Winter In Eden Bishop Auckland 28th Oct 2011
Posted on October 31, 2011 with 0 comments
Bishop Auckland in County Durham is not best known for it's music scene, and I doubt it is very often if at all, that the rather splendid Town Hall becomes a Rock and Metal venue, with around 200 people coming in through the door. But on a relatively fine evening on October 28th 2011,that is exactly what did happen.
Winter In Eden is a band that I have been following for somewhile now. They hit the spot with me when I first saw them at Burton on Trent in the English Midlands in 2009. I must admit to having seen them live on more than one occasion since, and they even took part in the Ravenheart Music Fest 2011, amongst many other gigs that they have played this year. So what has all this got to do with the Bishop Auckland Town Hall? Well it so happens that Bishop Auckland is the home town of Winter In Eden, and the gig on the 28th October was the band's very first gig on home territory, and if you are going to play your first gig at home, you may as well pitch big. As I say the Town Hall is a splendid place to see an absolutely awesome band.
I will not hide the fact that I love Winter In Eden, I love Vicky their singer (I am sure her hubby and keyboardist Steve won't mind me saying that) and the band members are some of the nicest people you could ever wish to meet. Indeed, the 430 mile round trip we endured was worth every penny of every minute of every mile. Okay, what about the gig then? It all kicked off with a band called Brother Crow. This duo consisting of Graeme Carroll and Andrew Davison, played an organic acoustic set that was highly enjoyable to all that were there. I know, I liked it and feet were a tapping. But then it was 9pm, time for Winter In Eden to hit the stage. All of a sudden the hall filled. there were young ones, there were older ones and there were some familiar faces that had travelled a fair distance to be there that night like myself. In a venue that was near to capacity, the band played all the tracks from their full length debut 'Awakening', plus six new ones. And I and everybody else seemed to love every minute of it. Kicking off with a new one, 'For The Few', it became immediately apparent that the newer material was going to kick ass. The awesome 'Awakening Chapters 1 and 2' followed, and then we had the catchy and a fave of mine, 'Stolen Fairytales', before another new number put in an appearance, the song 'Trapped'. To see how the band has matured over the months is a joy to behold, vocalist Vicky Johnson commands the stage being full of confidence, and Guitarist Samuel can sure shred it. All the band members put in commendable performances, with keys wizard Steve even being the stage electrician on the day prior to the gig itself, so I was told. Other familar numbers from 'Awakening' were played, plus the newer ones, but a stand out tune to me was one of the new ones, 'Regret (Awakening Chapter 3)', the kinda song a certain Mr Bon Jovi would cry into his cocoa, wishing he could still write tunes like that. The show ended with 'Fate Will Oblige' and 'At The Edge of the World', numbers familiar to the hardened fans in the audience.
It is possibly difficult for me to comprehend that even though WIE was playing at home, many people in the audience would not have been too familiar with their music, especially in a live environment. But one thing is for sure, they will be now, and I am sure many more people will now buy their music and other merchandise.
Winter In Eden can only go forward in leaps and bounds on this showing and there is no justice in this world if they don't. And if I as Mr Ravenheart has played just a small part in seeing them on their journey to stardom, I will be a very very happy man.
I just want to add one more thing totally unrelated to the gig itself. The staff of The Premier Inn at Bishop Auckland were totally awesome and friendly, and thank you so much for your hospitality.
Dave 'Ravenheart' Smith Oct 2011
Winter In Eden is a band that I have been following for somewhile now. They hit the spot with me when I first saw them at Burton on Trent in the English Midlands in 2009. I must admit to having seen them live on more than one occasion since, and they even took part in the Ravenheart Music Fest 2011, amongst many other gigs that they have played this year. So what has all this got to do with the Bishop Auckland Town Hall? Well it so happens that Bishop Auckland is the home town of Winter In Eden, and the gig on the 28th October was the band's very first gig on home territory, and if you are going to play your first gig at home, you may as well pitch big. As I say the Town Hall is a splendid place to see an absolutely awesome band.
I will not hide the fact that I love Winter In Eden, I love Vicky their singer (I am sure her hubby and keyboardist Steve won't mind me saying that) and the band members are some of the nicest people you could ever wish to meet. Indeed, the 430 mile round trip we endured was worth every penny of every minute of every mile. Okay, what about the gig then? It all kicked off with a band called Brother Crow. This duo consisting of Graeme Carroll and Andrew Davison, played an organic acoustic set that was highly enjoyable to all that were there. I know, I liked it and feet were a tapping. But then it was 9pm, time for Winter In Eden to hit the stage. All of a sudden the hall filled. there were young ones, there were older ones and there were some familiar faces that had travelled a fair distance to be there that night like myself. In a venue that was near to capacity, the band played all the tracks from their full length debut 'Awakening', plus six new ones. And I and everybody else seemed to love every minute of it. Kicking off with a new one, 'For The Few', it became immediately apparent that the newer material was going to kick ass. The awesome 'Awakening Chapters 1 and 2' followed, and then we had the catchy and a fave of mine, 'Stolen Fairytales', before another new number put in an appearance, the song 'Trapped'. To see how the band has matured over the months is a joy to behold, vocalist Vicky Johnson commands the stage being full of confidence, and Guitarist Samuel can sure shred it. All the band members put in commendable performances, with keys wizard Steve even being the stage electrician on the day prior to the gig itself, so I was told. Other familar numbers from 'Awakening' were played, plus the newer ones, but a stand out tune to me was one of the new ones, 'Regret (Awakening Chapter 3)', the kinda song a certain Mr Bon Jovi would cry into his cocoa, wishing he could still write tunes like that. The show ended with 'Fate Will Oblige' and 'At The Edge of the World', numbers familiar to the hardened fans in the audience.
It is possibly difficult for me to comprehend that even though WIE was playing at home, many people in the audience would not have been too familiar with their music, especially in a live environment. But one thing is for sure, they will be now, and I am sure many more people will now buy their music and other merchandise.
Winter In Eden can only go forward in leaps and bounds on this showing and there is no justice in this world if they don't. And if I as Mr Ravenheart has played just a small part in seeing them on their journey to stardom, I will be a very very happy man.
I just want to add one more thing totally unrelated to the gig itself. The staff of The Premier Inn at Bishop Auckland were totally awesome and friendly, and thank you so much for your hospitality.
Dave 'Ravenheart' Smith Oct 2011