Category: Event Speaks

#Review: The Darkness @ Brighton Dome, Brighton – 17/11/21

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On Wednesday 17th November 2021, The Darkness arrived in Brighton to perform a set in support of their upcoming album, Motorheart. With support from Massive Wagon, the band performed a set packed with both hits and a few new offerings too! Here’s what we had to say about the show…

Massive Wagon

This band were not my cup of tea at all. There was lots of hair tossing, leg kicking, microphone stand twirling and screaming… to the point of distraction! They are like a garage band – not particularly polished in places but still seemed to be a crowd pleaser nonetheless!

The Darkness

As the bagpipe-esque intro played through the speakers, The Darkness took to the stage as the crowd cheered wildly.

Unfortunately, compared to the last time they played at Brighton Dome (review here), their stage design was considerably stripped back but nevertheless, they came prepared to wow their audience.

There were moments of pure guitar solo delight from Dan, Justin’s trademark falsetto vocals, bass riffs galore from Frankie and even a moment when the lead singer stood on his head in front of the kick drum.

The frontman particularly knows how to interact with and captivate a crowd. There were a couple of occasions where he had the audience calling back every note he sung and another moment when he had them repeating something deeply poetic and was frankly just chatting shit but it was hilarious!

Part way through the set, Justin made his apologies for the band being a bit rusty after their break in performing due to the pandemic and it’s true, they weren’t perfect, in places. However, they still put on a performance packed with energy and played a selection of the band’s biggest hits, fan favourites and some tracks off the new album too!

Some of the best songs performed can be seen on the YouTube playlist below – ‘It’s Love, Jim’ and ‘Motorheart’ were particular favourites from the new album, whilst you can’t go wrong with old hits like ‘Givin’ Up’, ‘Get Your Hands Off My Woman’, ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ and of course their Christmas hit, ‘Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End)’.

It was a set that despite their imperfections was fun, energetic and pure The Darkness brilliance! If you haven’t seen them before, be sure to try and check them out on this tour – they promise not to disappoint!

Highlights:

  • Justin’s crowd interactions were witty as ever and he fed off the heckles perfectly too.
  • Justin’s costume changes also added variety to the set.
  • Justin‘s live vocals are powerful and flawless, whilst his charisma oozes with dry humour and a stage presence like no other.
  • The band themselves performed with high energy and their individual talent for each of their instruments is spell-binding.
  • Justin doing a headstand in front of the kick drum during a song, before casually returning to the microphone to finish the song, was pretty damn impressive!

📷 All of the photos in this post are credited to Michael Hundertmark 📸
Why not give him a follow on Instagram and Twitter or check out his website.

 Setlist

Welcome Tae Glasgae
One Way Ticket
Growing On Me
Eastbound
Open Fire
Sticky Situations
Givin’ Up*
It’s Love, Jim*
Black Shuck
Heart Explodes
Friday Night
Love Is Only A Feeling*
The Power And The Glory Of Love
Solid Gold
Motorheart*
Barbarian
Get Your Hands Off My Woman*

Encore
I Believe In A Thing Called Love*
Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End)*

* These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.

Finally, I want to say a BIG thanks to Warren and Aoife from Chuff Media for organising this review for us!

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#Review: Paloma Faith @ Brighton Centre, Brighton – 16/10/21

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On Saturday 16th October 2021, Paloma Faith arrived in Brighton to perform a string of her biggest hits, fan favourites and cuts from her latest album, Infinite Things, with support from Josef Salvat. Here’s what we had to say about the show…

Josef Salvat

Josef Salvat is an Australian singer and songwriter, who graced the stage with his wonderfully quirky shirt and trouser combo and thrilled the audience with his unique brand of pop music. The performer had a diverse vocal style and even did a rendition of Rihanna‘s ‘Diamonds’.

Highlight: Closing the set with his latest single, ‘I’m Sorry’, was a brilliant ending to his performance; the song is upbeat and catchy as hell so really worked the crowd up before Paloma Faith.

