Story One

This being my third chance to see Story One, I knew that I was in for a treat. Very rarely does a band come along where you can go to a gig and never get tired of listening to the songs that you know so well. I don’t know if it’s the instrumentals or Tom Evan’s vocal ability but there is always something different to be heard at each performance.

They have been hailed as local heroes and from their performance on their own stomping ground it is clear to see why. Time Out magazine said that there are overtones of Coldplay and Elbow; however I would like to believe that Story One can reach the heights of Coldplay or Elbow based on their own merit. Their sound is of raw emotion, it grips you from the moment the bow hits the string.

They haven’t always had such favourable reviews though. Tom recalled when they sent some demos to DJs around the country and one commented that “If Keane played guitar, that’s what you’d sound like, oh and by the way I don’t like Keane.” He gave me a knowing look as if to say, “If only they knew then what they know now”.

People are always slightly bemused (I know I was for a time) when the front man of a band is playing something that traditionally belongs in an orchestra. All stereotypes are blown out of the water when the haunting sound fills the room. Evan’s gritty vocals complement it to give a unique sound that leaves the hairs on your arms standing on end.

‘Coming up’ taken from the Disposable EP, was the first track, whipping the audience into a frenzy as the gentle vocals and beat exploded into a mind bending solo, courtesy of Evan’s one man string section. Words can’t describe the amount of energy and feeling that was being generated on the stage before us.

They ploughed through a couple more songs including ‘Beggars Belief’ and the smooth and melodious ‘Disposable’, before ‘AM 180’. This was the peak of the evening for many. It never ceases to amaze me how they have adopted this classic Grandaddy track and totally transformed it into their own song which, in my humble opinion, is the greatest thing that could ever have happened to it. Following on by announcing a new song called ‘Air Raid’, which is the title track of their forthcoming debut album, the crowd reacted as if they already knew it by heart. Tom was not quite sure of a release date for the album but was sure it would be sometime during the summer.

Finishing with ‘Delhi Funeral’ was a great end to the night. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better they bounded back on to huge applause and finished with ‘Playback’. All in all, a fantastic chance to see them perform on their home turf; another taster of what is to come from this Nottingham quartet. As D-Ream once said, “Things can only get better!”

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.