Kingdom of Madness - The Stables, Wavendon MK

We are back at The Stables, Wavendon MK once again. This particularly gig has been on and off,cancelled and re-booked I'm actually amazed we are here and it is happening. 

Learning from the 'car park hell' of the last visit, yes that is a big exaggeration. Although it was busy, and being first in, it took some considerable time to get away when we saw Fairport Convention here. This time we parked as far away from the venue as possible, despite being there early. Reverse psychology you might call that , clever eh?

Inside I enjoy a very pleasant pint of Phipps IPA, although at £5 a pint it flipping well should be. The barman showed a complete lack of interest when I informed him it was £3.40 back home. 

We sat and enjoyed our drinks amongst a group which included a man with a false leg, and a man from Kettering with the strongest New York American accent you've ever heard.  

Very occasionally at seated gigs I have been able to get on the front row. Never have I had the entire front row to myself though. These were the seats on the side of the stage, within touching distance of Richard Bailey. Even so, half of the front row facing the stage was still empty. (Thanks to Sue Peters from the KOM Facebook Group for the stage shots of the band). I'm far to close to risk the wrath of the feisty stewards to even think of taking a photo at this stage. We've moved seats three times already to ascertain the prime viewing spot.  
It does seem that the 400 odd capacity is only going to be about half full though. I had seen Mark on the trawl in from leaving the car and he said that ticketing was a problem with all the uncertainty.

Since we last saw KOM, just like with Magnum there have been some band line up changes. Brian Badhams (Bernie Marsden, Climax Blues Band) is on Bass. Alan Bell is on Lead Guitar and Mark Pascall (Cats in Space, Departed) has taken over vocals. Otherwise the band is the same with Micky Barker on drums, Richard Bailey keyboard/Flute, Mo Birch vocals/percussion  and Mark Stanway Keyboards. All ex-members of Magnum of course. We are all set for an evening of Magnum classic Rock songs from the celebrated 1978 - 1994 period. 

The set gets off to a flying start with 'Back to Earth' from 1982. 'Just Like an Arrow' is followed by my favourite 'Wild Swan'. I remember  a while back putting forward the next song 'The Prize' as a suggestion for inclusion. Maybe they thought it was a good idea and went with it?  I'm impressed with Mark Pascall on vocals. His voice is strong and he fits in perfectly. Doing justice to great songs such as 'Les Morts Dansant' The first set ends with the all out rocker 'Rockin' Chair, by far the favourite of Mrs A. During a short interview we are promised that Raffle tickets will be available to win memorabilia. Unfortunately cash only....

Following a short, but seemingly lengthy interlude play resumes with 'Changes' and an excellent version of 'Soldier of the Line'. 

Mark has often cited 'The Tall Ships' from the much  overlooked 'Rock Art' album as being his favourite song. He is also quick to pay tribute to the exceptional writing talent of Mr Tony Clarkin. One of my favourites comes next from the 1992 'Sleepwalking' album we have 'Only in America'. It was a period of time between 1985 and 1992 when I saw Magnum a lot, and they were probably at the peak of their power.

No set would be complete without the next two songs; 'On a Storytellers Night' and of course 'Kingdom of Madness'. With now the expected traditional flute intro from Richard. As you would expect they get a great ovation from the audience. . 

It is a strange atmosphere in a way, often the case in all seated venues. Even more so with only being 50% of capacity and spread out

The band leave the stage returning for an encore of 'Lights Burned Out' and the haunting 'Sacred Hour'. 

There have been one or two technical errors, but they have taken nothing away from the performance. A band who always look as though they are really enjoying what they do. 

It has been a great night and we wait afterwards in the auditorium for a set list. However, there is still more to come. A Roadie takes the stage, with a Goldfish bowl partially occupied with raffle tickets.Unfortunately the vast majority of the audience have now left. The first few tickets pulled all meet with blank looks from the few still gathered. 'Is it too late to buy a ticket'? Some 'wag' from the sidelines shouted out (OK that was me). The next ticket is drawn and the lady next to me is only one number away from claiming a prize. I manage her disappointment quite well. Telling her that I don't think it will be long before she enters the 'winners enclosure'. 

Sure enough the next ticket is drawn and she gleefully waves her winning ticket in the air. A signed 'Mirador' picture disc is soon safely pouched. Another prize was soon to follow, I'm really regretting not having the cash to have purchased a ticket now, the odds of winning would have been really good. 

At last the ant-climatic raffle ends and I claim my own prize of the set-list which is reward enough. It has been a really good night, but as often with the seating venues the atmosphere isn't  as rocking as the standing ones. 

We leave the Stables across a deserted car park making the long walk back to where we had left the car. Sometimes my good ideas don't always go quite as planned !