Latest 7 magazine

New Act Night at Komedia was the finishing touch for the students of the prestigious Jill Edwards Beginners Comedy Workshop. MC Rob Heeney was a strong and funny pair of safe hands to guide proceedings with a real affection for the course, the students, the teacher and our city. Twelve terrified souls made us laugh at their delightfully fresh, cutting, dark, and off the wall material. A rounding testimony to the top quality of the course was the quality of this resulting output; a fabulous night out full of warmth, discovery (for the audience and the acts!) and more feelgood than a ’70s disco.

Komedia, 7 December 2011
Rating:
Victoria Nangle

‘Guitar Hero’ would have been a fitting name for this tour; the playing was incredible by lead guitarist Scott who had a few Michael J Fox in ‘Back To The Future’ moments as he let the music take over. This is what showed the most: Bryan and his band were having a great time on stage. Extremely talented and real musicians, this concert could not be faulted. The energy was amazing as we were taken through the greatest hits. 20 years after ‘Waking Up The Neighbours’ Bryan’s vocals were as strong and distinctive as ever before. ‘Heaven’, ‘Run To You’ and ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It For You’ were firm favourites and to witness ‘Summer Of ’69′ played live is unforgettable. This was the second to last date of the tour, and these guys showed no signs of stopping, delivering a crowd-pleasing 125-minute set.

Brighton Centre, 7 December 2011
Rating:
Zara Baker

A burst of harmonica from the audience heralded the start of a lengthy performance from Rory McLeod this evening. Keeping the beat with his feet, McLeod juggled guitar, trombone, spoons and vocals, while his harmonica mimicked butterflies, phones and sirens. Some of McLeod’s rambling introductions felt longer than his playful, political songs, but when he and his Familiar Strangers trio (on double bass, clarinet/sax and Colombian harp) hit their stride their blend of world folk styles was infectious. Even after two hours plus, it felt like the amiable McLeod was just warming up to play all the night through.

Komedia Studio Bar, 7 December 2011
Rating:
Stuart Huggett

The Saturdays are a purely manufactured band – that’s not say they automatically lack the requisite creativity and cool factor to be accepted by the so-called ‘real’ music-loving community, but their rather wooden stage routines and highly scripted banter points to a make-believe world in the minds of their creators… the result being a risible soft porn spectacle that showcased their costumes and very little else. While the band intoned that they are ‘bad girls’ who ‘get what I deserve’ while they ‘do it with my hands behind my back’, the largely female audience enjoyed the sheer spectacle and generally light-hearted nature of it all; the full-on production and largely upbeat dance beats doing its best to enliven the atmosphere.

Brighton Centre, 6 December 2011
Rating:
Jeff Hemmings