Category: Gig Gallery

Toyah Willcox & Robert Fripp at Assembly Hall, Worthing, 14th October 2023

Providing a warm glow on a cold night, Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp brought the Rock Party stage version of their much lauded Sunday Lunch YouTube series to Worthing on Saturday night. The couple have an enviable joie de vivre and a huge appreciation of the string of classic hits that they cover, though of course some of these are Toyah’s own songs and others the end product of Fripp’s collaboration or influence. 

Ever the punk pixie, Toyah is resplendent in sequins and lace as she skips around the stage interacting with the rest of the band, not least her husband. Fripp meanwhile has an air of nobility, resting on his stool with guitar in hand, only enhanced by the cluster of helium filled golden crown balloons at his feet. It becomes clear very quickly that the pair retain bucketloads of talent and this is no ordinary ‘covers’ night.

As well as still hitting a great vocal, Toyah is a charming raconteur with an apparently full deck of celebrity story cards, recounting how phone calls to their house from David Bowie and Mike Oldfield resulted in Fripp turning down opportunities to work with them, while on another call she jumped at the chance of touring with Billy Idol. Homage is paid to her first sighting on TV of Alice Cooper’s leather trousers and eyeliner, with a baseball bat wielding performance of School’s Out, and she playfully picks out the two longest beards in the crowd to receive a dedication of ZZ Top’s Sharp Dressed Man. The musicianship from the entire band is noteworthy and there can be few gigs where the final trio of tracks comprises of I Want To Be Free, Heroes and I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.

There are still a bunch of dates left on this tour, all of which come with a guarantee that you’ll leave with a smile on your face, limited tickets available here.

Words and photos by Callum and Siobhan

Published 16th October 2023

 

Trigger Discipline, Polite Bureaux & BABY HAIR at The Prince Albert, Brighton, 21st September 2023

An eclectic mix at The Albert on Tuesday, on stage and in the crowd, one of the things Brighton does so well. From performance art through electro wordsmith to danceable goth, the trio of acts were a hit to the senses for sure.

Opening act BABY HAIR look a perfect fit for the alt/experimental festival scene, coming complete with ritualistic chants, a wailing violin, recorders that play something other than Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and a bag of feathers that fills the air in their closing bars.

Next up, launching onto the stage with a well earned confidence, Polite Bureaux have an infectious energy coupled with a whole bunch of tracks filled with cleverly sardonic lyrics. Loved this set from start to finish – keep an eye out for more live dates and catch them if you can.

Headliners Trigger Discipline are an intriguing mix of dark screaming goth and bouncy dance tunes, recent single Babble Babble Babble and a cover of  80’s anthem Cruel Summer getting the biggest response from the crowd. Still, vampire capes, saxaphones and a bit of Bananarama are a hard combo to beat, and the incongruity of the band is probably also the attraction. It will be interesting to see what comes next.

Hosted by Love Thy Neighbour

Words and photos © 16 Beasley St

Published 21st September 2023

Pet Shop Boys at The Brighton Centre, 26th June 2923

The last time I saw a queue like that at The Brighton Centre, it was being used as a vaccination station – this time was a lot more fun. With a back catalogue bursting at the seams with hits from the 80s onwards, there would never be room for everything, but a two hour set full of one massive track after another kept the crowd singing and bouncing along from start to finish. The staging was perfectly executed, Tenant and Lowe ably backed by an accomplished backline and an ever moving pair of lamp-posts to lean on and spin around. There is sometimes debate about whether live performances should be called gigs or shows. This was undoubtedly a show but equally one of the best gigs I’ve seen. Pet Shop Boys are celebrating their greatest hits and it’s a party not to be missed.

Pet Shop Boys

Words and photos © Siobhan

28th June 2023

M(h)aol at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton, 26th May 2023

With their debut album Attachment Styles drawing together an unapologetic collection of hefty subject matters and genre-crossing musical modes, Dubliners M(h)aol have been out on a headline tour of the UK. Friday night was the turn of Brighton, and a packed crowd at The Hope & Ruin were treated to the band’s animated performance on stage and, before long, on the floor.