Paloma Faith

As the lights dimmed, Paloma Faith took to the stage to perform ‘Last Night On Earth’ with an eruption of applause and cheering from the audience. During the first song, she addressed the crowd and spoke about how after the pandemic we should focus on the here and the now as we don’t know what tomorrow might bring; truly meaningful words from the singer-songwriter.

She performed the first song in front of a curtain for the majority of the track before it came down to reveal a rather simplistic stage set (for her). Accompanying her, was a largely female-dominated group of musicians and backing singers; all of whom were incredibly talented in their own right.

Dressed in an edgy, backless leather dress and a vibrant red pixie wig, the singer wowed her crowd with not only her superbly powerful vocals but wonderful anecdotes behind some of her songs and of motherhood and getting older too. She even made reference to her skin’s elasticity having gone and it being perfect in a plane crash to help her land safely.

Paloma‘s set was engaging on an interactive level, as her personality and charisma shone through, plus she packed it full of songs not only from her latest album, Infinite Things, but a massive selection of fan favourites and huge hits were spread across the duration of the show too.

At one point, she tells the crowd that her latest album is her favourite as it’s more personal than others she’s put out and reveals it’s probably the only one she’s released that she’d actually buy herself. That said, she knows how to have fun with a lot of her older material too, stunning the audience with cuts all the way back to her first album.

She even performs a cover of Chaka Khan‘s ‘I’m Every Woman’ and tells us how she was once invited to share the stage with the iconic singer but knew none of the words, bring her to face her fears and perform the song herself.

The great thing is that from about half way through the set, no one is sitting down any longer as the singer encourages everyone to get up and dance and you can see people are truly living in the moment.

Paloma is a character, that’s for sure, but her powerful voice only adds to the enjoyment of the show. She is someone who needs to be seen live as she not only knows how to put on an incredible show, but she will have you singing and dancing in no time. If you haven’t caught her on this tour, then grab yourself some tickets for her 2022 tour, ‘Age of Optimism Tour’.

Highlights:

  • The between-song interactions with the audience were wonderful; they were genuine and truly witty, making the crowd feel closer to her as a person.
  • Getting everyone out of their seats and on their feet and dancing made for a great experience.
  • ‘Gold’, Crybaby’, ‘Picking Up The Pieces’, ‘Changing’ and ‘Lullaby’ were definitely some of the highlights from the set.

📷 All of the photos in this post are credited to Michael Hundertmark 📸
Why not give him a follow on Instagram and Twitter or check out his website.

 Setlist

Last Night On Earth
Gold*
Crybaby
Infinite Things
Guilty
Beautiful & Damned
If Loving You Was Easy (with Josef Salvat)
Stone Cold Sober / Stargazer / 30 Minute Love Affair / New York / Upside Down
Picking Up The Pieces*
Monster
Can’t Rely On You
I’m Every Woman (Chaka Khan Cover)*
Changing*
If This Is Goodbye

Encore
Better Than This
Lullaby*
Only Love Can Hurt Like This

* These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.

Finally, I want to say a MASSIVE thanks to Warren from Chuff Media for sorting out this review for me.

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#Review: Becky Hill @ Brighton Dome, Brighton – 11/10/21

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On Monday 11th October 2021, Becky Hill arrived in Brighton to perform at Brighton Dome in support of her album, Only Honest On The Weekend. She was supported by Richard Fairlie. Here’s what we have to say about the incredible event…

Richard Fairlie

Richard Fairlie took to the stage, giving rise to intrigue and applause from the audience, especially as he was accompanied by just a drum stick and pads that provided his instrumentation. His voice was captivating as it was raspy yet he could also show off some impressive falsetto vocals. He performed a mixture of rocky tracks, mellow, guitar-driven ballads and more urban-tinted songs. He has even been supported publicly by Becky Hill herself and so it made sense that he supported her on this tour.

Highlight: His set diversity is something brilliant to watch – from slower, falsetto-driven guitar ballads to up-tempo urban anthems, he is an interesting watch and one to keep an eye on.

Becky Hill

As the intro music rumbled through the speakers, Becky Hill took to the stage to rapturous applause from the audience. The energy was electrifying and she instantly had the crowd in the palm of her hand, and singing back every word of ‘Heaven On My Mind’.

