July Brighton Gig Previews

Posted on 09/07/2017 by brightonmusicblog

We don’t do gig previews that much any more, mainly because we don’t get out nearly as much as we used to. We’ve got a big feature coming, but it’s taking a little while to get together, so to tide you over until then, here’s a few gigs that have caught our eye over the coming month:

Tomorrow night (Monday 10th July), Bleeding Hearts almost celebrate their fifteen birthday at The Rialto. As they put it: “We’d planned to host an alldayer only to find out that our adversaries had used their telemeters to evil effect. Due to dimentional complications we will not be celebrating the actual anniversary but instead our inability to celebrate our longeveness.”. On the bill are Garden Centre, Academy of the Sun, Gary Goodman and Sam Cutting.

Next Saturday (15th July) Wax Machine launch their new EP Harlequin’s Patchwork at Sticky Mike’s. There’ll be visuals by the brilliant Innerstrings, and support comes from ZOFFF and Jouis.

On Saturday 22nd July, Britpop stars Sleeper return to play a sold out gig at The Haunt – their first gig in almost twenty years. Support comes from fellow nineties stars My Life Story.

The Fiction Aisle headline an intimate gig at the Komedia Studio bar on Thursday 27th July. Their debut album Heart Map Rubric has recently re-released on vinyl by Brighton’s Finest, so expect some of that in their set. Support comes from the off-beat genius of Crayola Lectern.

The following night (Friday 28th July), Animal House are top of the bill at The Hope & Ruin, to celebrate the launch of their Hot Bodies EP. Further down the bill are The New Faith, who’ve just finished recording their debut album.

The New Faith at the Prince Albert gallery

Posted on 01/06/2017 by brightonmusicblog

On Monday night the New Faith launched their new single Too Sad To Be Young at the Prince Albert. When we chatted to them for our recent Brighton Rocks feature they invited us along and we were more than happy to accept. We brought along our camera, because that’s what we do (albeit nearly as often as we used to) – click on the pics to view large:

Brighton Music Blog Great Escape / Alt Escape 2017 preview

Posted on 15/05/2017 by brightonmusicblog

It’s almost that time again – the highlight in the Brighton musical calendar, when anywhere you can fit in a PA becomes venue for a few days. Yes, this coming weekend is The Great Escape Festival. We haven’t finalised our plans, but we’re probably going to end up seeing more Alt Escape stuff than proper Great Escape stuff, because that’s where the bulk of the local bands are playing. If you haven’t got yourself a ticket yet then you can get into all the Alt Escape stuff without one anyway.

If you want to start really early then there are actually a couple of shows on Wednesday night, our pick of which is the Fiddlers Elbow where you can see the likes of Fable and Porshyne.

Things really kick off on Thursday though. We’ll probably spending a lot most of the day at Alive Gym on Castle Street – not to work out, but to enjoy the Small Pond / Republic of Music all dayer which has an ace line up – Pussy Liquor, The Hundredth Anniversary, Our Girl and Dream Wife are all on our list. There are also three unannounced acts, which is often Great Escape code for secret gigs by much bigger bands. We’ll also be spending some time up at the Black Dove, which has a line curated by Octopuses that includes Bloom, Fukushima Dolphin, Tom White, Speak Galactic and Frost. In terms of non Brighton bands, we like the look of Anteros at 2pm at Bleach and Gurr who are playing at 3.30pm at Sticky Mikes and also at 9.15pm at Green Door Store. Liberty Music PR’s GRL PWR showcase at Hotel Pelirocco has a mix of tourists and Brighton bands, including Ex-Phanton Runner Adal who’s joined by Michelle O Faith, who are on at 8pm. Also representing Brighton on the main line up are Yonaka (8.30, Patterns), Jacko Hooper (9.15, Jubilee Square) and Fickle Friends (11.15pm, East Wing).

Possibly the strangest gig of the weekend is early afternoon on Friday when Nick Heyward from Haircut 100 (ask your mum) plays at the Black Lion. What we’re most looking forward to though is the Shipwright’s Yard Sessions (also put on by Republic of Music, who seem to be pushing all our buttons at this year’s festival). The whole bill look pretty good, but we’re most excited by The Magic Gang at 4.55pm and Rose Elinor Dougall at 5.35pm. It’s an Alt Escape gig, but you need to register for a ticket so don’t miss out. Elsewhere Porridge Radio are playing at the Hope & Ruin at 6.30pm, Thyla are at the Mucky Duck at 8.30pm, Dog in the Snow play at the Windmill at 10.30pm, and Chris Anderson plays in all three of his Crayola Lectern, La Momo and Zofff guises at the Black Dove over the course of the day.

Saturday daytime is all about Love Thy Neighbour’s Alt Escape gig downstairs at The Hope & Ruin for us. From 2.30pm there’s a run of Kub followed by Our Girl followed by TEEFF which you’ll be hard pressed to beat. Saturday night things get really busy at the festival so your best bet to avoid the queues is to get into a venue early and stay there. There are two great Brighton heavy line ups which we’ll be torn between – Over at the Old Market, Blood Red Shoes headline with Tigercub and Marthgunn lower down the bill. Alternatively at Sticky Mike’s Magic Gang, Dream Wife, Abattoir Blues and Our Girl are all on the bill at Cannibal Hymns showcase. Also on our list (which has clashes everywhere) are LOM at the Prince Albert at 12.50pm, Bloom at Café Plenty at 1pm, Fable at Hotel Pelirocco at 2pm, Kudu Blue at 2.30pm upstairs at the Hope & Ruin, and The Big Moon at 11pm at Horatios. Saturday night is also Bleach’s last day ever. After the Great Escape festival they’re shutting their doors and closing the venue. Who knows what’ll happen to it – whether it’ll be a function room for the Hare & Hounds, or whether they’ll build it into more pub to be used on a daily basis, or hopefully it’ll come back as a new venue before long – but if you have fond memories of the place Saturday will be your last chance to say goodbye.

AK/DK and Fröst at the Hope & Ruin

Posted on 26/02/2017 by brightonmusicblog

On Friday night we were lucky enough to be right down the front for two fantastic bands at a sold out gig at the Hope & Ruin. It’s been more than a year since AK/DK played in Brighton, but it’s been less than a year since Fröst have been going (although both members are have been in bands for over ten years). Here’s our pics – as usual, click through to view large:

And if you missed out because it was sold out, or want to relive the experience, here’s a couple of live videos from both bands, courtesy of Small Pond and BMusic:

Gig preview : Triptych

Posted on 09/01/2017 by brightonmusicblog

untitled-1 Happy New Year! Our first post of 2017 isn’t a new music post – nobody has sent us anything yet this year (although we have got a couple of things we missed last year that we need to catch up with). Instead we’ve got a preview of some gigs which caught our eye (a phrase specifically chosen to draw your attention to the beautiful flyers above). The last full week in January is Independent Venue Week and as part of that Love Thy Neighbour are putting on a trio of gigs that they’re calling Triptych. These aren’t just any gigs though – each night features three Brighton bands and is accompanied by it’s own super limited edition lathe cut vinyl release of the acts performing. Continue reading →