Author: Editor

Midge Ure at Theatre Royal Brighton, 27th April 2023

Amid the splendour of early 1800’s architecture and a haze of monochrome lighting and smoke, Midge Ure takes to the stage with excerpts from an extraordinary collection of songs spanning his solo career, time with Ultravox, and more besides.

There is a point in all artists’ careers when their live sets tend to start with an established track, cover some lesser know tunes in the middle, and aim for a strong singalong finish. In case of any doubt, it becomes apparent immediately that there is no need for any such planning here – within the first four songs he has treated the crowd to 80s’ classics Dear God and If I Was, Visage’s beautifully melancholic Fade To Grey  and his suitably emotional cover of  No Regrets.

Throughout the performance, Midge and his band veer seamlessly from moody and magnificent to no questions asked dance-alongs. His vocal is still impeccable, and the range of musical instruments appearing across the stage is impressive to say the least. The Voice and Visions tour is more than a greatest hits outing, feeling more like personal pickings from a vast, eclectic song book. And the strong finish? No concerns there as the encore takes in Astradyne, Vienna and All Stood Still.

There are some ‘one man and his guitar’ moments where it becomes obvious why, despite perhaps being best known amongst the electronic scene, it absolutely makes sense that Midge was drafted in to weave his magic with Rich Kids and Thin Lizzy on his musical journey. And when you take a moment to reflect, there’s no doubting that whichever project he was involved in at the time, the common factor is that he added something special to all of them. 

Following a distinguished performance in the most elegant of venues at Brighton’s Theatre Royal, the tour now moves on to Ipswich tonight, Aylesbury tomorrow, York on Sunday, then across the UK throughout May. If you’re still able to grab a ticket, it comes highly recommended.

Midge Ure Voice and Visions Tour

Review/photos by Callum/Siobhan

28th April 2023

His Lordship at The Prince Albert, Brighton, 15th April 2023

On the last night of their current UK tour and their second Brighton show of the day, His Lordship play to one last packed room, no hint of fatigue on display despite the frenzied pace of every performance. The band are here to bring rock’n’roll back to its core, with not insignificant nods to the classic two minute punk song and the lure of primal rockabilly.

With the swagger and stance of Elvis on speed, James Walbourne slots easily into the lead vocal role and, given the range of guitar styles he plays effortlessly, it seems likely that he could pick up a Bontempi plastic six string and make it sound phenomenal. His recording partner in crime and not a drummer to be shuffled away on the backline for no-one to see, Kristoffer Sonne is as at home pitching lyrics down a megaphone as he is either behind or on top of the drum kit. It’s a formidable pairing, enhanced performing live as a three piece with Dave Page on bass and occasional drum swaps with Sonne. With the look of a next generation member of The Strokes (an Albert Hammond Junior Junior if you will) Page’s playing is absolutely on point and integral to the set.

At their fast and furious best on recent releases I Live In The City and Buzzkill, the band work their way through a 15 track setlist, barely pausing for breath and taking the crowd with them on every split second of the journey. Their merch T-shirts carry the slogan ‘Rock’n’Roll is not for everyone’ but that seems blatantly not to be the case for all of those squeezed into The Albert. A fine show indeed, let’s hope for more soon.

His Lordship

Review and photos by Siobhan

17th April 2023

Suede at Brighton Dome, 20th March 2023

Since the release of their eponymously titled debut album in the early 90s, Suede have always run outside the pack, try to lump them in with the Britpop crew if you will but they’ve always been more than that. With a string of classic albums to pick from, choosing the setlists for their current UK tour can’t have been an easy task, but the inclusion of latest album Autofiction only adds to the mix and there is truly something here for everyone. To be fair, judging by the crowd reaction and singalongs, everything was for everyone – not quite a homecoming show but as near to Haywards Heath as you’ll get with a big enough venue, the welcome at Brighton Dome was justifiably warm.

There are few bands who could hold the audience captive with 30 year old B-sides and new album tracks, but from openers Turn Off Your Brain And Yell and Personality Disorder, the whole venue was enthralled, and the inclusion of The Living Dead  received a great response.

No worries for those searching out the hits though as Animal Nitrate, Trash, We Are The Pigs and So Young amongst others all featured, Brett Anderson as at home singing his way through the crowd and strutting across the balcony as on stage. And as a whole, the band couldn’t complement each other more, a unit so established that the production and performance is seamless.

It’s obvious that Suede love playing live and Brett’s intro to an acoustic The Wild Ones reminded everyone of why we go to gigs rather than just listen to music at home – it absolutely is a shared experience that can’t be replicated, and brings memories that can’t be recreated.

Returning to the stage to close their set with The Beautiful Ones, there was a sense that the crowd would have been happy to stay and listen to Suede play all night. Still, there was some solace to be found in knowing that we’d spent the evening at a phenomenal performance by a band at their best, and clearly still with so much more to give.

Suede

Review / photos by Callum / Siobhan

22nd March 2023