Gig Reports
A Night Of X Factor At The Kings Hall, Herne Bay - 24th August 2007
What more could you ask for? A lovely summer's day, albeit a rare one this year, the seaside, and Ben Mills!! Well, that's how those who were lucky enough to have tickets for "A Night Of X Factor" at the Kings Hall in Herne Bay started off their August Bank Holiday weekend.
The layout of the Hall had a very laid-back feel to it, with tables at the back near the bar as well as the usual 'theatre type' seating. It was also great to see plenty of room down each side - perfect for dancing!
Hosted by Invicta FM's very own 'Dobbo' (Michael Dobson), the line up that evening also included Dionne Mitchell and 4Sure, but it was local lad Liam Daley who got the ball rolling with a few self-penned songs.
4Sure took to the stage next and treated us to a mix of both a cappella and accompanied songs. I'd previously only seen them on the X Factor and I have to say that, free from any restrictions imposed by the TV series, both their talent and their personalities really shone through. Smooth, rich vocals coupled with an obvious bond which these lads share work so well together on stage and I whole-heartedly recommend going to see them.
Next up was Dionne and I was absolutely blown away by both the beauty and power in her voice. She breezed her way through songs like "Nut Bush City Limits" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", making them look effortless. Dionne has a wonderful stage presence which she unfortunately didn't get a chance to show during her time on the X Factor and that's such a shame. I loved every bit of her performance and hope to get to see her sing live again soon.
With the first half of the show over, we had a 20 minute break while the stage was set up for the headline act and the main reason we were there - the totally gorgeous Ben Mills!
After what seemed like one of the longest 20 minutes ever(!) the lights were dimmed and the band made their way onto the stage. They started to play and the audience screamed with delight as Ben was announced and came running out to join his band. They went straight into their "Superstition/Pull Up To The Bumper" medley and followed that with "Play That Funky Music". The audience was a little reserved to begin with, but really seemed to liven up during the third song - "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". The urge to dance took over so Nix, Naomi and I positioned ourselves to the side of the stage to do just that and it wasn't long before others followed suit. Everybody was in good form vocally too, and I think the majority of people there were singing along by the end.
It was the fourth song in the set that really got the crowd going. "Maggie May" always seems to be a firm favourite at Ben's gigs but the reaction this night quite literally left Ben lost for words - each time he moved in to the mic to sing a line, the audience beat him to it!
What came next was an absolute treat and, for me, the highlight of the whole evening. The band left the stage and Ben took up position on a stool, front and centre, for a short acoustic set. He started off with "Nothing But The Truth" which was beautiful as ever, but more so because the audience were singing along. Usually it's just the BMO members who know all the words and it was so lovely to stand there and listen to complete strangers singing one of Ben's own songs. Ben then said that he'd never performed the next song with just a guitar, but as it was 'such a beautiful guitar' he would give it a go. The song he was playing didn't register to begin with but then all became apparent - an acoustic version of "Picture Of You" and it was fantastic. I managed to get a good recording of this, which is quite an amazing feat for me as I usually forget that I'm recording and sing along, rendering the footage fit for nothing but the sin bin!! Fortunately this time I was able to control my urges and the video can be viewed in the Widescreen forum.
Back came the band for the last part of the set - "Ain't No Sunshine" and "How Does It Feel", which Ben said was the last song, and he even left the stage afterwards but he wasn't very convincing! Needless to say, the crowd all cheered when he reappeared for what really was the final song, "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing". A switch of microphones part way in suggested only one thing - Ben was going 'walkabout' and the women went crazy! Now it was rather warm in the Kings Hall that evening anyway, so up on stage under all that lighting would have been scorching, giving you an idea of just how hot Ben was. None of this, however, was going to deter his adoring fans - Ben was walking among them and they all wanted a share of the hugs he was dishing out!
So that was it - show over all to quickly, as always. That's the thing with Ben. It doesn't matter how long the set is, one hour, two, even three if he could manage it, it's just never enough. You're always left wanting more and counting up the days until your next "Ben Gig"!
We would like to say "Thank You" to Tony Farrow at the Kings Hall for not only booking Ben and his band, but also for his generosity in offering two pairs of front row tickets as a competition prize.
Finally, as always, a MASSIVE "Thank You" to Ben and Benzego - Dan (drums), Steve (lead guitar), Martin (base guitar), Justin (trumpet) and Ian (Sax). You guys are brilliant and everybody at BMO loves you to bits!
Report by Saara - Webmaster & Co-Admin
Photographs by Glenn - Site Owner / Administrator