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That belting voice of hers was the highlight for me. The familiar songs got a great reception from the crowd, while lesser known and new ones felt a bit sluggish. She did say something about being on tour for ever, but they still looked like they were having fun. A breath of grungey rock and roll air from the usually ‘fresh and clean’ indie that comes out of Scandinavia. Ida seems to have blended influences from Blondie amongst others and created raw but pretty pop.
Komedia, 18 November
3/5
Rob Burdick

Tribal movements, industrial beats, and strong, primal energy fused neatly to create an all-male dance piece anyone watching will always remember. Everything contemporary dance should be – exciting, energetic and raw – Uprising was cracking with a capital C. In Your Rooms presented a thoughtful work of the subconscious where male and female dancers sprinted across the stage, performing fast, fluid moves, accompanied by calming, philosophical musings and a brilliant live score. Choreographer (and dancer, composer and musician, no less) Hofesh Schechter is very hot in the contemporary dance world right now and it’s dead easy to see why. Smoking.
Brighton Dome, Concert Hall 18 November
4/5
Monica Perdoni

In this Pinter double-bill, the personal and political collided to create a menacingly oblique world with a dash of jet black humour. Sparse staging and lighting expertly enhances both plays. In Road, a death-loving instrument of an unnamed state interrogates a family for reasons never specified. Ashes presents a conversation between a man and woman whose relationship keeps shifting and within which there are echoes of sadomasochism and the Holocaust. The staging was slightly static in Ashes; a well placed subtle gesture or movement could have brought the excellent text to life and illuminated some of its mysteries. Acting was very good throughout but Jonathan Rice stood out as the terrifying interrogator.
Upstairs At Three & Ten, 20 November
4/5
Simon Plotkin

When on form, there’s no better live band in the world than the Bad Seeds. On this night, Hove’s favourite adoptive son and his formidable six-man gang veer tantalisingly close to their creative peak. New album Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! is a raucous, bloodied brawl fusing an old school preacher croon with the rusty sound of Cave’s Grinderman project. Live, these songs are just as powerful. Old staples ‘The Weeping Song’, ‘Stagger Lee’ and ‘Tupelo’ receive majestically messy makeovers as ballads ‘People Ain’t No Good’ and ‘Straight To You’ retain their subtle elegance. Slightly unflattering acoustics prevent a classic Bad Seeds show, but this remains a remarkable night.
Brighton Centre, 23 November
4/5
Nick Aldwinckle