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Walking on to a sparse stage, Martha Wainwright opened with ‘Les Grognards’ and set the standard for a performance of lesser known chansons. With arms outreached a la Piaf, La Wainwright brought us songs of abandonment, unrequited love and suicide, executed with immaculate intonation and phrasing. This intimate performance made the Dome feel like a tiny Parisian dive bar, each song acted out with passionate intensity. There were no ‘hits’ but with this homage, including songs as great as the poignant ‘La Vieux Piano’ and the fairground waltz of ‘La Foule’, we didn’t need ‘La Vie En Rose’. Magnifique!
Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, 15 July
4/5
Steve Clements

Kicking off with a lengthy and rather dry meditation on the joys of writing which would not have been out of place in a university lecture room, Simon Callow seemed in danger of losing his audience. Things quickly recovered, though, when he began reading from his newly published autobiography, ‘My Life In Pieces’. The audience visibly relaxed and much laughter ensued. The Q&A gave Callow the opportunity to wax lyrical about such literary luminaries as Dickens and Shakespeare; a winning mixture of passion and erudition. All in all a remarkably pleasant and educative way of spending one’s lunch-time.
4/5
July 14, The Old Market
Gary Mepsted

Making impressive use of stage space the Theatre de l’Autre Côté humorously and perceptively explored facets of classic British culture by way of the pub. Quizzes, finding a table, footie, committee meetings and toilet etiquette were expressed neatly with punchy dialogue, cute accents, astute observations, and three pint glasses. Mime movements of mannerisms, fight scenes (the crane a la Karate Kid even got in there), acrobatics and a couple of dances added a sparkly touch. The highlight of the night was a sketch on humdrum 24-hour existence beautifully emphasised with acute sound and movements minus any props and multimedia aids. Refreshingly simple in form, Optic is a quirky insight into what pub life’s all about.
July 13, Upstairs at Three & Ten
3/5
By Monica Perdoni

What with the likes of Oneida, Grizzly Bear and The National to name but a few, it’s almost like anything worth listening to at the moment is coming out of Brooklyn’s vibrant indie production line. Sure enough, the Concorde 2’s headliners continued this tradition of quality in spectacular fashion.

Previously a brilliant obscurity blending psychedelia with a funk dynamic and seamlessly wrought ‘world music’ influences, the old Yeasayer was sprawling, eccentric progressive rock with an Eastern slant. The new Yeasayer have clearly listened to their management, emerging with a fashionably electronic album (this year’s Odd Blood), newfound mainstream success and a worryingly hip new look.

Opening the set with ‘Wait For The Summer’, one of the highlights of their 2007 debut, All Hour Cymbals, they quashed any fears as the band’s old magic immediately sounded in tact. A charismatic – if slow-burning – Asian folk-influenced beginning was rudely awakened by the new record’s ‘Rome’, its hollering, jitterbug swagger setting the tone for the show. Skilfully treading the wire between partying electro-pop-funk and the bold experimentalism of old (the only slight quibble a particularly flat vocal on ‘I Remember’), they somehow succeeded at both.

Be it through adventurous, genre-traversing songwriting or live performance, Yeasayer have always been at their best when fiddling with the template. Wringing every last drop of life out of every number, (unlike other artists who arrogantly mess with arrangements live, leaving them just, well, a mess – step forward Billy Corgan), Yeasayer have previously used the stage to transcend their songs’ bounds. Though sadly slightly lacking in these freeform stylings, a beefed-up version of ‘Strange Reunions’ deftly lent new heaviness to a potentially too-slight sound. More of this would have made the show unmissable.

Tellingly, co-frontman Chris Keating repeatedly brought up the band’s recent festival performances: in the space of a few short months, they have gone from oddball underdogs to providing the soundtrack to the summer’s big events. Quirky, glitchy singles ‘Ambling Alp’ and ‘O.N.E’ in the live arena became hands-in-the-air anthems; ‘2080’ and ‘Sunrise’ couldn’t possibly feel more summery. Keyboardist Ahmed Gallab cemented this unlikely festival hero status with a late bout of really not very ‘Yeasayer’ crowd interaction, preceding a stunning two song encore.
Schizophrenic and challenging both as pop act and intelligent rockers: the band’s biggest Brighton show to date served to showcase a band reaching their peak.
12 July, Concorde 2
4/5
Nick Aldwinckle