Kicking off with the heady trio of Kinder Bueno, Therapy, and Laundries, no time was wasted in warming things up. With lots of crowd engagement from the start, there’s clearly a lot of love for this band and it’s not hard to see why. Even if you didn’t care for the music, they seem like the loveliest bunch of people but honestly, what’s not to love about the music? Bringing back the time-honoured punk tradition of short, spiky tunes and throwing in some spoken word for good measure, the pace never lets up but keeps on surprising.

So we have big ticks for songwriting, production and performance but beyond this, what beats some of the too cool for school herd is that they look like they’re enjoying themselves, proving that you can make a statement and have fun at the same time.

Interspersed with tracks from the new album, the evening closes with Bored of Men and Jack Douglas, and it seems that M(h)aol have pulled off the magic combination of an intriguing collection of songs and a dynamic live show. Finding either one of these is a treat, both together takes things to a different level. Highly recommended.

M(h)aol

Review and photos by Siobhan

30th May 2023

 

 

A Place To Bury Strangers at Patterns, Brighton, 20th May 2023

Rolling into Brighton on a sunny Saturday evening, you get the feeling that summer is finally upon us. The beach is packed with people enjoying the last of the day’s sunshine, drinks in hand and singing at the top of their lungs to cheesy 90’s pop music. The cheery seaside vibe is infectious, however, walking into Patterns the light quickly disappears and any sense of summer is quickly forgotten.

As we enter the venue Camilla Sparksss is nearing the end of her set, with Are You OK? welcoming us to proceedings. Camilla’s music is propulsive, catchy and abrasive in all the right ways. It’s the very antithesis of the experience we were greeted with on our way to Patterns, and it prepares us nicely for what’s up next.

Brooklyn’s A Place To Bury Strangers (APTBS) take to the stage with frontman Oliver Ackermann politely introducing the band before kicking things off with new track Disgust. Not long into the song, Oliver is already throwing his guitar around and jabbing the air like a champion fencer defending his title at the Olympics.

Alone is next, and it’s here the rhythm section of bassist John Fedowitz and drummer Sandra Fedowitz come into their own and shine through. Their energy is the backbone of the band, with Oliver wielding crazy levels of fuzz and feedback over the top. You can hear the shoegaze, post-punk and shoegaze influences, but APTBS take that formula and dial it up to 100!

Tonight’s set is only an hour long, but it makes sense when all their songs are played with so much ferocity. We’ve Come so Far is another motorik banger aided nicely by the bands DIY light and visual show. Handheld strobe lights and boxes are thrown around with no concern, and disco balls of light are placed wherever the mood takes them. It all adds to the intensity and theatre, and it’s a perfect fit to APTBS’s artistic aesthetic.

You Are The One is played with a whole new purpose this evening; louder, more aggressive and totally mind blowing as the song builds. As soon as it finishes Sandra jumps over the barrier into the crowd, and from out of nowhere, a distorted drumming can be heard. Before anyone realises, the band members are in the middle of the crowd, and we’re being treated to an impromptu noise rave! It’s like those old Lightning Bolt shows where it felt like everything could fall apart at any moment, yet the band remain in total control of the situation.

Once the electro jam is complete, the band return to the stage and you can feel there’s a different energy in the room. Everyone is totally up for it now, and End of the Night causes the crowd to lose it. Hold On Tight does nothing to calm anyone down, and it really feels like APTBS are hitting their stride.

Closing things off with fan favourite I Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow Of Your Heart and Have You Ever Been In Love, the strobe lights and volume levels are set to stun. There’s no letting up as the band franticly move around the stage in flipbook blasts surrounded by clouds of smoke. The music seems to be getting louder as we near the end of the show, with instruments and amps being picked up and moved around to create even more chaos on stage.

It’s brilliant to witness and it’s a cathartic experience I didn’t realise I had missed after years away from watching live music. APTBS are an incredible live band so catch them on the Nothing Left To Destroy tour if you can.

Review by Ryan Howarth
Photos © Hannah Mesquitta

25th May 2023