Her outfit glistened beautifully too; one which she later told the crowd she had been saving specially for her Brighton show. In fact, it was this outfit that she revealed she was worried about tripping over in, due to the long legs, so took a quick break from performing to safety-pin it up (with a little help from her team).

The setlist comprised of a string of her well-known hits as well as cuts from her debut album, Only Honest On The Weekend. Her vocals were not only on point, but wonderfully powerful throughout, wowing the audience with every word she sung.

The set was brilliantly diverse too, with many up-tempo tracks performed to begin with (an excellent mixture of new and old songs) but what made it interesting was a break in the middle to perform some acoustic hybrid renditions of ‘Lessons’ and ‘Business’ (an INCREDIBLE duet with one of her backing vocalists). She even picked up her acoustic guitar to perform the track, ‘Perfect People’, which showed everyone just how talented a performer she is.

After the quieter breakdown in the set, the tempo was then picked back up and had everyone partying right up until the very end; even those in the seats upstairs were all up on their feet, jumping up and down to performances of ‘My Heart Goes (La Di Da)’,‘Gecko (Overdrive)’, ‘Wish You Well’ and ‘Remember’. There was no encore to the set either as she said she will not do an encore until she’s selling out arenas.

If you haven’t seen Becky Hill live yet, I can’t recommend seeing her, highly enough! This was my first time seeing her live and it certainly won’t be my last – she is a pop/dance powerhouse of a lady that has been working incredibly hard to get to where she is. She puts on one hell of a show and creates a vibe throughout the audience that is thoroughly infectious and has everyone dancing from start to finish.

Highlights:

  • Becky Hill‘s energy throughout her performance was astounding and even when she performed slower songs, her voice was truly powerful and a wonder to behold.
  • The cool set design made for an interesting watch too – four colour-changing cubes were a great addition to the performance.
  • Her interactions with the audience were always genuine and heartfelt, especially when she talked about getting over the pandemic and all coming together in one room to celebrate live music again.

📷 All of the photos in this post are credited to myself, Matt Wright  📸
Why not give me a follow on my Instagram and Twitter.

 Setlist

Intro
Heaven On My Mind
Afterglow
Through The Night
False Alarm
I Could Get Used To This
I Got You*
Lessons (Acoustic Hybrid)
Business (Acoustic Hybrid)
Distance
Perfect People (Becky Hill on Guitar)
Lose Control
My Heart Goes (La Di Da)*
Gecko
Last Time (Biscits Remix)
Better Off Without You
Wish You Well*
Remember*

* These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.

Finally, I want to say a HUGE thanks to Warren at Chuff Media for sorting out this review for me.

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#Review: Zebrahead @ Patterns, Brighton – 18/01/20

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On Saturday 18th January 2020, Zebrahead arrived in Brighton to perform the first of three, intimate UK shows, whilst on a break from their tour with Sum 41. The band were supported by Welsh rock band, Maddison. Here’s what we had to say about the show…

Maddison

Welsh rockers, Maddison, put on one hell of a show with their heavy guitars, powerful vocals and superb production (with some pretty epic backing tracks, which truly added to the atmosphere).

Their sound is massive – it’s stadium metal meets melodic rock and their onstage chemistry radiates throughout their performance.

The only criticism is that their onstage banter sometimes became tricky to hear when they talked over each other. Other than that, despite not knowing any of their songs, I thoroughly enjoyed their set.

Highlight: It would have to be the incredible use of backing tracks to create a wonderfully full sound – a real quality production.

Zebrahead

As always, Zebrahead arrived on stage to an epic intro – this time it was the Team America theme song – before bursting into their first song, ‘All My Friends Are Nobodies’.

Despite the venue being smaller than some they might be used to, the band used the space to their full advantage. They worked the crowd into a frenzy by performing a string of their hits – both old and new – and getting everyone in the place involved!

They certainly know how to have a good time too – the band have a pair of guitar techs who dress up as aliens and come on stage intermittently, getting involved in a variety of hilarious antics – from doing a drinking competition between the two of them, to one of them crowd-surfing on a giant rubber ring (as can be seen in the ‘Hello Tomorrow’ live video below). Possibly the most fun part of their set though, was their cover of ‘Baby Shark’ but changed to ‘Let’s Do Shots‘, during which the aliens passed shots around the band (see the video below).

