Amazing!
After having been to my 254th !daft! gig at the Rising Sun in Slough last night (which is also worth an honorable mention if you're keeping count) I think it can officially be established, once and for all, that the lads really are the most entertaining, audacious and awesome covers band in the known universe.

I imagine only invasion by aliens from the planet 'rock and f-ing roll' – or *perhaps* the second coming of Elvis – could upstage them now.

!daft! are so far ahead of the pack they can now only compete with themselves. The perfectly formed fivesome compliment each other like turbo and shandy!!

Frontman Graeme is a great entertainer, he jumps around the stage (often literally) with electric energy, singing
away to anything you throw at him, being one of the few rock vocalists with the technical chops to brave a bit of a Metallica growl and tackle a bit of warbling too, Garys an absolute pedigree guitarist, who I'm sure is just longing to have a bit of a crowd surf after one of his blistering guitar solos (he's from ooop norf too don't you know) Phil I'm starting to think perhaps was born with his guitar rock seems to come that naturally to him, you'll find Darran on his drum stool going absolutely mental, how he keeps it up for the whole gig is beyond me, I think he must save it all up and release the beast come pub o'clock at the weekends and Nick keeps the perfect bass going seemingly effortlessly, smooth as you like, bringing it all together.

I probably should mention that Phil is departing very soon though which is a big shame, so you'll have to catch them this year to see him, but for the rest of the lads I can only hope the fun has only just begun again. With a new head to put into the mix, who knows what genius they'll come up with and the 'Raw finale' I'm sure will be no less than grand.

As for material, the set list does traverse some familiar covers band territory, with good solid rock numbers - but the boys have also chosen to indulge their ability to make all types of music rock with all sorts of genres thrown in. Whether you're a metal head, an Elvis groupie, an 80's throwback or an indie type who has to get up 20 minutes early in the mornings to squeeze into your skinnys, there's something for you. Which certainly beats citing Smoke on the Water as your most played song.

They play all the best venues in the area, from spangley nightclubs that charge you £45 for a beer with lights that make you go 'ooooh' (and smoke machines if your lucky) to superb little rock pubs where everybody knows your name (...and they're always glad you cameeeee) and staff you want to lick because they're just that brilliant.

!daft! really know how to make the atmosphere electric and get the whole crowd involved, even the truly miserable types are up having a bit of a boogie by the end of the night. I will personally challenge anyone to go home from a !daft! gig and claim you've not had a wicked time.

Kim Byne, Live music fan, Slough

Thank you!
Myself & Hannah, and all of our Wedding guests were blown away by your performance. Amazing band, and a great bunch of guys, too. You thoroughly entertained everyone & helped to make our Wedding Day extra special. Thank you so much!!!

Barry and Hannah Gorman, Wedding October 2009.

!daft! are a local professional bunch of masculine male musicians with a squeaky-clean lady friendly image and a clean-cut next-door-neighbour following of young good-looking entrepreneurs and their gorgeous girlfriends. If you like modern alt-rock music perfectly pitched for an affluent audience and sumptuously rehearsed and presented then !daft! is for you. Covers include work by Killers, Green Day, Queen, Guns N Roses, Manics, Fratellis, Michael Jackson, Oasis.

One of my favourites, when I saw the band LIVE at OLD TICKET HALL WINDSOR, was “Monster” by The Automatic. If you are thinking of modern, honey-sweet, anthemic alt-rock Indie sounds then you have got the right idea. But the boys can also belt out some whoppers and the soundcheck was Free’s “Wishing Well” with a really grinding and even menacing attitude…nice and sleazy.

The band also performs some Darkness and Queen tracks which go down a treat with the punters. The carefully groomed and manicured performance of the high-larking vocalist Graeme Nash (a smiling sunshine timeshare salesman-type yuppie boy of brylcream boyband and sqeaky clean credentials) helped to make these tracks a sing-song success. The support from Gary & Phil on guitars and Nick on bass is about as smooth as half a jar of peanut butter spread upon Kylie’s inner thigh and about as polished as a recently greased up snowboard.

The result from all this hard graft is a solid workaday performance as reliable as well-oiled machinery in a Swiss clock factory and as enjoyable as a bouncy castle party wearing nothing but clotted cream and your jim-jams. Lots of fun and plenty of keypoint moments to look back upon. An exciting and energetic vibe.

