Reckless Sons

When: Thursday July 31st 2008
Where: Above Audio, Brighton

Fresh from New York this handsome rock & roll foursome took to the stage as the first act at The Splendours single launch party held above Audio. Playing a number of tracks from their current album 'Don't You Dare' they looked the part. 

Vocalist Matt's gravely voice and presence on the stage was hard to ignore, he had a great connection with his guitar and mic as moved them round the stage whilst kicking out.  Emiliano also on guitar joined Matt to rock out to their sweaty, sexy American rock & roll. Onlookers looked satisfied to hear the bands rendition of Jailhouse Rock, under the large sculptured lights of Audio's ultra trendy upper level. Drummer Austin and basist Jacob complete this dark mysterious all male band.

The energy of the band and what they deliver live takes some beating, whether playing to a packed out venue or an intimate number of people, these guys give everything they have.  If you grew up with the likes of Bon Jovi, Guns & Roses or Def Leppard then these guys will take you back to the good times!  With their UK tour throughout August, residency at The Albert and gig at Brighton's brand new festival Beachdown they are getting themselves known, so we have no doubt that they will be fixtures at next years UK festivals, keep your eye on them! And if you have a chance to chat with them then do, they're lovely! www.myspace.com/recklesssons

Whitest Boy Alive

When: 19th May 2008
Where: Digital, Brighton

Daniel Nentwig stands on top of his keyboard, another in his hands and rocks out. The crowd go apeshit and another belting solo is whacked out across the low ceilings of Brighton's 'Coalition' club. The Whitest Boy Alive are in town and they're whipping up quite a frenzy. Four lads from Berlin (sort of) have got the sweaty bodies on the dancefloor leaping about and they look like they're having the time of their life. Broad grins on stage and in the crowd as they burn through a collection of tunes that seem to end too soon. Erlend øye sings beatifully and the bass playing of marcin oz keeps the funk heavy. The band whip through several of their own tunes before stirring the crowd with a few dance classics, Whitest Boy style. The feeling is good, the music is loud and SO tight, the crowd go appropriately bananas - house music all night long anybody? Truly rocking. 8.5/10

Friendly Fires

When: 16th May 2008
Where: The Great Escape - Barfly, Brighton

Only an hour after rocking out to We Smoke Fags I was back in the Barfly to see Friendly Fires, a St Albans band who are rapidly on the up, and after becoming a big fan of their track 'Paris' I was looking forward to seeing them live.

They took to the stage and burst straight into their first track with roll neck and chinos wearing front man Ed Macfarlane offering super strong vocals to a packed out venue whilst adding percussive rhythms with a tambourine and other instruments. The power of their set was mind blowing, I had parked myself next to a speaker so when tracks peeked the sound travelled through my body which took a bit of getting used to!!

When 'Paris' finally rolled in at the latter end of their set I realised that I wasn't the only one who was crazy about this deeply percussive, melodic catchy tune. Looking up at the crowd they looked smitten as they sand along and waved their arms in the air, their hands turning different colourful shades as the Barfly's light show added another dimension to this inspirational gig!

We Smoke Fags

When: 16th May 2008
Where: The Great Escape - Barfly, Brighton

This trio had caught my eye on myspace approximately a year ago, and as soon as I spotted them on TGE's line up I knew I had to get my skinny jeans on, make my hair as punky as possible and get myself to their gig!

With the Barfly high on my list of favourite Brighton venues I headed down to jump around to the electro punk sound that I had been playing over and over again at home. With 2 guitars, a bass and a laptop which supplied the electronic backing to their tracks, plus superb vocals from lead singer Joey they exceeded my expectations.

Tracks like Television, Photo Fit and Eastenders gave punters the lift they needed to jump around and band on the railings that surrounded the stage. Feedback from Harry's guitar made the hecklers pipe up a bit, but We Smoke Fags intelligent wit soon had everyone laughing!