The band members are tight – their performance is strong, well-timed and they clearly have a great relationship on stage – the chemistry between them is light-hearted and jokey and they just look like they’re having the best time.

If you haven’t had the chance to see Zebrahead live yet, then frankly you haven’t lived yet – they always deliver a high-energy show and regardless of whether you know many of their songs or not, they never fail to get the audience involved.

Zebrahead are a must-see!

Highlights:

  • During one song, Ali asked the crowd to see how many people they could get crowd-surfing during one song – security did not look happy, but it was manic and hilarious.
  • During ‘Worse Than This’, the band brought up two people in the crowd to try and out-drink each other, causing chaos on stage, followed by getting the pair to stage dive off the stage, after the song.
  • ‘Let’s Do Shots’ (‘Baby Shark’ cover)…enough said!
  • The aliens’ antics were pretty funny – in particular the crowd-surfing on the rubber ring.
  • Ali’s powerful scream/rapping is incredible to witness live and Matty (although sometimes not always pitch-perfect) has a great live vocal too.
  • Dan’s moustache!
  • The way the band include the audience and get a real crowd interaction going means that whether you know their material or not, you will always feel swept-up and included at one of their shows.

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 📸 All of the photos in this post are credited to Elliot McRae  📷
Please go and give him a follow on Twitter and Instagram.

 Setlist

All My Friends Are Nobodies
Call Your Friends
The Perfect Crime
Drink Drink
Save Your Breath
We’re Not Alright
Mike Dexter
Seven Nation Army / Wake Me Up
Sirens
Worse Than This*
Hell Yeah!
When Both Sides Suck
Hello Tomorrow*
Let’s Do Shots (Baby Shark)*
Keep It To Myself
Rescue Me*
Party Party

Encore
Falling Apart
Anthem*

* These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.

Finally, I want to say a massive thanks to Zebrahead and Maddison for putting on a killer show, and to Lout Promotions for enabling the review to happen!

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#Review: John Newman @ Concorde 2, Brighton – 15/10/19

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On Tuesday 15th October 2019, John Newman arrived in Brighton, to play a sold out show at Concorde 2, to promote his new EP, A.N.i.M.A.L. He was supported by sibling trio, Tors. Here’s what we have to say about the show…

Tors

I remember being fascinated when I first saw Tors support Tom Walker a couple of years ago, so was pleasantly surprised to see the trio of brothers return to Brighton. They still amaze me with just how full their sound is, despite there just being three of them, partially due to the (standing) drummer and his clever use of drum pads.

The three-piece sibling outfit produce some captivating sounds and somehow evoke a sense of nostalgia – they could easily fit on an emotive film soundtrack. If you haven’t seen them; I would highly recommend at least giving them a listen on Spotify, or heading to a show of theirs, near you.

Highlight: The three-part vocal harmonies produced by the guys is remarkable and adds a really interesting depth to their performance. It’s a wonderfully special thing to hear done live.

John Newman

The lights went down as an evocative instrumental and rhythmic lighting got the crowd pumped up for John Newman to take to the stage. As the track came to an end, he arrived to great applause and did something quite unexpected and unusual, performing the first part of ‘Not Giving In’ as just him and an acoustic guitar – upbeat but not a full-on sound to arrive on stage to…but it worked so well! It really showcased his incredible talents, before the full band joined him on stage to finish the rest of the track.

He proceeded to play a range of his biggest, most well-known tracks, including his collaborations with the likes of Rudimental and Sigala, all the while, getting the crowd singing and dancing along. He sure likes to move himself too, as he constantly puts his utmost energy into every song, including busting out his rather quirky yet distinctive dancing.

His vocals were fantastic as well – although a little raspy in places (however this is somewhat part of his trademark sound). He was accompanied by two brilliant female, backing vocalists and a tight band too.

