Ben
& Jason, as part of the 'Roadworks' tour found themselves
playing at the Stables, a venue located on the outskirts of
Milton Keynes. "The Stables is a very lovely place but
it's in an odd location," announces Ben Parker, lead vocalist
and acoustic guitar player.
"We were delighted when we arrived," begins Jason
the other half of the partnership responsible for the string
and brass arrangements, who tonight is the owner of one incredibly
bushy beard. "The tour manager said "we're here"
and we couldn't believe it was Milton Keynes, it was the countryside.
We just
sat out on the grass earlier on, sitting there with guitars
being sixties hippies."
Jazz singer Cleo Lane & her husband's property comes with
seating, somewhat distanced from the stage. It must have been
completely different from last night's gig at the hip and trendy
Camden Dingwalls, if not to say difficult?
"It was very noisy and busy the absolute opposite,"
starts Jason whose found comfort in sitting on the carpeted
floor and leaning against the sofa. "It had a really low
ceiling and a metal stage. The sound just pings backwards and
forwards off each other. The bass took over the whole stage.
It was an absolute mess and so coming here it's unbelievable,
it's terrific, absolutely first class sound."
Ben still opting for the sofa adds his own feelings. "When
you've got a big place like this with seats it's very odd and
you can't really see. You begin to feel distanced from the audience.
So you need them to kind of take it on in order to reach this
level between you, you have to keep pushing out."
The band finished their set with their new single 'Wild Things'
but prior to that Jason played the grand piano accompanying
Ben as he sung Randy Newman's 'Texas Girl At The Funeral Of
Her Father'. The sound quality of the venue allowed you to take
it all in. It was very overwhelming, very emotional but why
choose it? >>
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