KHARMA 45

Venue: The Pitz, Milton Keynes
Support: Terrapin Trainstation / The White Room
Reviewer: Phil

It takes commitment to both the bands and the venue to venture out on a Sunday night to take in a band when most of us should be recovering from the weekend, which it probably why tonight the Pitz is anything but full. Yet the small crowd that does gather warmly welcomes all three of these bands onto the stage for what proves to be an excellent line-up it’s a shame so many people probably missed.

Local rockers The White Room take the stage with big riffs and a big sound, the three-piece filling the stage like pro’s. Its all classic guitar riffs and big pop tunes. Startling guitar soloing and polyrhythmic drumming slip and snarl across simmering blues driven pop.

Impressive local five piece Terrapin Trainstation follow up The White Room with music of much the same vein. Their sound is meticulously sculpted, borrowing heavily from Pearl Jam and the good bits of Counting Crows, and to confirm their influences, toward the end of their set they tear through a crowd pleasing cover of Mr. Jones. Frontman Dave Godfrey may hail from this side of the Atlantic, but he bellows and croons like a Bay Area local, while Kev Cooke makes a very good argument for five string bass guitars, putting in some impressive and creative licks. It’s a skilfully assembled trans-Atlantic sound, and with Terrapin Trainstation that’s no bad thing, their set coming of as instantly likable stadium rock.

Four-piece Kharma 45, hailing from the other side of the Irish Sea, play an impressive and diverse set. Seriously, if you have a chance, catch this band now before they explode! Kharma 45 are certainly cast from the same mould as other big unit shifters like Bloc Party or The Killers, but you can also hear the Irish influence of U2, JJ72 circa Snow, or late 80’s and early 90’s New Order at the peak of their dance hall phase. Where’s Your Spirit Man, due for release on May 7th, already plays like a hit single, while synth drenched Ecstasy is an epic show closer. All four musicians exhibit an impressive range, deftly handling both subtle synth driven pop and chunkier riff laden rockers. Its accessible rock ‘n’ roll all the way, but it’s also creative, urgent and captivating, and really not bad at all for a fiver on a Sunday night down the Pitz.