We Are Scientists

When: 14th May 2008
Where: The Great Escape - Barfly, Brighton

I was quite happy to hear that some friends from the darkest depths of Worthing had purchased some tickets to this gig and that we were going to meet in the pub before hand because until this point I knew nothing of this American indie rock band! When we got to the Barfly it was packed with adoring fans and lots of people getting themselves warmed up for the preceding three days of The Great Escape Festival!! I was mesmerised as I took in the crowd whilst checking out warm up Brighton band Maths Class, the hair do's and dress sense of the clientele were like nothing I have ever seen before, but I can't get enough of people watching so I was in my element.

I had found myself a nice vantage point to watch the gig, an out of service bar which made a great seat, when We are Scientists took to the stage, but I found myself sitting alone as the excited group of people once sitting next to me ran to the dance floor.

Soulwax + 2Many Djs + Ladyhawke

When: 23rd April 2008
Where: Concorde 2, Brighton

So…….what was the “Golden” ticket?  To start with it gave access to a screening of the heavily anticipated documentary following Soulwax’s recent tour entitled “Part of the Weekend Never Dies” at the Duke of York cinema.  This was combined with entry to their gig at Concorde 2.  Despite not having the full audio-visual “Wonka” experience, we still got a satisfying dosage of Belgium’s second most mentioned export (behind chocolate, of course)!!  Soulwax not only played a memorable gig but also 2manydjs (one half of Soulwax) played an even more memorable DJ set. 

We arrived just in time to catch the tail end of the 80’s influenced, Australian band Ladyhawke who were supporting Soulwax.  What we heard and saw sounded interesting and we look forward to seeing them again later in the year.

Soulwax entered the stage after an interim DJ filler, opening their set with “Part of the Weekend Never Dies” (same title as their documentary), followed by “E Talking”.  These remained the only Soulwax tunes of the night.  What followed was a medley of songs taken off their “Most the Remixes” album combined with their interpretation of all time classic dance tunes (presumably to ensure no repetition for those who saw the film earlier on).  We heard tunes by the likes of LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk, Frankie Knuckles and Donna Summer. 

Operahouse

When: 18th April 2008
Where: Digital, Brighton

A cracking venue playing host to a smattering of skinny jeans and plenty of hair.... A few acts on show and nothing much to write home about. Special mention though, to Bang Bang Bang, a boy/girl combo with some snarling guitar riffs and lead singer with thighs to die for and hell could she wail... after that a forgettable trio of guitar wielding young shavers before Operahouse took to the stage. The initial impression of three lads with farmers haircuts and it must be said a cracking drummer who held the thing together in its more 'experimental' sections... the lead singer something of a cross between Micheal J Fox circa Back to the Future and Huckleberry Finn sang in an adolescent whine akin to a poor mans clap your hands and say yeah... a few tunes and not a lot of variety but a fairly decent showing 5/10. See me after class.

Holy Fuck

When: April 7th 2008
Where: Digital, Brighton

Rarely does the chance of seeing a band on a Monday night excite me, the exhaustion from the weekend, the thought of the week ahead and general ‘Monday Blues’ always make it feel like a bit of a chore, but after listening to a few tracks from the Holy Fuck album ‘LP’ on my way home from work, I knew this would be no ordinary Monday!

As I walked into Brighton’s latest club come live venue Digital, I noticed the stage covered in weird and wonderful looking instruments. There was a keyboard with a bit that you blow into the side of, some sort of tape deck with the tape hanging out, and lots and lots of keys and effects. As soon as they started their sound reminded me of early LCD Soundsystem, around the time of ‘Yeah’, but with no vocals and more melody and improvisation. It had a rawness and experimentation to it that I hadn’t heard in a live band for quite some time, but with still more than enough rhythm to get everyone dancing and cheering along!

Free Blood (Supporting Holy Fuck)

When: 7th April 2008
Where: Digital, Brighton

When Free Blood entered the stage my fellow gig –goer and I were looking at each other in an inquisitive manner. As soon as the first sleazy bass line dropped and the male singer started movin’ and groovin’ the one minute mystery was solved. We instantaneously recognised him to be the former singer of New York punk-funk outfit !!! a.k.a. John Pugh. He left the band last year to concentrate on his new D.I.Y. project assisted by former fashion-designer Madeline. She has never played in a band before, whereas Pugh can be described as a highly eccentric stage veteran. This makes for quite an interesting resulting show. On good form Pugh can best be described as the American Jamie Lidell. Madeline’s singing/shouting was reminiscent of the Slits and added a compatible variation to his falsetto singing. With a short and crispy set and beats that varied from disco, trip-hop and electro -sometimes within a single song, they hit the nail on the head and proved to be the perfect warm up for Holy Fuck. Digital’s fantastic sound and light system, mainly designed with electronic music in mind, complemented the set and enhanced the Monday night audio-visual experience.

