Brighton after dark: 10 September 2013

Bmusic

I LOVE IT – The Summer where Festivals were King
The festival season has finally drawn to a close; and with it, the summer too has finally come to an end. But what a summer! The talent on show saw some of the biggest bands in the world grace shows all across England.

If you want to get technical there is still the iTunes Festival to enjoy, but for now, here is a rundown of what made this summer so spectacular.

The Isle Of Wight Festival (13–16 June) got things off to a fantastically rocking start. The three headliners showed off seminal acts from the last three decades. Bon Jovi provided the ’80s cheese, the Stone Roses bought Britpop nostalgia and The Killers reminded us that the noughties are not that far behind.

Download Festival (14–16 June) is perhaps the most consistent festival around. Legends on show this year included Iron Maiden, Rammstein and Slipknot; or if you were feeling particularly silly, 30 Seconds To Mars.

Glastonbury (26–30 June) featured the Rolling bloody Stones. Need I say more? Very well; the legendary festival saw performances from the re-emerging talents of The Arctic Monkeys and Mumford & Sons. The more alternative crowd also enjoyed a set by Brighton local Nick Cave, accompanied by his Bad Seeds.

Wireless (12–14 July) may be relatively new to the festival circuit but it is certainly welcome. This year saw a particularly astounding line-up featuring Mr Sexyback himself, Justin Timberlake, teaming up with hip-hop king Jay-Z. On record, this collaboration was intense; live, it was nothing short of sublime.

Latitude (18–21 July) always functions as a festival of all arts rather than simply music. This year was especially kind, in that it featured a rare performance by the German electro-legends Kraftwerk.

V Festival (17–18 August) may not be the most hip or cool amongst hardcore music lovers, but it works well as a clean introduction to the festival world. This year’s casual, poppy line-up included megastars Kings Of Leon and the ever-wonderful Basement Jaxx.

Reading and Leeds (23–25 August) remains a favourite for the younger crowd celebrating A-Level/GCSE results. Their celebration was scored by the likes of Eminem, Green Day and Biffy Clyro this year.

Bestival (5–8 September) closed off this year’s great selection. With Fatboy Slim, The Flaming Lips and Elton John himself performing, it provided the perfect musical end to a perfect musical summer.
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Words: Matthew Berryman

Sade Ali celebrates carnival fever and waves goodbye to the summer

The end of August is probably my favourite time of the year. And for one reason only; Notting Hill Carnival! I have been every year with my family since I was a child, but this year I decided to go with my friends. We had such an amazing day and were knackered by the time we got back to Brighton. But that still was not the best part of the Bank Holiday. The reason we love the Notting Hill Bank Holiday so much is that The Volks afterparty is probably one of the best nights out you will have of the year! With all the Caribbean cultures, Caribbean music, even Destiny selling Caribbean food out of the back of his car in front of the club, everyone is happy and enjoying themselves.

About five different DJs hit the decks and played a range of R’n’B, Bashment, Afrobeats and of course Reggae! My mum (Mama Africa) was of course there in her African dress, twerking on the dance floor. The great thing about The Volks is that you can dress however you want, dance however you like and just be yourself. No one will judge you and everyone there is just one big family.

The Volks has been one of my favourite places to go for as long as I can remember; even when I was a child my mum would take me there during the day time. It just has such a great atmosphere, and everyone is always happy to see me and my friends turn up. Most of the night my friends and I were outside the club having a drink; you might think that a bit odd, but at The Volks, the majority of the crowd actually spend half their time outside – it’s quite normal.

Everyone is mingling and having a drink sitting on the giant concrete balls and they can still hear the music. The Volks will always be like a second home to me and I now cannot wait for the Christmas Eve party. I would probably rate that the second best night of the year!

Next week I will finally be revealing the brand new student nights in Brighton, the best places to go and the great offers up for grabs!
Follow @SadeAli

>Don’t Miss<

Twerkit
Welcome a new night of clubbing to the Brighton scene. Get down to the seafront this September for the first of many Twerkit nights; full of urban, hip-hop and R’n’B tuneage.
Coalition, Tues 10 September,
11pm, £3

Audio’s 9th Birthday
Happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo… etc etc. Audio is set to reach the ripe old age of nine this Friday. Go on, help them celebrate with a few drinks and say a big hooray for special guest, DJ Sneak.
Audio, Fri 13 September, 10pm, £12/10

Bomba
Seems like the week of new beginnings as we say hello to Bomba, a brand new Ibiza night brought to you by Wah Kiki – formerly known as Honey Bar.
So pretend it’s not nearly autumn and twist again like you did
last summer.
Wah Kiki, Sat 14 September, 9pm, £5/Free

Kids’ Club
Bored of same old, same old? Well as luck would have it, Monday nights are now ’90s club nights at Audio, bringing you youngsters the best of indie and pop tunes from 20 years ago. Fill your boots.
Audio, Mon 16 September, 11pm, £3/1

Brighton Noise

Alastair Reid on this week’s best gigs
Festivals. Crikey. The summer months are traditionally quiet for gigs in the UK as our pasty populace turn puce and refuse to attend live music unless it is surrounded by the smell of sausages, sun cream and slowly baking excreta. Scarred – in every sense of the word – by a two-week round trip to Serbia’s Exit Festival in 2007, I have preferred the comforts of Butlin’s for my festival going in recent years. The nice fellows at ATP understand that sometimes you just need a lie down in a chalet, safe in the knowledge that if it all goes wrong you can hide in the water park.

But determined to at least swing a punch in the losing battle against time, Brighton Noise workhorses decamped to a field outside Bristol in honour of the UK’s finest underground acts at the inaugural ArcTanGent Festival. Of our town’s attendees, honorary Brightonians Rolo Tomassi and Yndi Halda drew the biggest crowds on the main stage, while The Physics House Band, Nordic Giants, Brontide and Tall Ships ran their brothers close on secondary stages. Then there was the silent disco. Silent what? To the objective observer, a silent disco looks like so many thousand idiots shouting pop songs in a field after midnight, and so it is, save for the pair of glowing headphones adorning the revellers’ ears, to which competing DJs broadcast their chosen songs on separate radio frequencies. Tall Ships didn’t just bring the party, they were the party. Our throats, necks and livers will never be the same.

Right, down to business and another Brighton Noise Night for you this week, in the form of Swedish prog rockers Moon Safari at The Loft on Thursday. Full of “The Beatles’ melodic wonderment” and supplemented by “compositional derring-do”, according to our own Dom Lawson, the six piece are supported by an acoustic set from Maschine and the solo work of Enochian Theory front man Ben Harris-Hayes.

If you like things a little noisier, local instrumentalists Cousin follow the release of new record Alternative Tunings For Regular People opening for Sweet Williams (ex-Charlottefield) and Stoke’s Amateur Assassins at The Hope, also on Thursday.

Elsewhere you can see Cate Ferris at The Brunswick (Wed), Eagulls at The Prince Albert (Fri), South Coast Soul Revue at The Brunswick (Sat) and Nicola Benedetti getting medieval at Brighton Dome (Sun). Thank Christ for the indoors.
More info at www.brightonnoise.co.uk
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