Kairos Band

We love to offer our audience an eclectic lineup for our Grapevine nights, so when Kairos said they were interested in bringing a scaled-down, semi-acoustic version of their anthemic Indie-Rock down to the cosy confines of Bedfords we jumped at the chance.

Listening again to their music on Myspace, I became more and more intrigued as to how they would tailor their sound for the cosy intimacy of a Grapevine night, where full bands are a rarity and acoustic guitars and the occasional piano are the norm. Obviously, a huge rock song like “Piercing The Darkness” would be off the set list ? …How wrong I was !!

In fact, it was a night of very pleasant surprises. Firstly, I had expected maybe 2 or 3 of the band brandishing acoustic guitars, but we got the whole band, plus their ever-helpful soundman, Mark, on hand to make sure they got the sound just right. Plus instruments….lots of instruments !! Somehow we crammed a small drum kit, a Fender Rhodes ( which every muso in the house fell instantly in love with ! ) bass, two guitars and assorted small amps into the small space I set aside for a “ stage “. It was even more cosy than usual !

Oh…and the boys themselves, of course . And I have to say, a more helpful, accommodating bunch of guys would be hard to find. They even happily agreed to our slightly eccentric two-short-sets-in-rotation-with-other-artists format, and happily sat back to enjoy their fellow acts with whom they shared the bill, resulting in a very warm and supportive atmosphere all round.

And they played a couple of really brilliant sets, including a brace of new songs receiving a semi-acoustic debut, with Aaron and Mark perched atop a couple of ( slightly wobbly ) stools. The music swelled to anthemic heights, then dropped away to subtle acoustic guitars, tinkling electric piano and excellent harmonies. In place of stadium rock , we had something more subtly dynamic and very uplifting indeed. And they DID play a blistering acoustic version of “ Piercing the Darkeness” after all, and a very moving version of “ Solution “ .

To conclude, not every band would be brave enough to make the transition from large venues to the more intimate setting of a Grapevine night, where the distance between performer and audience is so much smaller. Kairos appeared to relish this challenge, and made an instant and lasting connection with us all.

Thanks for a great night, guys, and here`s hoping you will be keen to repeat the experience some time soon. We promise a very warm welcome.

Steve Howlett, Grapevine @ Bedfords, Norwich .