However, possibly one of the best bits about the show, was his candid sharing of anecdotes and opening up about his feelings. He talked about his recent struggles with his physical health, as well as issues with his mental health too; making promises that he will get stronger and never allow people to take control of his creative processes again (which comes after a couple of songs he released that he felt were not true to himself). He also shared how he is coming out of himself a lot more now and wanting to perform more intimate shows and chat more to fans, than he did in the past – showing a great deal of growth.

One thing’s for certain, John Newman could quite easily pack a small, local venue or a huge stadium but regardless, he would have everyone in the place dancing and singing like mad, the whole way through. His energy is relentless and set list is packed with upbeat songs which you can’t help but lose yourself in. You must go and see him live when you get the chance!

Highlights:

  • The sheer energy John Newman gives the audience is highly infectious and his vocals are incredible to hear live!
  • The set list was sensational and packed with hits to get the crowd moving, constantly!
  • His honest and open approach to interacting with the crowd is refreshing and to talk about his own struggles makes him very relatable – and he clearly has a lot of love for it, as people constantly call out, “I love you John!”
  • It may sound odd, but the stage lighting really made the performance stand out too – Concorde 2 is a great, local venue with about 600 capacity but the lighting could easily have worked in a stadium, but it was amazing to see that work at a smaller venue.
  • The backing band and vocalists just make the experience even better – it would be quite easy for him to use backing tracks but it adds something for him to vibe off.

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📷 All of the photos are credited to Michael Hundertmark 📸
Why not give him a follow on Instagram and Twitter or check out his website.

 Setlist

Intro
Not Giving In
Give Me Your Love*
Feelings
Cheating
Losing Sleep
The Hardest Word Is Goodbye
Forever’s Not Long Enough
Mama
Animal
Tiring Game
Come And Get It*
Blame
Feel The Love*

Encore
Without You
Stand By Me
Love Me Again

* These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.

Finally, I want to say an absolutely HUGE thanks to John Newman and Tors for putting on incredible performances and to Warren Higgins from Chuff Media for setting this review up for me.

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#Review: Kate Nash @ Concorde 2, Brighton – 31/07/19

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On Wednesday 31st July 2019, Kate Nash returned to Brighton to put on another outstanding show, following the release of her 2018 album, Yesterday Was Forever and was supported by the punk quintet, The Menstrual Cramps.

The Menstrual Cramps

The band took to the stage, instantly packing a punch with their all-female brand of punk – think traditional punk rock but with some kick-ass girls showing who’s boss! The lead singer, Emilia Elfrida, was consistently hilarious with her crowd banter between songs and even shared some more personal insights, such as sexual assault she experienced and a song she wrote about it. As per traditional punk, there’s a lot of political messages behind their songs but one I loved in particular was a song, ‘Neo-Nazi’, written specifically for the crowds of an upcoming festival they’re playing at, to get back at them for the death threats and general unpleasantness they received the last time they played there!

Highlight: The energy of the band’s set (in particular the wit of Emilia) and the no-holds-barred approach to their lyricism and addressing of political and social issues! Well worth a watch.

Kate Nash

Right from the offset, there was something instantly better and more high energy about this set than the last time Kate Nash performed in Brighton. That’s not to say she wasn’t great back in 2017, but this time, there seemed to be a real buzz of excitement and a new lease of life to her set, which just instantly created an electric atmosphere throughout the crowd.

Following the release of her 2018 album, Yesterday Was Forever, the audience were treated to a whole host of new and old material in all the right doses. On several occasions, Kate shared the gratitude for her fans’ continued support throughout what has recently been shared (in her rather personal documentary – Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl – via BBC3) as quite a tumultuous period in her life. She also addressed her own personal struggles with mental health and how she believes that everyone should take time to talk about their own mental well-being, before performing, ‘Musical Theatre’ – a wonderfully personal account of her inner-most thoughts.

Naturally, in amongst her newer songs, the performance was interwoven with traditional hits such as ‘Mouthwash’, ‘Pumpkin Soup’, ‘Dickhead’ and ‘Foundations’. There was even a little medley thrown in for good measure, followed by an insanely fast version of ‘Mariella’ and just had the audience going crazy! The speed she performed it at was actually very impressive to behold!

