Gig Reviews
Ben Mills With Benzego At The Halling Fun Weekend 2010
Saturday 31st July 2010
It was the end of July and the village of Halling in Kent was preparing for its annual Fun Weekend. On Saturday 31st they played host to a concert held in the Community Centre, headlined by Ben Mills with his band, Benzego. With the band booked some months in advance, enthusiasm was high by the time tickets went on sale and come the day the event was a sell out.
The large hall, with its wide but shallow stage occupying one end, was two thirds full with tables and chairs, leaving a spacious area at the front giving ample room for dancing - perfect!
As ticket holders came through the doors and claimed their seats or their space at the bar, I stared at the vast empty stage and willed the time to pass and for the entertainment to begin. The stage was split in two with Benzego's kit set up on the right and to the left, that of our very lovely host and support act for the evening, Darren Eiffert.
Well known around Kent, Darren has been an entertainer for over ten years. He's charming, funny, not so bad looking (!) and can certainly belt out a tune or two! He took to the stage at around 8 o'clock and performed a great selection of songs including Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds" and Take That's "Relight My Fire". He also sang "Shine" and for which he was joined on stage by two very talented young dancers, best friends Holly1 and Holly2. It was meant to be a dancing competition between the two but, following their wonderfully choreographed routine, each received such loud applause from a thoroughly entertained audience that they were declared equal winners..... and well deserved too!
Darren's set finished at 9 o'clock and then we had a short break before the entertainment continued.
I've seen Ben play live so many times now I've lost count, but I still get excited and the minute Benzego stepped foot on the stage I could feel the tension and anticipation as I waited for the music to start. It wasn't just for me this time though. This was Ben's first visit to Halling, with the majority of the audience having never been to one of his gigs before, and I was keen to know what sort of reception he and the band were going to get.
They opened with U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" which, whilst not getting people immediately up on their feet, received an incredibly enthusiastic response at the end. So much so that when the second song started, Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl", it took next to no time at all for the 'dancefloor' to fill up and it pretty much stayed that way for the rest of the evening. As I said, I've been to so many gigs now and it often takes a little while for the ice to break. You can tell that people want to get up and dance, but they hesitate - as if nobody wants to be the one to make the first move! That night in the village of Halling, however, this was clearly not the case and it was wonderful to see.
The first of Benzego's two sets continued like this:
- Hallelujah I Love Her So (Ray Charles)
- Handbags & Gladrags (Chris Farlowe)
- The Weight (The Band)
- Easy (Lionel Richie)
- Have I Told You Lately (Van Morrison)
- Moondance (Van Morrison)
- Higher & Higher (Jackie Wilson)
They finished off with Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" and then took a half hour break - presumably to cool down a bit as it was getting rather warm in that hall and, by the looks of things, absolutely boiling up on that stage!
To keep us entertained while Benzego took a breather, Darren grabbed his mic and sang some more. It's the second year running that Darren's played at Halling's Fun Weekend, and it's obvious that everybody there loves him and why.
Taking to the stage for the final time (minus their drummer initially who had gone 'walkabouts' at the last minute!!), Ben and the band began their second set with what is probably one of the most popular songs to feature on the set list, and rarely a gig goes by without it - Rod Stewart's "Maggie May". If there's one song that's going to get people to give their vocal chords a workout, it's this one! I will openly admit that it's far from one of my personal favourites, but I still can't help but sing (and I do use that term rather loosely!) along with it.
The rest of the evening consisted of the following:
- Long Train Running (Doobie Brothers)
- I Got A Woman (Ray Charles)
- Rockin' Robin (Bobby Day)
- I Want You Back (The Jackson 5)
- Five Hundred Miles (The Proclaimers)
- Superstition (Stevie Wonder)
- Pull Up To The Bumper (Grace Jones)
The final song of the night, as far as the band was concerned, was Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music" and as it ended they bid their farewells and headed off through the stage door. The captivated audience had other ideas, however, and their loud cheers made it quite clear that they were keen for the band to continue.
Prompted by the cries for more, bass player, Martin Elliott, returned to the stage.
"Do you want some more?" he asked, to which the crowd responded with cries of "Yes!".
"I can't hear you properly." he said. "Do you want some more?!". This was greeted with even louder cries of "Yes!"
"Ok, I'll go and ask him", he replied, calm as anything, and he disappeared off back behind the door!
Much to everybody's delight, and to very loud enthusiastic cheers, the band came back on stage to sing one final song, the Faces' "Stay With Me". By the end of this one, everybody really was worked up into a frenzy and once again anxious for more! Unfortunately time was getting on and we were dangerously close to the curfew, but not wanting to disappoint they agreed to do one more - "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake.
So that was it, well the music side of things anyway. Ben gave himself a little time to cool down and then while the band packed the kit away he made some time to have a chat, sign autographs and pose for photos. A number of people had bought copies of the album during the evening and were able to get those signed too.
I received an email on the Monday morning from the member of the Fun Weekend committee who had booked the band to appear, and I don't mind admitting to getting a huge lump in my throat as I read through it. I'm incredibly biased I know, and I expected the gig to be a success and for those who went to talk about it positively, but to be told that everybody was completely blown away by just how good these guys are.... well, let's just say that writing about it has put another lump in my throat! Seriously, massive, MASSIVE thanks to everybody in Halling for giving Benzego such a warm welcome and helping to make their first gig there an absolute corker. Here's to the next one.....!
Benzego are:
Ben Mills - Vocals, Keyboards
Steve Higgs - Lead Guitar
Martin Elliott - Bass Guitar
Al King - Drums
Report & Photography by Saara Ord - Webmaster / Administrator
(More photographs can be found in the Gallery)
Were you there? Come and tell us what you thought about it.