A few days ago I went to Dartford – somewhere I’d not been before – and spent some time with Jock and their family at the theatre. Dartford seemed a curious place, the railway station building was very curvy and pretty, the car park for the station was not on any road signs but was reasonably priced for the evening. The road to the station passed next to one of the platforms and it seemed a little strange for the train to be right next to the road. I was visiting the Orchard Theatre as Jock’s son was in a battle of the bands there. The theatre was pretty much next to the station but as we approached it had scaffolding and was cordoned off. We walked around the building following the signs for the entrance and didn’t find one. We walked around the building twice. There were definitely arrows pointing in a particular direction so we were following the correct route.
After two complete circuits of the building and no entrance found a local asked us if we were looking for the theatre, yes, we replied. It’s over there and he pointed to what looked like an industrial park. Not far away we could see a marquee style tent and a small banner saying Orchard Theatre. It turns out that while works are being done on the actual theatre the whole organisation had moved to a temporary location in a tent. To be honest, it was quite well done and there was plenty of seating, toilets and a bar, you know, all the usual theatre stuff. We met Jock and his family and then proceeded to the auditorium to watch the battle commence.
The first three bands were under 18s and then after the first break it was the grown ups turn. The first band, Kaira, were a thrash metal band and I’m not sure that the audience was ready for them. I didn’t recognise their songs but I did like their style of music. Next up was Blacktone, They played some great songs and really looked like they were enjoying it, the singer was super excited! The final youth band was Wishbone, who played indie music with some excellent close harmony vocals – it wasn’t my kind of stuff but they did well struggling through some technical difficulties. We all voted for Blacktone.
Of the adult bands I think the first band, One Hash Brown, were musically the best. They seemed to have quite an indy sound and it wasn’t my style of music but they did well. The middle band were called The Resolve and they genuinely looked like a middle-aged divorced dads band. They played some classics and were well polished. The final band, Cabin Pressure, played well but again, it wasn’t my style of music.
Of the younger bands, Blacktone won and will now have that excellent ego boost and the chance to spend some time in a recording studio. I’m glad they won. The Resolve won the adult part of the competition and as they played the best crowd pleasers I’m sure they deserve it. I’m sure all the other bands will go on to do good things. It’s great to see such talent and musicians trying to make it in the tough music business.