and dance. I absolutely adore this song and I simply CANNOT just sit and listen to it!!
Feeling totally elated and thinking the night just couldn't get any better, the band then played "Freedom" and blew every other version of it out the water. The song is charged with so much emotion, the atmosphere afterwards was electrifying and I was left thinking "how do you top that?" Well, for the EP, this has been recorded with the ACM Gospel Choir - I think that might just about top everything!
Keeping the music uptempo, and consequently me on my feet, we heard "Superstition", "Stir It Up", "A Message To Rudy", "One Step Beyond", "Maggie May", "Hot Legs", "Play That Funky Music" which they cleverly merged into Bill Withers' "Use Me" and then back to "Play That Funky Music". By this time I was very hot, extremely worn out and very much in need of a drink and a seat, but I had sung and danced my way through the majority of the second set and loved every second of it!
Giving me a chance to catch my breath, the final song of the night was "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing". That was it then - night over and in what seemed like the blink of an eye. It really was a fantastic night though, in one of the best venues ever!
To Ross Dines, Paul Brown and all the staff at Pizza Express, I say thank you for yet again booking Ben to play in your wonderful Music Room.
To the guys in the band who supported Ben that night, I say a very special thank you. You each brought something magical with you that night and helped to make the night complete.
Finally, to Ben I say thank you for yet another wonderful night's entertainment. Thank you for always giving time to your fans afterwards, including me! But most of all I say thank you for being you. For writing the songs you want to write, the way you want to write them, and then sharing them with us. You are one very special, incredibly talented guy and everybody at BenMillsOnline loves you to bits!
I just have one teeny-tiny complaint. Next time, can we have three 45 minute sets instead of the usual two?!!!
Report & Photography by Saara Ord - Webmaster / Administrator
Were you there? Come and tell us what you thought about it.