I’ve done my best to attend the Juice and Source new music nights religiously since I started the blog, so when this month came around and they both ended up on the same night, I was in a bit of a quandary. There was only one thing for it – attend both nights. The Juice night started a little bit earlier and finished a bit later, so my plan was to get to the Haunt for the opening act, then head over to the Pavilion Theatre, then back to the Source for their headliner.

This month, the Juice night was a Hip Hop special. First act on were Scribe Tribe – Four MCs and a DJ at the side of the stage. For the first act on, they did a fantastic job of getting the crowd moving.

Scribe Tribe

It’s about now I should apologise to Rum Committee and Suave Debonaire, because after Scribe Tribe, I left the Juice night made my way to the Source night, where I caught Hour Hands last song – a seven or eight minute epic in several sections, which made me wish I could have been in two place at once last night.

The second main act at the Pavilion were a band called Cardinals. They weren’t even from Brighton though, they were from Southampton! As usual, they had an acoustic act downstairs at the bar inbetween acts, and before and after Cardinals, Kate Williams played her two short sets. The question that came to me as I was watching Kate’s sets was “What did kooky female folk singers sound like before Joanna Newsome?”.

Kate Williams

Headliners of the Source night were Man Ray Sky, who gave us half an hour of ambitious  experimental rock, taking in practically every possible angle imaginable, at times intense and pulsating before letting everything fall away to hushed, quiet sounds. Man Ray Sky also had the honour of visuals provided by local video artists Metaluna, who also provided visuals for AKDK when they headlined a few months ago. The Pavilion Theatre is pretty impressive at the best of times, but with Man Ray Sky plus great visuals, it was better than ever.

Man Ray Sky

Before they’d even finished, I was back off to The Haunt to catch Astro-Physics, who headlined the Juice night. Astro-Physics were launching their new 4 track EP “It’s A Mindstate” (out now on iTunes), and played most of the tracks on the EP, some other live favourites, and a tune so new it hadn’t even been named yet. A great end to the night.

Astro-Physics

Finally, as well as all of the bands it’s also worth giving Andrea and Tony at Juice, James at The Source and Bex at The Dome a mention too – the unsung heroes of these monthly nights!