 

I saw the band at the OLD TICKET HALL WINDSOR…this venue is now the only authentic and truly exclusive LIVE MUSIC venue in the Windsor area. The acoustics are a problem (the room is actually the old William Tite ticket office c 1849) but the space is truly historic and buzzes with a friendly energy and effervescent excitement. The public space is a high horseshoe shaped room with large rear doors leading out onto the station platform and a bar that is placed smack inside the ticket office. The stage is built up and sits in front of the huge windows overlooking the enormous bar area. Lots of terrific looking visitors and excellent drinks and service make this an ideal base for any music loving locals to come and spend some quality time with like-minded live music enthusiasts.

The best thing about The Old Ticket Hall is that it is just a few stops down the line from STAINES to Windsor & Eton Riverside station so will cost only about a fiver from Staines…a big savings on minicab fares…. so it makes your spendin money go a lot further.

© Neil_Mach
Jan 2009
http://staines.wordpress.com

Extreme!
Its very rare that i get a night off to go and see other bands, but Friday 8th May 2009 was one of those nights. So off we went to go and see Daft in action @ the Scotch Bar Windsor. On arrival i managed to say hi to Matt and Graeme before getting the drinks in and preparing myself to becoming !daft! experienced.

Well what can I say, from the first note to the last these guys know how to make a venue party and encourage audience participation to the max. Musically they handle a mix of tracks from as extreme as Elvis to Metalica and all stops in between the decades with a fanatic pace and musical prowess and i along with everyone else clapped whenever they gave us a chance to :-) We were treated to a straight through 1 hour 30 minute set of which went down a storm and its easy to see why !daft! are fast becoming one the most popular bands of the covers circuit.

Once my diary allows, i will be definitely making a dash to see !daft! again and i suggest that if you have not done so yet, then get yourself !daft! experienced @ a gig near you .......

Dave Carrera, Abakus

 

Outstanding!
What can we say, absolutely outstanding, the best band we have seen in a very very long time. Can't wait for you all to come back and visit us again soon.

It has been a long time since we have seen a band were the vocals are spot on, as well as the instruments, great stuff guys keep it up. Nicky, Andy and all who appreciated at the Fleur...

Nicola Nuthall, Manager/Owner of the Fleur de Lis, Stokenchurch

 

Energetic + Electric, absolutely AWESOME!!!
What an amazing night! Once again these guys rocked the crowd and had them begging for more! They just ooze energy and charisma!! The bar was heaving, so much so I ended up jumping around on your stage area at one point haha. But seriously, as far as cover bands go, these guys are the pinnacle of cool...

Look forward to the next gig!

Stephanie D.

!daft! are GODS..worship them!

!daft! are AWESOME. Musically the band are excellent - far better than the picture mere words can paint. Real quality musicians. Graeme himself is amazing...the boy can sing...not just sing a bit, I mean he can sing...really SING. He's got an impressive vocal range and more than that he is everything a frontman should be - he has charisma, energy, style, wit, humour and an instinctive understanding of his audience...he takes the band a stage further from being just a group of quality musicians to a group of quality musicians who comprise a band with the "wow factor"

I went to the Rising Sun gig on Saturday and had a really good time. I'm a miserable, overweight, 40 something dyed-in-the-wool metalheaded, sad git with a bad back, but !daft! managed to get me on my feet, jumping up and down and singing (I know, it's a terrifying thought) along with loads of other people both young and old, of all creeds and colours...we were all having that rare thing - A genuinely good time.

!daft! really know how to give their audience that "feel good" factor...I was watching people leaving after the gig and without exception everyone had bloody big smiles on their faces.

So, "covers band" they may be...but they're so much more too...

Louise P. (email address available on request)

 

"Seriously, you guys were awesome! Brilliant! You'll have to play one of my parties. Have you got a card?"

