Last Friday we headed down early to the Saint Etienne gig at the Old Market for a visitation from our local out of this world galactic psyche rock experience Quatermass III. Veering between glam and kraut but never taking their eyes from the prize they proved the perfect warm up for Saint Etienne, a third of whose core members are now Brighton based (well, Hove, actually) Continue reading
Last week, in between their UK tour dates and a gig in Paris supporting Kit Sebastian, I caught up with Fujiya & Miyagi’s David Best at the Prince Albert and chatted about new album Slight Variations, Dub, Optical Illusions, playing at the O2 and the lost Fujiya & Miyagi album
Last night Fujiya & Miyagi played a home town gig at Patterns as part of their tour to support their new album Slight Variations, and the band were on top form playing a set made up of a mix of tracks from the new album all the way back to Ankle Injuries. Support came Bunkr, who previously supported Fujiya & Miyagi back in 2016 under his Lost Idol guise.
The full set list was:
Non Essential Worker
Sweat
Uh
Digital Hangover
Freudian Slips
Extended Dance Mix
Transparent Things
Personal Space
New Body Language
Collarbone
Knickerbocker
Seratonin Roshes
Impossible Objects of Desire
encore:
Slight Variations
Ankle Injuries
Projector have just hit the road to play their new single NON (and a whole load of other songs) the country. The band played a hometown gig at Patterns to kick off the tour, and we were there with our camera. Hit their socials to find details of the rest of the tour dates:
This weekend Green Door Store held their annual free 234 Festival, which has been running since at least 2014 (see our post from way back then here). Various other commitments meant we couldn’t spend the whole weekend drinking beer and watching bands, as much as we’d liked to have done, but we did get along to see Hutch, who we’re big fans of. Visuals for the whole weekend were provided by the ever spectacular Innerstrings, who’s probably still sleeping it off now.
Click through the pics to view large:
On Wednesday night we paid a visit to the Folklore Rooms for a gig to celebrate the launch of Sairie‘s new EP The Cinder Sheet. The EP was conceived over lockdown, when Emma and Jon from the band started playing around with covers from film soundtracks. Now expanded to a eight track EP and shared with everyone, the release leaps from French New Wave to Sci Fi to Morricone, all remade in Sairie’s psych-folk style.
Support at the gig from Alex Painter (from Great Pagans) and Maria Marzaioli (from Slum of Legs) new project YOU&TH, who pushed the folk window out to embrace jazz, loops, traditional Italian songs, and field recordings.
(click through the pics to view large)
Anzahlung initially formed as a side project to legendary band The Cravats, the duo made up of The Shend and Joe 91 today released their second album What You Think is All You’ve Got, and are on the bill for ex-Kraftwerk member Wolfgang Flur’s gig at the Concorde in October. We caught up with them on a sunny day in Saltdean to quiz them about their Brighton
What’s the best thing about Brighton?
Joe : Brighton is the only place I’ve lived apart from Welwyn Garden City, which is a big C and small c conservative commuter town. Brighton is the complete antithesis to Welwyn; it’s still the only place in the world (that I’ve visited, at least) where I’d feel safe holding my boyfriend’s hand. It also has the most pubs per square mile than any other place in the UK, apparently. Convenient.
The Shend : Anything goes
Who are your favourite local bands?
Joe : Lambrini Girls. One of the most chaotic, energetic and occasionally absurd live bands I’ve seen in ages. Slum of Legs, sadly almost defunct but they’ll always have a special place in my heart. I’ve just discovered R. Dyer’s music, magical stuff.
The Shend : Human Leather, Arxx, Red Deer People
What’s the best venue?
Joe : We’re not short of decent venues in Brighton but the bulk of my favourite gigs have been at Green Door Store. Me and The Shend have played some exceptionally fun gigs there with our other band The Cravats.
The Shend : Concorde 2
What’s the best rehearsal space / studio?
Joe : Brighton Electric. Staff are super lovely, the facilities are second-to-none and they serve decent beer. Under The Bridge deserves a mention too, Anzahlung have rehearsed there a couple of times, it’s friendly and affordable and they do lots of great community work too.
