Category: Gig Gallery

Lonnie Gunn, Soft Top & Sasha Assad at The Prince Albert, Brighton, 25th April 2024

Another trio of talented artists showcased by Hidden Herd at The Prince Albert on Thursday night – first up Sasha Assad demonstrated a skilful mix of indie-rock with some serious riffs, a great start to the night creating lots of chat in the crowd from people heading off to find more of their music. Next on, Soft Top may look familiar, buying into my theory that if you’re in a band in Brighton, you’re likely in several Brighton bands. This formation led by the songs, musings and vox/keys of Miles Goodall, offers up hypnotic harmonies with a genre-mash of pop and folk rock – worth looking out for live if you get the chance.

Grabbing the soft rock mantle, Lonnie Gunn played for Hidden Herd at The Hope back in November last year, and returned to take the headline slot this time round. There were clearly many fans along for the ride in a by now packed room and, despite having had to rest her voice prior to the gig, the vocals were on point and the band, a very tight knit unit, gave cohesion to the overall sound. An unexpected closing version of Justin Timberlake’s SexyBack brought an accomplished evening of music to an end. Lots of good stuff going on in Brighton right now, and good to see the artists and independent venues getting this kind of support. Gallery below…

Sasha Assad

Soft Top

Lonnie Gunn

Review and photos © Siobhan – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram

Published 29th April 2024

Big Special, Grandma’s House & Saloon Dion at Green Door Store, Brighton, 6th April 2024

Taking a hand-picked selection of acts out on the road across the UK, DIY Magazine’s Now & Next Tour laid on an impressive line-up in Brighton on Saturday night. Kicking thing off, we were keen to see the valiantly named Saloon Dion and as it turned out, even two of the five piece made a big impression, the remaining three unceremoniously stuck en route with a vehicle unwilling to make the journey south. Still, if they are this good at 40% strength with an acoustic set, we’ll definitely be looking forward to their return trip to the city for The Great Escape. 

Next up and continuing to rep the Bristol scene, Grandma’s House provided a blast of zest with some pounding riffs and full force drumming, the crowd filling out with their infectious energy. Plenty to enjoy in a solid live performance.

And so to the headliners and purveyors of poetry-infused punk with a hard hitting message, Big Special looked to be enjoying every second of their recent rise to fame, and deservedly so. A strong selection of songs now in their armoury, they have the confidence and ability to jump between brooding musings on life with a soul-drenched vocal to gnarly spoken-word offerings backed with pummelling drums and spurts of melody. There’s a clear camaraderie between the pairing (Joe Hicklin on vocals and Callum Moloney on drums) as they share an obvious appreciation of each others’ input, a fine selection of tattoos, and an underlying dark humour that segues between tracks and through the crowd. Is Morrisons the best supermarket or does everyone in Brighton shop at Waitrose? Will everyone just waste their money on drugs if they don’t buy the album? Lots of rapport, lots of crowd interaction, and best of all, lots of powerful music to take in and take home. There’s some good stuff going on musically right now and Big Special just jumped right into the ring feet first. Debut album Postindustrial Hometown Blues is set for release on 10th May – you can pre-order here (and you should).          

Review and photos © Siobhan – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram

Published 8th April 2024

Maximillian, Skydaddy & Opal Mag at Fabrica, Brighton, 4th April 2024

With debut LP Surrender released into the world last week, Brighton-based singer-songwriter Maximilian fulfilled his ambition to hold the album launch in a church, with a special set at Fabrica last night. Surrender is brimming with songs filled with emotion, and takes the listener on a journey from anguish to acceptance, through a myriad of haunting vocals and layers of musicianship on a tracklist that has been in the making since 2018. Fabrica proves the perfect venue. With much of the original church structure and artefacts still in place, it gives a more ambient feel than many live rooms and adds to the atmosphere of the music.

The Brighton music scene is quietly gaining momentum again, and a good number of its creators are present, both on and off stage. And a deserved shout out to all present for not being one of those crowds that’s come along for a chat; it shouldn’t be noteworthy but it was a real pleasure to only hear what was coming from the stage. The setlist ran right through the album start to finish, recent singles Kill Time and Red Wine already getting some singalongs from the audience. This may be a project that’s taken years to complete, but the quality of the material and production, both recorded and live, suggests that some things are worth waiting for.

Maximilian was very ably supported on the night by the talented Skydaddy (kudos to anyone who starts their set in the pulpit), and a heady sprinkling of dream-pop from Opal Mag – gallery below.

Opal Mag

Skydaddy

Maximilian

Review and photos © Siobhan – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram

Published 5th April 2024

Chalk & Lifts at Green Door Store, Brighton, 27th March 2024

So it seems that I’ve made a mistake in not seeing Chalk sooner, a mistake I won’t make again having seen first hand at Brighton’s Green Door last night just how ridiculously good they are live. For a three-piece, they make some serious noise, and their stage presence coupled with a heavy strobe makes the overall effect quite mesmeric, though still challenging and confrontational.

Repping the Belfast music scene with assured aplomb, I’m not sure I can acknowledge the post-punk label that seems to be thrown towards them from many corners, it’s really not a phrase that means much any more, and this is a band who definitely mean something. If they have to sit under an umbrella it would  maybe be a dark, industrial, techno umbrella, but maybe it doesn’t matter – just take a listen to the music and get to see them perform if you can.

A nod also to support act for the night, Lifts. When the stage is laid out with a violin, viola and sax among the usual guitar, keys and drums, you know something different is about to happen. Their experimental, alternately melancholy and full force rock offer makes Lifts an intriguing prospect – ones to watch without doubt.

Lifts

Chalk

Review and photos © Siobhan – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram

Published 28th March 2024

Bill Ryder-Jones at Chalk, Brighton, 19th March 2024

With his ever-growing collection of songs full of heartache and hope, Bill Ryder-Jones is back out on tour across the UK and Europe. An always understated performance, his ability to connect with the crowd through the simplicity of occasional chat and beautiful tunes is something that he excels at.

Last night’s show at Brighton’s Chalk offered up a mix of songs old and new, tracks from latest album Iechyd Da comfortably rubbing shoulders with the old favourites. This was highlighted by renditions of both A Bad Wind Blows In My Heart (2013) and A Bad Wind Blows in My Heart part 3 (2024), noting the full circle journey these reflect. Wild Swans and Wild Roses appeared back to back, and the band stepped into the shadows for a mid-set solo acoustic rendition of Seabirds. In contrast to the intensity of the music, there was an unexpected impression of Arnold Schwarzenegger and a Hendrix-esque riff to follow a quick tune-up on the guitar. 

The show closed with This Can’t Go On, lead single from Iechyd Da, testament to how far Ryder-Jones has come since co-founding indie favourites The Coral back in the mid 90s. Singer-songwriter, musician, producer and film score composer… West Kirby should be proud.

Further dates announced for this year and links to buy Iechyd Da in the format of your choice can be found here

Review/photos by Callum

Published 21st March 2024