Gig review: THE DARKER MY HORIZON – The Victoria, Swindon, Thursday 27 August 2020

So it’s Thursday 27 August and the wind down to a long weekend, what better way to get in the mood than to see live music – yes real, live, raw, rock in an amazing venue, the Victoria in Old Town, Swindon.

This was a faultlessly organised gig, with the venue completely in control of social distancing measures, friendly staff, great service. What a place, if you’ve not been pre lockdown, then please put it on your list – I know what this place feels like when it’s full and even with limited capacity the atmosphere was incredible.

Opening the evening, Adam Plant performed a cool acoustic set, warming up the audience for what was set to be an amazing night of live music and pure talent.

Fall from Ruin took to the stage and the place came alive, yes we were seated but we were rocking from the get go. Great energy from the band, Alicia on lead vocals commands the stage with her depth of voice and personality, the guitar riffs from Mike, Alan are tremendous, with Andrew on bass and Sam on drums,this is original rock in all its glory.

From ‘Sympathy’ to ‘Mr Nice Guy’, the crowd were in the moment and a cheeky cover of Black Stone Cherry showed the versatility of the band, who were clearly enjoying playing as much as we were being there.

The headline act, The Darker My Horizon (TDMH) opened their blistering set with their latest release, ‘Sleaze’, which had the crowd energised from the opening chords, barely taking a breath between songs, the set was a perfect demonstration of all things that live music is – talent, energy, fun and engagement.

Paul Stead on vocals has a voice that effortlessly tackles ‘Functional Dysfunctiona’l and ‘Dear Olivia’, with Mark Stephenson on lead guitar showcasing his skills, the Neon Warrior aka Paul Hamiltonon bass and Will Knox on drums, the crowd were on their feet for TDMH‘s take on ‘Summer of 69′.

Wrapping up their set with ‘Still Alive’ – yes, yes, we most definitely are, and so is live music, and these wonderful venues … we need this, passion and energy, if this is how we support, bands, crew, live music and venues then we must do it … as TDMH would say, Seize the Day!

How privileged did I feel to be at such a gig… very is the answer … bring on next time!

Check out The Darker my Horizon and Fall from Ruin … I strongly suspect that both bands will be playing much bigger venues soon #talent #livemusic #smallmusicvenues

Review by Karen Clayton
Photos by Mark Woodhead & Karen Clayton

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)