Juice New Music Christmas party with 900 Spaces, Jennifer Left, Kidda and Midfield General

Posted on 22/12/2011 by brightonmusicblog

One last gig before Christmas? Why not! Last night was the Juice New Music Night’s Christmas Party, their first event in their new home at The Haunt. I missed openers 900 Spaces because the annual Burning The Clocks procession was running a bit late, and arrived just a few minutes before Jennifer Left took to the stage. Jennifer has been working incredibly hard the past few months, playing a lot of gigs and spreading the word all around town, but the attention she’s been receiving isn’t just the result of a lot of hard work – there are some great songs behind everything she’s doing. Jennifer was very much in the festive spirit performing her set in a red Santa dress, although she didn’t perform any Christmas songs. A lot of reviews of Jennifer describe her sound as folky, but I’m guessing that they’re probably reviews of her solo performances rather than with the full band that she had last night, where she was accompanied by guitars, drums, double bass and a multi-instrumentalist who played everything from flugelhorn to xylophone. Things got a bit jazzier later on, with a bossa nova cover of New Order’s Temptation. Jennifer Left is definitely an act to look out for next year.

Once upon a time, Kidda was just Ste McGregor, his records, his sampler, and some passing musicians. These days he’s joined by guitarist and co-writer Lee Baker, and a couple of female vocalists, including Jennifer Left. Kidda’s music was a ray of sunshine on a grey drizzly December day like yesterday, and I know that there’s going to come a day in spring when the sun’s out, the skies are blue and the world is just coming back to life when one of their tunes comes on the radio and it’ll be just perfect. Their sound is gospel sampling summery hip hop played by a live band which is relentlessly positive. Even the songs about being sad sound happy! This was their first ever live band gig in their hometown, and if there were any nerves, they didn’t show. The got the whole of The Haunt on their feet – a cautious gap between the stage and the audience got transformed into a breakdance area, and by the end of the set everyone was dancing.

But that wasn’t the end of the night. Things were rounded off with a DJ set by Skint boss Damian Harris aka Midfield General. Once upon a time his sets would have been full of big beat classics, but keeping with the tone of Kidda’s tunes, things started off with some Snoop Dogg and carried on with more of a hip hop vibe. I’d have loved to have stayed longer, because he was playing some great tunes, but sadly the pressures of the day job meant I had to call it a night.

Chris T-T sings A.A. Milne

Posted on 21/12/2011 by brightonmusicblog

If you haven’t already heard about Brighton-based singer songwriter Chris T-T there are two things you should do; firstly – slap yourself, secondly – check out his website christt.com. Chris T-T has been bringing us songs usually described as “crossing barriers between punk, psych-pop and English folk” since 1999.

This time Chris T-T brought us a show with a difference, playing tracks from his recently digitally released album ‘Disobedience’, a collection of songs he has written that have been taken from the 1920s childrens’ poems written by A. A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh). The gig took place at the Friends Meeting House in Brighton with families and children present. He played all songs on guitar and a baby grand piano completely unamplified giving the evening a friendly, intimate and unpretentious atmosphere which was easy to enjoy and fitted well with Chris T-T’s folk aesthetics.

The songs were moving in their understated perceptiveness, in particular ‘Halfway Down’ and ‘Binker”, a song about an imaginary friend. There was some outstandingly unselfconscious audience participation for “The Four Friends’ and amusing as well as informative anecdotes throughout.

Having seen Chris T-T play before, wedged in amongst political comedians and comedy acts singing about science, it was interesting to see him in this whimsically innocent setting of his own creation. I’ve wondered before why so few singer songwriters broach the topics that he seems drawn to, and this show made it clear: you’ve got to have a lot of heart to sing about the world in the way that Chris T-T does.

You can download the album here.

