Above Audio

Posted on 15/08/2013 by brightonmusicblog

Through a series of unfortunate coincidences we didn’t get to see Dog in the Snow live until this month. Gig clashes, not finding out about events until afterwards, timings changing – it was starting to look like we were avoiding them. We managed to put the situation right a couple of weeks ago when Helen Brown played a solo set opening the recent Two Three Four event at Green Door Store. We were so impressed that we decided there and then that we’d go and see her next time she played live, whatever else was on.

That next time was last night, when Dog in the Snow played at Above Audio. The night was put on by Les Enfants Terribles who have been putting on monthly nights at The Blind Tiger for the last year, but who also hosted a day at the Mesmerist for the Great Escape back in May and are running a stage at this weekend’s Playgroup festival.

We arrived too late to see support act Thyla, and between bands the lights were up and there was a lot of background chatter. Sadly that didn’t change when Dog in the Snow came on, and the sound wasn’t great either, with the vocals lost in the mix. Talent shone through though, with a quietly confident performance. Musically things were sometimes delicate but always purposeful, with layered soundscapes being created by Helen’s vocals and guitar (which was played with a violin bow on a couple of tracks) and her bandmate’s backing vocals , samples and keyboards. Dog in the Snow are band we’re going to do our best not to miss again.

Weekend Gig Picks

Posted on 15/08/2013 by brightonmusicblog

This weekend’s big gig pick from us is Playgroup Festival. Playgroup have been playing their cards very close to their chest, not announcing a line up or a location online at the time of writing. Previous festivals have had fantastic representation from Brighton Bands and I’m willing to go out on a limb and bet that this year will too. Their website says that their new location is less than half an hour from Brighton, and a few bands have let slip that they’re playing. Les Enfants Terribles are hosting a stage with Calico headlining, and Fox in the City also on the bill. I also saw a Facebook post from The Beautiful Word saying they were playing too. Other than that, there’s not much more that I can tell you. Keep an eye on their website for more updates

There’s a few other things closer to home that we’ve spotted. On Friday night Limbic System launch their EP which we mentioned a few weeks ago at Latest Music Bar. Normanton Street launch their new single Moves on Saturday, with a gig at the Green Door Store, and an afterparty at Brighton Arts Club. Then on Sunday there’s an all day gig at the Blind Tiger called Sausage Fest with Brighton acts Boneyards, Semper Teens and Theo Verney on a bill which also includes Traams and is headed by Cosmonauts.

Weekend Gig Picks

Posted on 27/06/2013 by brightonmusicblog

It’s that time of week again where wish dish out our recommendations for the best Brighton bands playing around town this weekend. You might not be at Glastonbury, but that’s no reason to miss out on live music.

Our picks for Friday night are the Les Enfants Terribles and Brighton Rocks nights. Les Enfants Terribles is at the Blind Tiger, and has Kill moon, Phantom Runners and The Semper Teens on the bill. Brighton Rocks is at Sticky Mikes and sees The Repeat Prescriptions, Midnight Wire, Karlek and Victims Athletic playing.

There’s loads of good stuff on Saturday too, starting in the afternoon. There’s a twelve hour surf rock all dayer on at the Green Door store, kicking off at 4pm and going on until 4am, with The Space Agency playing at some point, as well as loads of DJs and a few other bands from out of town. It’s also The Open House Pub’s Cider Festival, which has Jennifer Left and Jacko Hooper playing live. Finally Champione have their EP launch at a late night gig at Sticky Mike’s from 11pm.

Weekend Gig Picks

Posted on 29/05/2013 by brightonmusicblog

Now that we’re done with the madness of May, things are getting back to normal in the world of Brighton gigs.

Tigercub headline the Green Door Store on Thursday night, with support from Semper Teens, Animal Language and the Flash Gordons. Tickets are four pounds. Staying in the part of town, Ellekaye play at the North Laine pub.

There are loads of great gigs on Friday night. Kovak top the bill at the Hope alongside Storms and Cat Fire Radio, and The Self Help Group are on at the Brunswick with Eliza Jaye, The Beautiful Word and Bella McKendree. Friday Night also sees some of Brighton’s regular nights with strong line ups – Late Night Lingerie at Sticky Mikes is headlined by Skirts with The Repeat Prescriptions also on the line up, and it’s also Les Enfants Terribles at the Blind Tiger, with Written in Waters, Spit Shake Sisters, Calico and Glossy Coat.

Saturday is Kemptown Carnival. There are loads of bands on the bill, including Derriere, The Kalakuta Millionaires and Carnival Collective. The afterparty is at the Blind Tiger from 8pm and is headlined by Transformer. Up at the Hope, The Wytches are having their single launch party, and it’s free!

Curxes Great Escape Interview

Posted on 17/05/2013 by brightonmusicblog

Brighton Music Blog favourites Curxes played twice at the Alternative Escape yesterday. We caught up with them just after they came off stage at The Mesmerist:

Brighton Music Blog : Hello Curxes! How was the gig?

Macaulay Hopwood : Amazing – sweaty, crazy – the usual festival fayre. Really Good.
Roberta Fidora : All powered by cough syrup.
MH : Cough syrup and beer
RF : Isn’t that a Flaming Moe?

BMB : You’re playing twice over the weekend. You’ve just played on the Les Enfants Terribles stage at the Mesmerist. What’s the other one?

MH : We’re also playing at the Black Dove, across town. That’s for Southsea Fest stage.
RF : It sounds slightly sinister, the name – “The BLACK Dove”
MH : Sounds a bit dark, but hopefully it’ll suit our sound.

BMB : What other Brighton bands are you looking forward to seeing at the Great Escape?

MH : There’s a few bands that I really want to see – We managed to catch half of Us Baby Bear Bones who were on just before we were on a different stage. Hopefully we’ll catch them when they play again.
RF: And Chvrches as well (BMB : who Curxes remixed earlier this year)
MH : Hopefully we can get to hang out with them a bit
BMB : Anyone else, or are you just going to drop in and see what you find?
MH : Despite playing, I haven’t actually got a wristband! So it’s a bit limited as to what I can go and see! I’ll go and see as many as I can.

BMB : Your live set up now has three people

RF : That’s Raife from Strangers. Say hello Raife!
Raife : Hello!
MH : Raife is playing drums with us at the moment. I often moonlight playing bass with Strangers, so we’re doing a bit of band swapping.
BMB : When did the decision to beef up the band come about?
RF : When I couldn’t count in time!
MH : We thought it was cool having a drummer onstage. Raife is a really good mate anyway, we have a good time jamming together, so we thought he would be a good addition to the setup.
RF : It adds more to the spectacle…
MH : He’s a good looking chap as well. We never had too many girls come and see us before, but now that Raife’s with us…
RF : Now we have to clear loads of pants off stage after we play!

BMB : You’re starting to be described as “Blitz Pop” in various places. What does that mean for people who haven’t heard you? Where did the name come from?

MH : An obsession with the second world war, and we’re quite poppy, I suppose. It’s noisy, it sounds like the blitz. It seems to fit the music pretty well.
RF : We leave a trail of destruction in our wake!

BMB : Your latest single Further Still was also out earlier this year. What’s coming up next?

MH : We’ve got another release coming out fairly soon, possibly with a single label, but nothing’s been finalised yet. It’s a song called Valkyrie which is what we close our set with at the moment. It seems to go down well – it’s noisy, it’s got a bad-ass trumpet in it. What more could you want!