Blood Red Shoes

When: 7th April 2008
Where: Komedia, Brighton

Held in the dark depths of Komedia's substancial upstairs room, we were greeted by the best of Brighton, a crowd spanning all ages, happily sipping on pints on a Monday evening. I had struggled to motivate myself for this gig, as I had chosen to listen Blood Red Shoes first thing that very morning, and found that I was unable to bare more than two tracks.

Well I have to tell you quickly before you think this is about to be a reveiw where I let bad manners and harsh criticism take over, I made a fatal error, I had chosen to play them when I was hardly in the best frame of mind, it was monday morning and I had just sat down at my desk in industrial Shoreham.

When Blood Red Shoes took to the stage they gave each other a reassuring wink, and then they began! For a band with only two members they made such an amazing noise! We were stood very close to Steven on the drums and I was unable to take my eyes off of his unbelievable ability to drum with such power and energy as well as sing with such a clear, unique voice. Laura-Mary provided beautiful vocals and provided everything that the drums didn't with her amazing guitar playing ability. They were suffering with their equiptment and commented on not being able to hear themselves in their earpieces, but had they said nothing noone would have known, they were amazing, White Stripes who?

Holly Rose + Olly Hite

When: April 2008
Where: The Hanbury Club, Brighton

After recently moving away from KempTown I was quite happy to pop back for an evening to check out the beautiful Holly Rose at the Hanbury Club, I had only been in this venue a couple of times, and since my last visit it been taken over by new management.

This 200 capacity venue had definitely been given an injection of love and style, its revamp is perfect for the intimate hotspot that it is, with lots of mirrors a and boutique-esq flocked wallpaper. This singer songwriter evening was a sit down affair, and friendly staff served beautifully prepared food, cocktails and drinks as people enjoyed the entertainment. Holly Rose, a slim blonde young woman with a stunning voice offered an array of beautiful songs such as 'You Give Love' and 'Apple' to a deeply satisfied crowd with guitar accompaniment from her stage accomplice.

Foals

When: 16th March 2008
Where: Concorde 2, Brighton

When Oxford indie band Foals eventually appear on stage in their characteristic circular position with a promise to wipe away our 'Sunday faces' the crowd literally erupt on their opening track Balloons with its stop-start angular guitar sound and Yanni's punky vocals. Not a pint remained intact as all five band members including the trumpet player from 'Youth Movies' played their instruments with fitful energy, there were choppy guitar lines and urgent vocals that would make Bloc Party stand up and listen.

The good thing about this gig is that the songs keep giving, they build up and up and where some bands may have no where to go they manage to find this extra gear making each song sound better and better. Guitars are worn extremely high as they shake and throb backwards and forwards frantically strumming away. Guitarist Jimmy and Yannis not only play their instruments but throw irregular shapes across the stage causing the crowd to explode some more. The biggest cheer of the set was reserved for Cassius where fantastically warped bass lines collide with layered guitar and disco hues. This yet again causes the crowd to writhe and jump as the infectious groove takes hold.

The Pistolas

When: 13th February 2008
Where: Barfly, Brighton

This all male group took to the stage after Doll & the Kicks who had just satisfied the crowd with ease, I was uncertain how Pistolas would follow such a great performance. But they didn't disappoint, within the first couple of their tracks the crowd moved forward as the lead singer beckoned them to dance.

The front man's presence and vocals were powerful, and intriguing, and his dance moves were like nothing else, the term 'throwing shapes' was clearly born out of someone watching this guy. Something this lot had that isn't often adopted by bands, but should be, was percussion, cow bells and glockenspiels are a big winner for me, and certainly help people find their groove on the dance floor.