Artwork from ‘Disobedience’ by Chris T-T

Words & photo by Ingrid Plum

Riots Not Diets Christmas Party / Shrag live at the Green Door Store 17/12/11

Posted on 20/12/2011 by brightonmusicblog

Shrag first came to my attention (musically at least) last year when I saw them supporting Pains of Being Pure at Heart at the Concorde. I fell in love with them immediately – they reminded me of loads of the bands I loved in the mid nineties – Prolapse, The Delgados, Bis and Heavenly. Funny then, that support at the gig was Tender Trap – fronted by Amelia Fletcher, who also fronted Heavenly all those years ago. For most of Tender Trap’s set, Shrag lead singer Helen King stood at the front transfixed. It must be quite an honour to have one of your heroes supporting you at a gig in your hometown. Since this is the Brighton Music Blog, not the Oxford Music Blog, so I’ll skip over Tender Trap’s support and head straight onto Shrag’s set. They played a roughly equal mix of tracks from 2010’s Life! Death! Parties!, earlier tunes and songs written for their upcoming album due to be released next year on Fortuna Pop. The band don’t really aim for professional – the start was delayed by a couple of minutes while the bassist was fetched from the bar, and when a string broke on Bob Brown’s guitar, he didn’t have another spare guitar to swap with, instead having to use keyboard player Steph Goodman’s, which was “impossible to tune”. But it doesn’t matter one jot – I’d rather see a band who are funny, and intense, and who I can relate to instead. Their set was over far too quickly – one of the downsides of fast paced punky indie pop. Let’s hope they play again soon when their album comes out in the spring.

Shrag

Christmas tracks from Munich and Rocker Switch

Posted on 19/12/2011 by brightonmusicblog

Christmas is only a few days away, and Brighton’s bands certainly haven’t forgotten. To help you get in the festive spirit, Munich and Rocker Switch have posted up a seasonal track, Munich covering a classic Christmas pop favourite, and Rocker Switch with a new track of their own. Grab yourself a mince pie and click on the links:

Munich – Last Christmas:

Rocker Switch – Hurry Hurry Christmas Come:

Metronomy / The English Riviera in the Album Of The Year round ups

Posted on 18/12/2011 by brightonmusicblog

As predicted when I wrote about Mary Hampton faring well in Folk Roots’ album of the year a couple of weeks ago, Metronomy’s fantastic The English Riviera LP is showing up all over the place. Drowned in Sound have placed it at number ten, and The Guardian have it at number seven. If you’ve spotted it anywhere else, let us know!

http://drownedinsound.com/news/4144241-dis-favourite-albums-of-2011–20-6

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/dec/08/best-albums-2011-metronomy-english-riviera

Wildwood and Shhh! Xmas all dayer in aid of Martlets Hospice

Posted on 18/12/2011 by brightonmusicblog

Phew! 8 bands and 7 hours of music all for a tenner in aid of Martlets Hospice.

Wildwood and Shhh! promotions teamed up to bring us a marathon of local and Brighton affiliated bands to help raise money for Martlets, who are in dire need of funds at present. Westhill Hall was a lovely setting for this gig, giving it a mini-festival feel and thankfully lacking in hipster pretensions.

First up was Tandy Hard, performing as a duo and providing a very warm welcome with rich vocals and storytelling charm with dual finger-picking guitars. Replacing Birdengine, who had to cancel due to losing his voice, was Mary Hampton. She performed just three songs solo, starting with an a capella traditional folk song about a miner playing the field, moving onto ‘Honey In The Rock’, her recently released 7″ on Rough Trade records (who scouted her) and finishing with another a capella song, this time a negro spiritual. The audience were captivated the entire time she was on stage. 2012 looks like it’s going to be a big year for Mary Hampton, as she’s been featured on countless end of year ‘Best Of’ lists.

Mary Hampton

Lianne Hall was next, giving us her abridged version of ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’ and her own country laden breathy ballads. Following her was the outstanding Diamond Family Archive complete with long beard and sharp witticisms bringing to mind the cause behind today’s event, whose sparse songwriting style mixed with intricate finger picking and a simple clear folk voice had this audience member welling up.

Something Beginning With L are based in London but have played with many Brighton bands and provided us with possibly the best indie xmas cover: a folk version of Slade’s xmas classic performed with harmonies on 2 acoustic guitars and a cello. The band have definitely been working hard since they last played Brighton’s Bleeding Hearts night a few months ago, and it showed in their playing.

Something Beginning with L

Next up was 30lbs Of Bone, a familiar face in Brighton since the days of Gilded Palace promotions. After a few false starts we were treated to some delicately written folk songs using a traditional structure evoking imagery of pastoral life. The alternative xmas song concerning the unwritten rule of not breaking up with someone at xmas was a particular gem.

Thirty Pounds of Bones

King James turned out to be the delightful combination of 30lbs of Bone and Diamond Family Archive. Their set featured banjo and acoustic guitar with harmonies using the nearness in tone of their voices, as well as a beautiful audience participation singalong. Unfortunately their album is currently in record label purgatory, but keep your eyes peeled as it will be well worth a listen.

All the bands played for free, as did the DJs, the sound was excellent and the evening ended with a raffle (so appropriate for the venue!) followed by an acoustic set by Electric Soft Parade. Lovely to see Brighton bands and promoters getting together for such a good cause.

