Live Reviews

There aren’t many bands like Fumaça Preta (pronounced Foomassa Pretta). Meaning Black Smoke, they drift through all sorts of genres producing a mad animalistic psychedelic experience. The band came together when Alec Figueira (a Portuguese-Venezuelan producer, drummer & lead singer) invited Stuart Crater and James Porch, from Brighton funk outfit The…

We arrived at the Haunt just as the support act were packing up their bits and bobs – not surprising as we'd stopped into the Green Door Store on the way to raise a glass (actually a paper cup) to their fourth birthday. I instinctively headed upstairs to get a…

I’ve seen venues come and go in Brighton over the years. I suppose it is the natural evolution of things, a sub-plot in the wider story of the city or by-product of changing tastes and trends. The Green Door Store is no longer the new kid on the block, and…

Wednesday night saw the launch of Brighton sonic stalwarts, Man Ray Sky’s Ether Song EP at the Hope. Man Ray Sky have been plying their trade in and around Brighton for some time now and they certainly know how to put on a show. Tonight was no exception. From the…

Wonderful things sometimes sprout from humble beginnings. As James Blackshaw took to the stage, he could easily have been mistaken for someone who’d entered the wrong room in the Albert’s warren; briefly disorientated before remembering his friends were downstairs.   With a mumbled introduction, Blackshaw opened with a series of…

French born Lætitia Sadier stopped in Brighton for the final date on her short UK tour. She is best known as being the majestic vocalist in London group Stereolab, perhaps one of the most influential alternative bands from the 90s. Since then, Lætitia founded a Bordeaux based post-rock band called Monade,…

December is not usually the most promising of months for gigs, but Drill:Brighton attempted to bring the noise to 14 venues around the city, featuring a plethora of known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns, centred around the band Wire, whose musical legacy has influenced and inspired many of the…

Mishkin Fitzgerald took to the stage first, a lone figure without her Birdeatsbaby band mates she was exposed, just a voice and piano, singing complex ballads to an enthusiastic half full room. I hadn't listened to her solo album 'Present Company' so the biggest surprise of the evening came half…

The first act I wanted to see was BitBin at the Sallis Benny Theatre. How the first act on could be 15 minutes late with his equipment all ready to go is beyond me. I took it as fate telling me to see Scarlet Rascal instead who were playing at…