The Shend : Brighton Electric
What’s the best club?
Joe : I don’t frequent a particular club that often but there are plenty of great club nights in Brighton right now – Mi Piaci, Farmageddon, Traumfrau, Polyglam to name a few.
The Shend : Stay Sick
What’s the best record shop?
Joe : Resident is my go-to for records and has been since I moved here in 2013. Lovely place and glad to see that it’s still thriving.
The Shend : Across The Tracks
Where’s the best places to eat?
Joe : Too many to choose from! Recent highlights have been Adelfia, Khambis, Planet India and Alushi.
The Shend : Grubbs Burgers
What’s the best pub?
Joe : Prince Albert. Usually frequented by an assortment of types but never any hassle, decent venue upstairs and a giant Dot Cotton mural out the back.
The Shend : Prince Albert
Who’s your favourite Brighton celebrity?
Joe : I feel obliged to say The Shend… but I’m going with Ben Wheatley. Sightseers is one of my favourite films.
The Shend : David Thomas
When was the last time you had any Brighton Rock?
Joe : I don’t eat rock, my teeth are knackered enough as it is! I do have a Throbbing Gristle stick of rock under my bed, purchased at their 2006 reunion gig in London. I wonder what state it’s in now.
The Shend : Never
We’ve been fans of Hanya for a while at Brighton Music Blog, and our love for them was vindicated by last year’s mini album 100 Metre Sprint, which at less than half an hour left you itching for more. Ove this year’s Great Escape weekend they played at least three gigs, but managed to find a bit of time to catch up with us for our first Brighton Rocks feature in far too long
What’s the best thing about Brighton?
When I first moved here from a small town I would have said it’s the freedom to be yourself and not feel ostracised. Growing up in a small community, listening to exclusively music from the 70s and wearing a ripped Pavement t-shirt, I was definitely a weirdo to my peers – but here I’ve found so many like-minded people, in music or otherwise. Nowadays though I would say the best thing is the fact you can never get lost because the sea is always visible, we’re close to some damn impressive countryside, and there’s a strong music community here that’s unlike anywhere else. That and there’s some amazing pizza always accessible…
Who are your favourite local bands?
Ooft there’s a lot! We’re spoilt for choice and every year there’s more amazing stuff. At the moment we’re digging Penelope Isles, Helen Ganya, Ciel, Laundromat, Holiday Ghosts, Bess Atwell, Ralph TV…(I could go on for hours here)
What’s the best venue?
Hope & Ruin holds a very dear place in my heart. The sound is amazing, Leo and his team make sure of that, and they do some insanely good vegan chicken popper things that are pure evil heaven!!
What’s the best rehearsal space / studio?
We’ve now got our own space so it’s been a while since we used anywhere else, but we have always loved going to Brighton Electric and bumping into everyone there. It’s its own hub of creativity for all types of musicians, plus they put on some killer shows once in a while
What’s the best club?
The only place I’ve ever been even close to clubbing in Brighton is Patterns. They have some great DJ’s and live acts pass through, but otherwise the closest we’ve ever been to clubbing in Brighton is playing a gig at Przym once over Great Escape.
What’s the best record shop?
Resident! Always & forever. The Bella Union shop is also a lovely hangout and you usually get coffee there so that’s a win.
Where’s the best places to eat?
Ok, maybe one of the best things about Brighton is how much amazing food there is here. In no particular order…. Bincho Yakitori for dinner, Iydea for lunch, Tlaloc for brunch, a slice of Toby’s pizza at Bison Beer or VIP (Pizza) for anytime you bloody like, Manju’s or Chilli Pickle for indian food, Plateau for an insane natural wine infused lunch/dinner, Happy Maki for sushi wraps, Helmston for insane salads, god damn I can’t do this anymore I’m literally salivating. There are so many others…. every month my bank tells me I’ve spent most of my money on eating out because I just love me a good dish. BRB just gonna go grab a snack.
What’s the best pub?
