Kovak & The Perils play Jam 29.01.10

As most people had been paid it seemed that Brighton had suddenly woken up, everyone was out and up to something, but Jam was the only place to be, where not one but two of Brighton’s best acts were performing.

Kovak and The Perils are worlds apart when it comes to their sound, Kovak are an electronic, pop outfit that heavily use synths and offer a fun, colourful and energetic performance, whereas The Perils are an astoundingly great rock band who look and sound the part with their brooding hairy appearence and strong guitar led sound.  But there is one thing that gels these two acts together other than a fantastic friendship, they are both incredibly good!!

After the initial support Avondale 45 had completed their set Kovak took to the stage, suddenly the crowd multiplied and the atmosphere changed to one of great antisipation.  Straight away their upbeat tracks brought colour to to the room, Jam’s light installation constantly bathing everyone in different colours seemed so fitting.  Annelies, their petit and incredibly tallented lead singer had donned her sparkling pumps and a bright dress, her stunning voice and non stop dancing demanded attention as she instantly made the small stage home.

It is unfortunate that Brighton crowds are so still, as Kovak’s music is undoubtably made for dancing, yet inbetween snapping photos and videoing it seems I was the only person doing so, it is strange how this funny little seaside city has such a huge love affair with the music scene yet most folk stand on the sidelines absorbing the music into their heads and denying their bodies the chance enjoy it.

Demands for Kovak to play one more track at the end their set fell on deaf ears as the nights promoters tried to steal back some time from either a late start or the first band playing past their set time.  After a quick change over The Perils kicked off, and the crowd yet again seemed to double.

Although this was only my third experience of seeing them play live, their tracks seem so familiar, their stage presence is so natural, and their look is so perfect I just can’t understand why I am seeing them play at Jam, when they seem so ready for the big stuff.  Lead singer Danny has a fantastic way with the crowd, I noticed this from the first performance I caught at The Western Front’s Farm Yard Festival, it feels as though he knows everyone, and noone is forgotten as their performance reaches out.

The whole event seemed to fly by, and before long they were ending with the special performance that had wowed me at White Air festival last year, Danny and fellow guitarist each took a snare drum, and to a heavy baseline trashed out an amazing, clearly well practiced piece that is cleverly designed to leave you wanting more.

Check out the video below filmed at White Air for a dose of their stunning finale…

Written by Lily Worth