And so I arrived at the highly anticipated ‘Gypsy Disco’ at the Concorde 2 with high expectations from all the excited rumours spreading around Brighton. On approaching the Concorde 2, I could already catch glimpses of vivid colours, glitter, fire breathers and hear the faint whispers of gypsy melodies and thumping bass-lines. The queue outside was phenomenal as advance early bird tickets had sold out weeks before and everyone was attempting to get their hands on one of the last golden tickets. However, A Gypsy Disco queue is no ordinary queue as we were welcomed by the likes of fire breathers and a live, acoustic gypsy band to keep us entertained whilst preparing for the adventure ahead.
As soon as we entered the Gypsy Disco world, we were awestruck. Our eyes were filled with stilt walkers, burlesque pole dancers and topless, glittered, ‘living statue’ style performers enticing us with sweets. Accompanying these visual wonders was a brilliant DJ in the bar area which then gave a perfect contrast to the main room which filled our bones with live Balkan music all night long. Not only was the music brilliant, but everywhere you looked the Gypsy Disco team had covered the entire Concorde 2 in the most dazzling decorations. They had also opened up the [normally closed off] backstage area which involved face painting, an extra bar, smoking area and a room filled with exotic plants and trees adding to the festival type atmosphere. The fire breathers and live acoustic band that had previously accompanied us in the queue were now keeping the smokers entertained. Wherever you went, wherever you looked – Gypsy Disco was there to ensure you had a magical night.
The majority of the event in the main room played host to some of the finest Balkan/gypsy bands I have seen in Brighton. ‘Hallouminati’ had to be one of my highlights of the night due to their clever song writing and upbeat gypsy-party melodies (www.hallouminati.com). However later on in the evening, the main stage turned into a platform for the weird and wonderful. This included performances from; knife throwers, burlesque dancers, pole dancers, hula-hoop performers and many more, all accompanied by a DJ set. Gypsy Disco is by far one of the most wonderful, uplifting and well-organised events I have been to and was clear how much love from all of the Gypsy Disco team had gone into putting on this night.
Gypsy Disco have recently announced that their next event will be in March, and BrightonsFinest recommends you get tickets as soon as they go on sale, as they are sure to sell out! BrightonsFinest will also be doing an exclusive interview with the organisers of Gypsy Disco to find out more about who they are and what they do – so watch this space!
Eva Rose
Photograph: Michael O’Reilly