I love The Black Dove as their music taste is killer, and so are the cocktails. Also Hand In Hand is forever in my heart.
Who’s your favourite Brighton celebrity?
I used to serve Matt King (Superhans) coffee and he was a real nice dude.
When was the last time you had any Brighton Rock?
Never!
The Great Escape feels like a distant memory now. Everywhere else posted up their roundups days ago, but ours has taken a bit longer because of our bright idea to shoot on 35mm film , which means that we needed to wait for processing before we could even see the photos ourselves. Anyway they’re here now, so click through for our pics of ARXX at the Hope & Ruin, Lime Garden downstairs at the Hope & Ruin, Laundromat at BYX, Hanya at Presuming Eds, Hutch at East Street Tap, Plantoid at East Street Tap, Hanya (again) at Pryzm, Heights at the Komedia, and Johanna Bramli at Hotel Pelirocco.
Once upon a time, alongside the main Great Escape there was the Alt Escape. More local bands would play, but you’d also get surprise sets from some of the bigger artists too. It looks like this year the Alt Escape is just an add on to the Great Escape – I didn’t recognise any of the artists, and there weren’t any slots just marked “Special Guest” where you’d keep your fingers crossed that the guest would be someone quite special. As well as that though, I heard that to be an “official” Alt Escape gig, you had to pay for the pleasure.
This year there’s a third tier of gigs, wholly unaffiliated with the main festival, that just coincidentally happen to be happening at the same time. These gigs are brilliant for those who haven’t got a weekend ticket who want to join in the fun, of for those who do have a ticket but find there’s a big queue for whoever they wanted to see. Keep your ears to the ground / social media, though, and there might be a few sets tucked in there which are more exciting than the main event.
Anyway, here’s a list as comprehensive as possible. If I hear about more I’ll add them over the next few days:
Wednesday
Fl presents NO ESCAPE from music industry / Prince Albert
The Alt-Alt Escape Kick Off Party / Rossi Bar
Thursday
Collect Call + The Sound of Brighton Present; “answer the call#1” The Great Escape Showcase / PRESUMING EDS
ROM x Small Pond x Submarine Cat / Brighton Youth Centre
BN: The Considerable Departure / Pipeline
FREE GIG: SNAYX w/ support from Panic Shack / Village
JOY. X UnBarred Brewery present: RSVP Party / Unbarred
Love Thy Neighbour / Hope & Ruin
Love Thy Neighbour / Fiddlers Elbow
THE GREAT ESCAPEES / Velvet Jacks
FESTIVAL FLYER & EOTT PRESENTS / The Brunswick
Friday
Acid Box / Abyss all dayer / East Street Tap
BACK IN THE WOODS Alt Escape / St Nicholas Church
THE [UNOFFICIAL] GREAT ESCAPE SHOWCASE / Bee’s Mouth
Republic of Music / Shipwrights Yard/
JOY. X UnBarred Brewery present: RSVP Party / Unbarred
Hard of Hearing & Slack City / Presuming Eds
Mr Bongo / Shindig Celebrate the Great Escape 1-8 / Mr Bongo Shop
Love Thy Neighbour / Hope & Ruin
Love Thy Neighbour / Fiddlers Elbow
FORM x Folklore Rooms Party / Folklore Rooms
Brightonsfinest’s Alt Escape Showcase at PRYZM / PRZYM
Play It Loud UK’s Brighton Fête / Grand Central
Saturday
Acid Box / Abyss all dayer / East Street Tap
HEAVENLY RECORDS PARTY – The Parrots & OneDa / PHOTOMATIC
C21 Presents An Alternative Escape / GLADSTONE/
WASP NEST: The Great Escape Showcase 2022 / BEE’S MOUTH
ESCAPE TO BRIGHTON / PIPELINE
Love Thy Neighbour / Hope & Ruin
Love Thy Neighbour / Fiddlers Elbow
Slack City at Presuming Eds / Presuming Eds
The Escaped / Contractors Classic Stage / The Signalman
Escape to Pelirocco / Hotel Pelirocco
The Fake Escape / The Rose Hill
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