Their electronic disco sound was well received by the Barfly crowd, seeing them live was what this band were made for, they had no problems in keeping the same quality to their live performance as their studio created offerings on myspace, but the captivating lead singer and the wonderful venue made it a very positive experience. Check out their single "Say It With A Kiss" as this catchy track, played late in the set, made my night.

Explosions in the Sky

When: 23rd January 2008
Where: Concorde 2, Brighton

Practical clothing and comfy shoes abounded in Concorde 2 on Wednesday night. The usual fiver-flapping scrum at the bar was replaced by a sedate shuffle more akin to a country pub than a usual gig at this notorious venue.

But then you wouldn’t go and see Explosions in the Sky if you were expecting sweat soaked walls. You would go to hear passionate, powerful instrumental, wordless guitar hewed epics so emotional they’ve moved people to tears. Their gig at the Concorde offered equal parts of romance and tragedy, with beautiful melodies, which had the tendency to ignite into head spinning walls of noise. Their sound proving to be every bit as triumphant as their name implies. There was lots of wondrous chin-scratching pauses and guitar hewed epics leaving even the most hardened of cynics with a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

Telegraphs

When: November 2007
Where: The Hope, Queens Road, Brighton

It was our first visit to The Hope and our first taste of Telegraphs,lead singer Darcy was very welcoming and happy to give us a bit of background info about the band, his relaxed and friendly approach left us very unprepared for what he was about to deliver on stage. As the band began their first track Darcy paced vigorously back and forth in front of us, suddenly he leapt into the air and began his vocal attack. It was a fantastic start to the gig and left me with the realisation that he was going to entertain us.

Following this he climbed onto and leapt off of various speakers and the edge of the bar, walked into the crowd and sang whilst resting his head on the shoulder of one of the bands loyal fans, and rolled around on the floor, all whilst delivering a fantastically consistent vocal performance, considering it was about 100 degrees in the venue I would say this was a very good effort!!!

Malakai

Where: Concorde 2, Brighton

Malakai might look like a unique word, but in fact it is the name of the two piece outfit from Bristol, having arranged a brief interview with them on the pebbles outside the Concorde us at Brighton Calling were in for a surprise. Consisting of two mild west country accented 30 something’s known as Gee and Scott, Gee whom regularly appears both on stage and in press shots wearing a monkey mask. Lead singer Gee explained for those who don’t know their music “as a mixture of beats and samples using a load of different instruments drawing on a range of influences from dub to 60’s pop”… supporting that Scott piped up “we don’t like to stick to a certain music genre and put ourselves in a box”. To summarise they’re sounds are somewhere between reggae and rock and roll is the feeling here at Brighton Calling.

The lead track from their major label debut EP, ‘The Battle’ was Zane Lowe’s single of the week in July 07 was also one of our highlights at their gig at Brighton’s Concorde 2. Opening with a sample that sounds like a guitar intro into The Kinks ‘Waterloo Sunset’ before bursting into a dark, funk bassline and with Gee’s ominous calls to “Stand Up, Stand Up”.

Ratty Rat Rat

Where: Ocean Rooms, Brighton

The first time us at Brighton Calling had the pleasure of seeing Ratty Rat Rat was on a cold dark Wednesday in the middle of October at Brighton’s newest live music venue Ocean Rooms. Ratty Rat Rat staggered onto the stage in a gloriously shambolic rock star like way. The uber randomly dressed 5 piece.. all donning white footwear would’ve given any art school drop out a run for their money in the style stakes with front man Simon sporting a trilby hat, rosary style beads and ‘del boy’ style coat.

Their songs included a passionate punk inspired track called 'Lavender Hill Mob'and with their music bearing strong echoes to The Clash and early Jam, Ratty Rat Rat are destined for big things! Having put their jobs/university placements on hold to focus on the band, their band manager Lily Nisbett explains “they’ve given up everything to live in a derelict disused toilet factory and focus on their music”. This rather shabby chic home also doubles up as the rather debaucherous Skins style party venue. With the likes of Shit Disco and Mystery Jets attending to do impromptu jamming sessions with them.