Brighton after dark: 25 February 2014

Sade Ali on the fate of her new brown suede boots

New boots! Every girl must know the amazing feeling of having new boots. No matter the time or place, you want to show them off and wear them everywhere. Some would agree to go out when they don’t actually want to, just to wear them. Well I was a very lucky girl this Valentines Day and got some new brown suede boots from my someone special. So what better to do than hit Lollipop and give the boots their first night out? It was a Valentine’s Day special and DJ Dubl was back with a vengeance! 1xtras Dj Dubl used to DJ at Lollipop back in the day at Honey club and never failed to put on a good performance. Specialising in Bashment and RnB and being a genius on the decks he knows exactly what song to play at what time and keeps everyone on their feet.

I knew it was going to be a good night so I invited some of my favourite ladies and gents to party with me. Other than it being a Valentine’s special it was also a traffic light party. Which means if you’re single and ready to mingle you wear a green item of clothing. If you’re not sure and playing the field you wear orange and if you’re taken you wear red. It’s pretty hard to match red with brown boots so instead I painted my nails red and wore all black. As the club filled and everyone was getting their groove on, the people in green were flirting away and I decided to pop a few bottles of bubbly with my friends and other half only to realise what a bad idea wearing new suede boots to a club was. The first bottle spilt all over them (yes the stains are still there). After the second bottle my foot and eye co-ordination wasn’t too brilliant and I scuffed them whilst attempting to walk up the stairs and after the third bottle, boy let’s just say I think everyone in the club must have been trying to play footsie with me, because I had a fair few trainer prints when I got home. I did have an amazing night though and have still failed to find a better place to be on a Friday night.

It’s always nice to go to a club that ticks all the boxes. The staff and security are lovely, the music is absolutely on point, the decor is suave and they never run out of toilet roll. The last thing on that list may very well be the most important Hah!

So I guess the moral of the story is, no matter how nice and new the boots are, save them for a fancy dinner and not the clubs!

Brighton Noise, Grace Clarke on the week’s best gigs

I’ve decided to retire my umbrella and return to the Pack-A-Mac of my festival going youth. I’ve seen too many discarded brollies lately, lying rigid on pavements like the wings of dead crows. It’s starting to depress me. I say this because I implore you to do the same, don’t stay at home because of a dryness dilemma, there’s far too much to miss.

Us Baby Bear Bones return to the cobbles of The Green Door Store tonight, a trio of dark and ethereal multi-instrumentalists, like an even dreamier Bat For Lashes. It’s £4 and you’ll be treated to a pop up from Kollektiv Gallery and visuals from IRIE Pixel Visual. Support comes from the impossibly talented The Magic Gang, Vyppers and the raucous MOTH. If all that sounds a little too trendy for you – and being that I just used the word trendy, I probably fit into this category – you can always attempt to recapture your youth with raunchmongers The Orwells over at The Haunt for £7.

Rilo Kiley-esque, Texas based Football, etc. play Sticky Mike’s on Wednesday. They’re supported by Papermoons, whose heartbreakingly honest indie folk puts them somewhere in the realm of Clem Snide.

You’ll probably find me weeping in a corner.

Instrumental math band Polymath will be toying with time signatures and technical ability at Sticky Mike’s on Thursday. This is one for the purists, or those who want to punish themselves for not working harder towards their grade five theory exam.

Midlake are playing a sold out gig at St. George’s Church on the same night. If you ever get the chance to see a gig in a church you should take it. I’m always a bit moved by the connection between religion and music, hearing songs that helped you in a church makes you realise how important they are. On a less intense note the acoustics are always absolutely top notch. Take Friday and Saturday to process all of that. Unless you’ve got a burning desire to spend £38.50 on The Overtones at Brighton Dome, and I’ll be honest, I haven’t.

The highlight of the week for me is Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures at The Prince Albert on Sunday. They’ve got a real knack for describing the everyday intelligently and eloquently, not a million miles away from Jeffrey Lewis. Support comes from the gorgeously Parisian, Freschard and her daydreamy folk.

For £8, you really cannot go wrong.