Blanket (Band) - Craufurd Arms - Wolverton

The first of two gigs in two nights, both of which are fairly  local though.
First is a trip over the border to the Craufurd Arms in Wolverton near to Milton Keynes.
An old Victorian Pub which is also a music venue. From the outside it looks derelict and boarded up. A bit grim you might say on a dark and damp late October evening. Inside the pub it isn't a great deal better really. It resembles a crime scene with all the walls covered in thick layers of plastic sheeting. Upon which are splashed blood stains and scrawled deathly messages. How much of this is in preparation for upcoming Halloween celebrations I'm not quite sure?

The horror theme continues with tombstones on the bar, skulls hanging from the ceiling . There are even severed hands adorning the beer pulls. Even the pool table has a black cloth!
In keeping with the macabre theme I have a pint of Hobgoblin.

I'm here to the Blackpool band 'Blanket. Described as cinematic or anthemic rock I got into them almost by accident last year. A friend of mine added their debut album 'How to Let go' to some downloads that he put together for me.

Before 'Blanket' though we have the support band 'Pijn'.  The name is taken from the dutch word for pain. I have to say I found much of the set quite painful to listen to. I did last longer than my companion who went back to the bar after one song.

The strange thing was there did seem to be more people watching the support than there were for the headliners 'Blanket'.

It's stirring enough stuff but there isn't the atmosphere that I would have hoped for. There seems a distance between the band and the audience somehow.

I can see them in a bigger venue with a full light show and the atmospherics that they really need to back up the music.

The highlight of the set was the closing ten minute epic 'Immemorial Sea'. Just to hear this was worth the trip alone !