Hornet, Mia Klose, Titans & Kings- Barfly, London, 28th February 2013

First up tonight was Mia Klose. I’d purchased her album before Christmas and enjoyed her 80’s rock sound so was looking forward to seeing how she’d be live.   clearly a lot of other fans were keen to see her too as there was already a good crowd by the time things started.
Her band arrived on stage and got things started as Mia bounded on stage. She may be tiny but she’s got a big stage presence and a great voice.   She’s a great performer and moved around the stage to use all the available space and to interact with members of the band and the audience. In some ways she reminded me of Tarja Turunen as she’s got a very expressive face. Her band were very good – things were spot on, but really Mia is always going to be the centre of attention (particularly from a largely male audience) due to a combination of her voice, her stage presence and her looks.   A fantastic start to the night.

Next up were Titans & Kings, a four piece heavy rock band.  I only caught around half their set as I spent the remaining time downstairs interviewing, but what I saw was very good – not as good as either Mia Klose or Hornet in my opinion, but certainly well worth watching.

Once Hornet took to the stage the crowd headed straight for the front and got a lot more enthusiastic – so much so that after taking a few photos I headed to the back to watch in comfort and enjoy a well earned drink.
Tonight Hornet were taking a break from recording their album after successfully raising the funds via a Pledgemusic campaign – an album I’m really looking forwards to.
Hornet are a great live band and every time I’ve seen them they’ve been in great form and tonight is no exception.  They put a lot of energy and enthusiasm into their shows and thats reflected in a great crowd reaction.  It’s one of those gigs where you look at the time after the show and wonder how it’s suddenly 90 minutes later than when you last checked the time, as the time just flies past.  Great fun to see live, this is a band well worth checking out if you can.

Hornet setlist:

Down to the bone
Outta control
Drive on
State of emergency
I’m gonna be the man
Hunky Dorey
Under pressure
Skies are falling
Sweet lips
Second hand smoke
Rock’n’Roll riot
Encore:
Bite down