Brighton after dark: 20 May 2014
BEN BAILEY
On the week’s Spiegeltent highlights
Eclectic is one of those words that gets seriously over used. Even if your night does play an eclectic mix of styles (and not just ‘house, techno and tech house’), it doesn’t help to tar it with such a cliché. Give eclectic a rest. It’s worn out and needs a little lie down. While it recovers, we’ll have to make do with the alternatives.
With that in mind, let’s talk about the diverse and multifarious assortment of varied acts on at the Speigeltent this week. You’ve probably seen something on YouTube by Cassetteboy (24 & 25 May) even if you don’t realise it. The Essex duo do brilliant cut’n’paste jobs on bits of TV footage, hilariously turning the words of (amongst others) Prince Andrew, Alan Sugar and David Cameron against themselves. They don’t so much speak truth to power as make those in power speak utter nonsense. This week they’re joined on stage by comedy rapper DJ Rubbish, for what promises to be part gig, part comedy show and part nightclub. As the blurb says: “It’s the only night in town that plays Madonna and MasterChef, 50 Cent and Jeremy Paxman!”
Also doing a double stint are The Tiger Lillies (24 & 25 May), stalwarts of the Brechtian blues scene. Or is it the Weimar vaudeville scene? Whatever, they’re a drums, double bass and accordian trio led by the piercing falsetto vocals of singer/storyteller Martyn Jacques. Veering between heartrending ballads and darkly humorous oompah tunes, the band invariably sounds much better live than they do on paper. Last year’s festival saw them performing at the Brighton Dome, receiving a standing ovation for their musical version of Rime Of The Ancient Mariner. This time we suspect they’ll be digging back to their punky rabble-rousing roots.
Also at the Spiegeltent this week: cabaret night Zincbar returns for a one-off festival special. Originally hosted by Adrian bunting, Zincbar was a regular fixture throughout the ‘90s at legendary Brighton club The Basement (not that one). It was allegedly a home for misfits and musos and featured acts of ‘wildly fluctuating quality’. Bunting, also a playwright, died last year after spearheading plans to build an open air amphitheatre in Brighton. This night is a fundraiser to see through the project. Hosted by actor and comedian Dave Mounfield, it sounds like a reunion of sorts, bringing back some of the classic Zincbar acts along with a few surprise guests. It’s bound to be an odd mix. The cabaret is then followed by a club night playing the best of ‘90s art school indie. Almost makes me want to use the E word.
Brighton Noise
Alastair Reid on the week’s best gigs
If it’s music you want, it’s music we got, so let’s get down to business. Acoustic night promoters Hush Hush have found a new home at The Hope where locals will be plying their strummy fare for free from 8 o’clock on Tuesday. Upstairs things will be getting a little rowdier as River Jumpers headline a night of ‘melodic punk rock’ with Harker, Water Canvas and The Lion and The Wolf getting all sweaty and singing about their feelings, for three pounds. That’s entry fee, not payment.
The smart money is on Wolf Alice at The Haunt for gig of the night, though. The London four-piece were initially labelled as folk but such a tag is a million miles from their current form: fuzzy, shoe-gaze pop that skips between sub-genres and decades as easily as penning songs that will stick in your head for days. Well worth the £8 ticket price.
Next on the list is Ezra Furman, again at the Haunt, for a tenner on Thursday. This is Furman’s third Brighton show in as many months as he tours December’s excellent Day Of The Dog, a “clever, funny, sharp and tuneful” record given five out of five by the Guardian.
The Fiddler’s Elbow doesn’t really have a reputation for live music, being more a venue for Guinness and rugby fans, but if you don’t want to shell out for Furman the Folk Off sessions at the Fiddler’s is a good bet on Thursday. Rotait lead a cast of local luminaries, including the excellent Jacko Hooper, as part of the Brighton Fringe.
On Friday, Brighton Noise favourites Dog in the Snow support Liverpudlians Ex-Easter Island Head at Bermuda Triangle. If you haven’t caught us gushing about Dog In The Snow before, or caught the duo yourself, it’s worth heading down for their innovative, hearbreakingly dark pop.
Ex-Easter Island Head base their entire sound on innovation; the ensemble prepare guitars with extra bridges or other additions and hammer on them like marimbas. Twelve of them. The result has been lauded by Noisey as “percussive drones that would make the likes of Steve Rech and Brian Eno proud”, a promising accolade that marks this as the show of the week.
The weekend has a lot to take in, all of which is available on the Brighton Noise website, but lets keep it simple: McBusted are playing at the Brighton Centre. That’s all you need to know.
Folllow @BrightonNoise
