On Saturday night we headed down to the Green Door Store for live music night Drugs. There were originally five bands on the bill, but Twins didn’t make it, but Grasshopper, Bentcousin, The Bright Ones and Skirts more than made up for it. Here’s our pics. As usual, click to view large:
Last night The New Union supported Let’s Buy Happiness at the Blind Tiger and IYES played their first headline show at the Prince Albert. We were torn – we’re fans of both bands – which should we go to? And then we figured that since The New Union were supporting and IYES were headlining, we should be able to make it to both.
When we first heard about the New Union gig, we read that they would be on at 8.15. On the day, we read on Facebook that it would be 8.30. We turned up at the gig to see set times that said 8.45, but the support act who was on before them didn’t get onstage until 8.50. In the end The New Union started just after 9.30, so we only caught a few of their songs before we headed to the Prince Albert. But those few songs sounded fantastic. Every time the New Union head into the studio, they come out sounding even better, taking everything they’ve learned and improving their live sound with it, and just recently they’ve been recording at Metway Studios with Matthew Twaites (of Electric Soft Parade, Milk & Biscuits, etc).
The normal career path for a new band is first to get support slots with other local bands, then headline your own small gigs, then get supports with bigger touring bands that visit. It’s testament to the strength of IYES demos that they managed to skip the first two stages, with all their gigs so far playing before more established national acts. As sods law would have it, the IYES gig was running late too, but that meant we got to catch Londoners Rivieras from the back of a packed room. When they were done, we took the opportunity to get to the front so we could make up for all of the photos that we didn’t take at the New Union gig. IYES were on top form, showcasing the demos that the crowd was familiar with as well as a brace of new tracks including the first play of their upcoming single Infinity.
Click pics to view large:
We had big plans for Friday night – we were going to head down to the Blind Tiger for Les Enfants Terribles which I’d read was an early gig, then catch Yumi & The Weather headlining Juice FM’s night at the Haunt. But then it turned out that the Juice night was an early gig too which put pay to that plan. We also wanted to pop into Brighton Electric on the way home for their all night, but that didn’t seem like such a great idea with work in the morning.
So we only made one of the three gigs we wanted to, but it was a good one. My New Favourite Tribe have only just put out their first single, but judging by the rest of their set there are great things to come. I would probably have enjoyed Salt Ashes set more had it been a PA in Audio at 2 o clock in the morning, but what a voice! I’ve been wanting to see Bent Cousin since I first heard them earlier this year and they didn’t disappoint. They’ve got catchy songs which work even better live than the recordings, and on top of that they’ve got heaps more charisma that most local bands.
Saturday night was more of a success, mainly because we had much more achievable ambitions for the evening. We only wanted to see the one band – The Space Agency – who were launching their new single Bombay Potatoes at the Horse and Groom in Hanover. The Space Agency are another band who’ve been on my wish list of bands to see for a while, and they were fantastic. I don’t get to write about Surf Rock nearly enough on the blog, and the band – who also rotated instruments midway through the gig and played a set as their alter ego The Get Smashed – had talent and tunes in great abundance.
Here’s out pics from the gigs. Click through to view large:
What a weekend – I saw over thirty bands over the weekend, many of which were local. Here’s a gallery of them all. We’ve got: Jennifer Left, Justin Saltmeris, Curxes, Kinnie The Explorer, Us Baby Bear Bones, Anushka, Fear of Men, Martin Rossiter, The Bobby McGees, IYES, Jacko Hooper, Kins and The Beautiful Word. As usual, click on the image to view large:
Last time we went to Club Berlin Jennifer Left and Dom from Sweet Sweet lies played at The Jive Monkey in Kemptown. Since then the Jive Monkey has closed down and Club Berlin has had to find a new home, which they’ve done in the Green Door Store where they were last night. La Momo (featuring Crayola Lectern on guitar) opened the evening, followed by half an hour of improvised synths from AK/DK before a headline set from Das Fenster. Fujiya and Miyagi were DJing between acts, but they were in the dark so they avoided my lens. Actually, for the most part AK/DK were in the dark too!
As usual, click on the images to view large:
Our friends over at Brighton Noise have been putting on nights at the Green Door Store for a few months now, but shame on us – this is the first one we’ve made it along to. The big draw for us was Milk and Biscuits whose new single Hairstyles comes out next month, and whose set was made up entirely from their upcoming album Spirit Nap.
Click on the images to view full size.
Last night, Bat for Lashes made a triumphant return to the Brighton stage. It’s been three years since Natasha Khan has played her hometown, but last night’s gig at the Dome showcasing her new album The Haunted Man was a wondrous thing. Brighton was the last date of her UK tour, and the audience was full of fans and friends alike. Her set was predominantly taken from the new album, with a sprinkling of tracks from her previous records, with the closing track predictably being her biggest hit Daniel. It was a real joy to see her at the Dome – the venue suited her perfectly. The stage was big enough to turn the event into a visual spectacle, and the sound was impeccable. Natasha’s voice was an absolute marvel.
Click on the thumbnails below to open open the gallery and view the pictures large:
Brighton Music Blog 