Live Reviews – Page 8 – Brightonsfinest

Seasick Steve – Brighton Dome – 13th November 2018

The Dome must be the only Brighton venue that doesn’t have a mirrorball. Thankfully, this doesn’t detract from the wildly beautiful country-blues of Prinz Grizzley, aka Christopher Comper, and his three-piece band, His Beargaroos. They are slowly winning the audience over. There is barely anyone watching at first but it…

Gruff Rhys – The Old Market, Hove – 9th November 2018

What else to do when the rain is lashing down and the wind is whipping you in the face but go and stand in a hushed room, watching two men perform some experimental music? Watching Group Listening could only be described as a ‘what the f*ck’ moment. As in, no…

Haley – Rialto Theatre, Brighton – 11th November 2018

“This is my favourite city”, gushes Tiger Lion’s Clementine Blue in her alluring French accent. Dressed in a pale silk kimono which sets off her perfect red curls, she looks every inch the intense electronic goddess that she is. The two guys with her on guitar and drums look slightly…

Phobophobes – Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar, Brighton – 10th November 2018

When assembling a musical line-up it’s crucial to create a degree of consistency, or a sound that will entice paying customers to give over their hard-earned money. It’s here where promoter Smashing Blouse have succeeded. In bringing together Something Leather, Haze and Phobophobes, Smashing Blouse have not only created an…

Kagoule – The Prince Albert, Brighton – 8th November 2018

It’s testament to Brighton’s love for Nottingham three-piece Kagoule that when bassist Lucy Hatter cheekily asked for someone to buy her a beer, five minutes later she had one in her hand. “Works every time”, Hatter responded with her tongue firmly in her cheek. There’s always been a rapport between…

The Blinders – The Haunt, Brighton – 10th November 2018

The latest band to offer a very modern voice of dissent in a world of discord, Manchester’s The Blinders steam into Brighton for a night of sweaty, intense and dark post-punk. First from an interesting line-up, Brighton’s Swoon. A fascinating, heady combination of punk and electro, they ignore the empty…

Johnny Marr – Brighton Dome – 9th November 2018

The complete antithesis to his former bandmate, Johnny Marr put on the kind of show that gets spoken about on the morning after for the right reasons. Warm, friendly, relevant, the tightrope between heritage and relevance – a fine balance at the best of times – walked successfully. One of…

Sons of Kemet – Komedia, Brighton – 30th October 2018

It was as if I had immersed myself within a Jack Kerouac novel. Suddenly, without a word of warning, the quartet emerged on stage. An exhilarating and explosive start left the room roaring, as the revolving cast of twinned percussionists catalysed the crowd into dancing fruition; with their syncopated and…

The Breath – Komedia Studio Bar, Brighton – 8th November 2018

Support act, Brighton-based Ellie Ford, could be part white witch for the Joanna Newsom tone to her voice. Often sounding like the fairy from much-loved 80s Christmas film, Scrooged, by this I obviously mean that Ford can switch from sailing purity to something more guttural in the pluck of her…

Yak – The Haunt, Brighton – 2nd November 2018

As live bands go, you don’t get much more bang for your buck than Yak. Our first experience of the London band was at 234 Fest 2015, when lead singer Oliver Henry Burslem climbed up to the ceiling of the Green Door Store and dangled from the steel beam above…