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Heaven 17 opened the night with a classy act and Glenn Gregory’s voice was as strong as ever. Their original sound was cleanly replicated but with added oomph that came to a peak in an amazing rendition of ‘Temptation.’ ABC followed and although good, they were less successful, the sound less authentic. Martin Fry’s vocal range has shrunk and was not helped by a pretty average backing singer. The songs however were still great and carried us happily along. Human League arrived in a technological package that was breathtaking. The sound was authentic but without sounding canned. The girls are what they are and I love ’em, but they can neither sing nor dance really. Phil Oakley ran around like a lunatic, a less cool character than in previous incarnations but as powerful as ever, although by the end he came over as a rather jolly uncle. In fact, all three had something of that about them, not a bad thing but certainly noticeable.
Brighton Centre, 5 December
4/5
Andrew Kay

When they played Brighton last year, Kings of Leon were a big deal. Now, they’re one of the world’s biggest bands, and don’t we know it. Disappointed fans huddled outside clutching for punters’ spare tickets; massive, madly expensive-looking lighting grabbed the audiences’ collective throat; huge pop anthems, including classics ‘Molly’s Chambers’, ‘On Call’ and ‘My Party’ filled the arena. Unfortunately, new album Only By The Night is largely bland, vast-but-desolate filler material a la Snow Patrol and, as a result, the long (two hour) set felt longer. When the band switched to full rock-out mode, though, Kings of Leon were unstoppable.
Brighton Centre, 1 December
3/5
Nick Aldwinckle

Victoria Nangle looks at how stand-ups survive the seasonal downturn and why corporate might just save your skin

Happy Christmas! This is a no man’s land of stand-up comedy, where the chasm between the haves and have-nots is all the more apparent. The haves are being booked for corporate functions, preparing to be ignored in favour of Jane from accounts’ account of what happened last year, but making their agents work for their money nonetheless.
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This was definitely the most exciting gig I have been to all year, The MDMA tour brings back the acid house feeling with sweet rocking country music. With the dulcet tones of Larry Love and the sexy siren Devlin Love, there was a lot of love in the room and every one was feeling it. The Concorde 2 was the perfect venue for everyone to dance from beginning to end with the finale of ‘Woke up this morning’ bringing the house down. So good, I may take a trip to Ireland to follow the tour. 
Concorde 2, 2 December
5/5
Emma Burton