My Top 5 Gigs.

I've enjoyed every one of my 120 gigs so far but these are my top 5 in no particular order.

Ryan Spendlove Music page, Edwina Hayes Duchess, York 30/04/2011
I was planning on attending this gig so it was quite a shock when Ryan emailed me out of the blue to come and support him on his debut album launch. Played to around 200 attentive people, and Ryan put on one of the best performances I've ever seen from a solo artist.

Ben Marwood, Oxygen Thief The Garratt, Manchester 01/10/2011
This one was courtesy of Moon & Back Music. I couldn't believe it at the time because a few of my friends were big fans of Ben, It was my first gig of the Northwest and so I had the chance to meet a lot of people that I have been talking to on Facebook. I got stung for £24 on parking though, but it didn't matter as I was on such a natural high.

Chris Helme, Mark Morriss Stereo, York 10/11/2011
Gigs come from the most unusual sources, I got asked to play this one after a gig for Screaming Tarts at the Adelphi. It was one of those pinch myself moments as in the 90s I was a huge fan of The Seahorses and The Bluetones. This was a sellout on the night.

Joe McCorriston, Dylan Brierley Musician Central Station, Dewsbury 18/02/2012
I've been online friends with Joe from before I released my debut album and I've become a great admirer of his music. It only took me 115 gigs for us to play a gig together and although the crowd was small, the atmosphere was buzzing, singalongs a plenty.

Rachel Morrison, Brother's of Craig. Vale Bar, Glasgow. 15/05/2011
Quite early on in my gigging career I took a gamble to play a mini tour outside of my country, 2 of the 3 gigs got cancelled, but this remaining one paid off. I took the long journey up there to find people had bought tickets and turned up to a show so far away from my humble beginnings of Bridlington.

Gig review, Ben Parcell at ‘Cafe Venue’ Scarborough. 18/11/11

• 
  
  
  
  BEN PARCELL at SCARBOROUGH’S ‘CAFÉ VENUS’. 18/11/11
  
  Playing one of the most intimate shows conceivable, Bridlington-based Ben played a stunning mixture of originals and covers from an elevated part of a cosy café with a difference. Located just downwind of the town’s university campus, Café Venus prides itself on serving low-cost, high-quality vegetarian meals. What’s more, the owners are all for championing creative talent, hence why their ‘Venus Live’ performance evenings have come to be so anticipated amongst literary and musical aficionados. Given that Ben’s presently in the throes of studying for a degree in ‘Digital Media’ at Scarborough University, he was already familiar with the café before first stepping through its welcoming front door.
  
  Buoyed up by recent gigs played in support of Ryan Spendlove and Chris Helme, Ben coolly launched into his forty-five minute set with a cover song that’s become a staple of almost every set he plays: ‘Good Riddance’. Staying true to its Greenday-penned roots, Ben then dove into ‘Close Your Eyes’, the opening track on his solo debut album ‘Humble Beginnings’. An upbeat anthem of repute, it provided the perfect introduction to Ben’s music for those in attendance who might have been unfamiliar with his acoustic-based style of singing and playing. Hot on the heels of releasing such a ten-track debut, Ben sought to write and then record some fresh tunes with Edwina Hayes, two cuts of which materialised in the equally as bewitching forms of ‘Painted By Numbers’ (after which his latest EP is named) and ‘Stay In Touch’, the latter tenderly focusing on the difficulty in moving on once a relationship ends. Indeed, it’s Ben’s emotional maturity which helps to seduce his listeners, his emotion-flecked voice soaring over his melodies, regardless of whether they’re frantically strummed or delicately finger-picked. Harking back to ‘Humble Beginnings’, a rendition of ‘The Only One’ proved to be a definite set highlight, while an extraordinary cover version of Radiohead’s ‘Karma Police’ hushed even those who had previously dared chatter over their food. Later, a pitch-perfect interpretation of The Seahorses' ‘Blinded By The Sun’ further acknowledged the fact that Ben had supported Mr. Helme, who used to front the band, only the week before.
  
  Serving to please everybody with his tasteful balance of self-composed tunes and well-known chart hits, he also treated one and all to a gorgeous cover of ‘Driftwood’, the classic Travis gem. However, and gratifyingly, Ben’s songs were awarded the most intense waves of applause, not least because he’s so sincere in the performing of them, a succession of complex chord progressions and daring guitar solos proving that he’s a sensationally accomplished musician. Having played guitar for more than ten years, Ben initially poured his creativity into a trio called The Trailers, a Bridlington band heavily influenced by Pop-Punk. These days, Ben is concentrating on cultivating a career as a serious singer-songwriter, keen to show that he can write songs that are as poetic as they are anthemic, as uplifting as they can be heartbreaking.
  
  Closing with a lighthearted cover of ‘Baby Hit Me One More Time’, Ben grinned his way to the final chord, perhaps realising that his songs ooze far, far more substance than any old Britney Spears number could ever aspire to. Thanking the audience for their attention, Ben unplugged his guitar to embrace a figurative junction. Armed with a hundred gigs under his belt, and brimming with infectious passion about future musical endeavours, it seems safe to say that 2012 could well be the year in which Ben Parcell receives the nationwide acclaim that his natural talent and hard-working attitude both deserve.
  
  Please visit www.benparcell.com for more information.
  
  (REVIEW BY STEVE RUDD)