Tom White (Electric Soft Parade)

Words by Ingrid Plum

Photographs by Jon Southcoasting

Sweet Sweet Lies Christmas gig at the Haunt

Posted on 15/12/2011 by brightonmusicblog

When is a headliner not a headliner?

For the gig I went to this evening, the answer could be that the listed band were on early, at 8.30pm. Or it could be that all three bands on the bill could easily be headliners in their own right. I’m quite sure I’ve probably seen all three of these bands headlining their own gigs over the past couple of years. The gig itself was only a fiver – which would be a bargain to see any of these bands, let alone all three, but it wasn’t until I arrived that I realised that also included a shot of Tuaca in the bargain too. Bonus!

First up were Kovak, on criminally early at 7.30. But what a great way to start – they’ve honed their electro pop over many gigs in Brighton over the past few years, and now know exactly how to get things warmed up. They even threw in their cover of Atomic which they’ve been playing the last few times I’ve seen them.

Next up were the band billed as headliners – Sweet Sweet Lies. After a few technical hitches with the keyboards, they kicked off their classic brand of guitar led pop. They’ve been secretly working hard since the last time I saw them a couple of years ago, and now everything seems even more polished and professional than ever. Like Kovak, if things go their way, they could be headed for big things.

Finally, we had Mean Poppa Lean. It’s impossible not to like Mean Poppa Lean. Even if you don’t like funk, you can’t help but be seduced by their silliness, their outfits, and the fact that they’re just a great band. So it’s best just to join them in their fun. It only took them a couple of songs before pretty much the whole band were just stripped down to their crazy home made pantaloons / boxer shorts. And that’s probably why they were put on last!

Macca-Brighton date

Posted on 14/12/2011 by brightonmusicblog

About a month ago, in one of our first posts we told you about the Maccabees heading off to tour in January, and I jokingly commented that there was no Brighton date. Well, of course they wouldn’t miss out their home town. More dates have been announced, and they’ll be playing the Dome on the 9th of March. Tickets go on sale this Friday, so make sure you’re queuing up outside Resident or Rounder when they open.

Grinderman is dead, Long live the Bad Seeds

Posted on 12/12/2011 by brightonmusicblog

Although technically he’s Australian, I reserve the right to post about Nick Cave, since he’s one of Hove’s most notable residents these days. Anyway, news just out is that Nick Cave has laid his Grinderman project to rest, and that ‘s back working with his old band, The Bad Seeds (although the current band seeds line up is completely different to the original). More news at The Guardian here.

Live Review : Jane Bartholomew at The Basement 6/12/11

Posted on 11/12/2011 by brightonmusicblog

This was going to be a review of what was pretty much unanimously gig of the week in the local press – Meg Baird at The Basement last Tuesday. The focus wasn’t going to be Meg Baird – she’s an American folk singer – but the support, local singer songwriter Jane Bartholomew. I’d been given a heads up about the gig by Jon, who’s written a few posts for the blog, who told me it was going to be a good gig, but I hadn’t heard of Jane before the night.

And it was an amazing gig. I don’t really have the vocabulary to fully describe it – not being that into folk, I can’t make the meaningful comparisons with other artists and sub genres which would tell you that much about it, and my enthusiasm about the gig won’t make things much clearer either.

What I can tell you though is that the gig was exactly why I started the blog. I know quite a few local bands, but what I also know is that there’s some serious talent around town which deserves to be heard but so often goes unrecognised, which I want to find out about and shine a light on. For me, it’s all about the discovery of these artists, the pride that we live somewhere that generates such creativity, and the ongoing support.

So I guess I should write a bit about Jane Bartholomew, and the gig. Jane makes quirky, magical folk music, which was ideally suited to the small intimate environment of The Basement. Most of the time she played alone on the guitar or autoharp, but on some songs she was joined on accordion and violin, and on a couple of songs, the vibraphone. However, whatever the instrumentation, it’s Jane’s voice that really captivates. It’s almost childlike and brings something rather special to her songs. Musically, everything seems so accomplished and rich – far more than I would expect from a support band. It was all so good that at the end of the show, I bought the cd and it hasn’t left my stereo since. And I guess Meg Baird was pretty good too (she was fantastic), but she’s not from Brighton, and I know that there’s been plenty of other reviews written which will say how great the gig was and how ably she coped at the end of the gig when one of her strings broke.

You can buy Jane Bartholomew’s album on her website here.