Steve Mac, Songwriter & Record Producer, Rokstone/Q-Zone. Credits include: Leona Lewis, Westlife, Mariah Carey, Lulu, Ronan Keating, Kelly Clarkson, Il Divo, Kate Winslet, JLS, Susan Boyle

What can you say about !daft! other than QUALITY!!! They have an amazing stage presence, get the crowd fully involved and ROCK ON!!! They have a great mix of covers that guarantee you will have no voice left by the end of the night!! Particular favorites include their Guns n Roses covers and 'All these things I've done' by the Killers!!

If you want a wicked night, go see this lot!!! Amazing, keep it up Guys!!!

Steven Edge, The Riots, Signed to Ear Candy Music

I'm sixty, and don't know many of the songs they perform, but... this band is something else!
I played a bit in the 60's and 70's, fancied myself and the bands I played in then...still do, I 'spose, but !daft! are an outstanding covers band. I've booked them twice and both times now they have simply 'blown the audience away"!

Believe their "biography" above because every word is true, but don't just read these reviews, go to a gig, and if you can't get to one, be selfish and book them to play for you, as I have done. You'll not be disappointed.

John C. (email address availale on request) 

 

Bl*ody Fantastic!!
I went to see them for the first time recently and had one of the BEST nights out! Fantastic band, picked all the right songs, I would pay money to see these dudes and it was like watching the real GNR or Greenday exept you were closer to the stage!! Bonus!! Only problem I will say is that they weren't on long enough! I wanted more !!!!!

Laura M.

It's like going to see all your favourite rock bands in one night!!
I have been going to !daft! gigs for years, not only are they awesome musicians but great entertainers. They always put in 100% to ensure you have a wicked night and the music is always brilliant. At every gig the crowd are always involved and everyone is singing and dancing. I will always put in the effort to go to see !daft!.. as its always a fab night. Awesome band .. Awesome guys.. Awesome live music..

Thanks for all the great night's and I look forward to seeing you again soon!!!

Rachel S.

A pleasure to deal with...
!daft! played in the Camphill Club in West Byfleet on Saturday the 12th of May. The lads were an absolute pleasure to deal with and put on one of the best shows we have seen, where Graeme gets his energy from is beyond me!! We have already booked them to play our Club later this year, and I will be booking them for some gigs next year as well!

Graham Loughrey, Entertainment Secretary Camphill Social Club

Energetic ain't the word...
If not performing, there is nothing I like better than going to see a live band and !daft! give everything I want to see. Graeme is a top notch frontman, with a good vocal range to boot. He excels in ensuring the crowd are involved and are smiling. The choice of material is pleasantly varied - the band's strength lies in the big rock anthems such as Guns n Roses' 'Welcome to the jungle' and an incredibly tight Queen medley. The band steer clear of ballads and rightly so; !daft! are all about the energy and sharpness of sound. Phil and Gary on guitars are tight as you like together and share solos - the guitars compliment each other perfectly. Nick is a solid bass player and his timing with Darren on drums is spot on. All in all, if you want to go see a band and want to feel part of it, even if just for a couple of hours, go see them. Brilliant.

Matt, musician and audience member

 

Tight band...
We have seen a lot of bands in our native Los Angeles area but I gotta say you guys were one of the tightest and best sounding bands we've seen.

Norm, Hermosa Beach, California

 

Sheer talent...
I would just like to say once again how fantastic you and your band were on Daisy Day. I can honestly say that your the best band I've seen for a long, long time. Will contact you again soon to make a date for the summer so that all the unfortunate ones that missed out from seeing you that day will be able to catch up and witness the expertise and sheer talent of what I saw.

Sharon, event assistant and audience member

More than just a covers band...
A very welcome return for !daft! who are more than just a covers band, they are an event.

Clive Langston, resident critic/photographer, The Red Lion, (previously) High Wycombe's No.1 Live Band Venue

Making Slough Happy...
I'm so impressed, so lively... totally fantastic!

Veronica Puglia, the face of BBC 2 documentary, "Making Slough Happy"

A blast!
Dynamic and full of dynamite, they'll just blast you away!

Richard Hill, Writer/Journalist, Royal Television Society

Wonderful...
You were wonderful! You remind me of Robbie Williams!

Brett Kahr, BBC Radio 2 DJ, composer, performer and internationally acclaimed psychotherapist

Great!
You guy's were absolutely great! You must come and play for us!

Andrew Mawson OBE, Founder & Executive Director of Community Action Network
 

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