Even though she is already a professional performer, this particular set/tour demonstrated just how much she’s grown as an artist and songwriter but also how much she has honed her live shows. I strongly recommend catching her at your earliest opportunity – you don’t even need to know all her songs, she’s just instantly bewitching!

Highlights:

  • Kate’s energy level was consistently high and her interaction with both the audience and her incredible band, made for a great watch all round. She always makes sure that her band are as much in the forefront as she is.
  • Kate’s vocal performance was stunning; from her beautifully powerful high notes to the delivery of her quirky, trademark, too-many-words-for-one-line lyricism, she was on point throughout.
  • I particularly loved watching her personal performance of ‘Musical Theatre’ – it’s not only got a strong message but her delivery of the song’s lyrics was sensational.
  • Her sense of style was as to be expected – interesting and out there, but oh so perfect.
  • At the end of the set (before the encore), Kate even got off the stage and into the front of the crowd to sing amongst her fans, which made them go wild.

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📷 All of the photos of The Menstrual Cramps and Kate Nash are credited to Michael Hundertmark 📸
Why not give him a follow on Instagram and Twitter or check out his website.

 Setlist

Play
Life In Pink
Mouthwash*
Sister
Trash
Always Shining
Musical Theatre
Agenda
We Get On
Kiss That Grrl / Shit Song / Later On
Mariella
My Little Alien
Pumpkin Soup
Foundations*

Encore
Dickhead
Underestimate The Girl

* These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.

Finally, I want to say a great big thanks to Patrick from Lout Promotions for sorting out this review, to Michael Hundertmark for his snaps and lastly, to Kate Nash, her band and The Menstrual Cramps for their amazing performances!

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#Review: ONE OK ROCK @ Roundhouse, London – 10/05/19

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On Friday 10th May 2019, the massive Japanese band – ONE OK ROCK – arrived in London. It was only the second date on their EU leg, of the Eye Of The Storm World Tour and they performed at none other than London’s renowned Roundhouse. The band put on a night to remember, supported by British pop outfit, Anteros.

Anteros

The band took to the stage with their vibrant personas and glitzy 80s synths, further reinforced by lead singer, Laura Hayden’s sparkly red dress. This band are a wonderful blend of indie, pop and new wave – think Blondie meets modern-day contemporary pop; along a similar vein to Fickle Friends. There are certain punk-like trends to Hayden’s stage presence, with her almost “don’t-give-a-damn” flounces around the stage, equally met with gusto – it’s quite mesmerising. The music is good and their energy was captivating to watch.

Highlight: The high-energy end to the band’s set made for a chaotic last impression, certain to leave people wanting more.

ONE OK ROCK

The band have only played in the UK a couple of handfuls of times but it was clear from their loyal fan base, just how much their performances are looked forward too, with a queue that lined up all round the streets, prior to the show.

As ONE OK ROCK took to the stage, the crowd whipped themselves up into a frenzy as the Japanese band launched into their opening track, ‘Push Back’. This was a set that despite the relatively small stage in comparison, felt just like an arena show…complete with pyros!

The set was teeming with a few older hits, plus a whole bunch of songs from their latest record, Eye Of The Storm (<— review here) – all of which had the crowd singing at the top of their lungs! Their energy was truly infectious from start to finish.

I was particularly impressed by Taka’s live vocals – so often you can hear little flaws in a singer’s voice when they’re performing live, but the power and effort he put into his performance was virtually flawless…even if he did keep fiddling with his in-ear throughout the show.

The quartet know just how to put on a show though; from Taka’s ability to capture the crowd by holding a particular stance and Toru’s rocking out with his guitar to Ryota’s powerful bass moves and Tomoya’s face poking up over the drums, as he beats away at them effortlessly – this is a band that you need to see live. It’s clear that they have spent a long time practising and perfecting their set – there isn’t too much between-song banter, but instead just packing in the songs, to give the audience a great time.

It was my first time seeing the band live and I had an amazing time – it’s so often that the UK send great bands and artists over to Japan to perform but it’s great to see a Japanese band coming over to the UK for a change! I strongly recommend catching this band live, the next time they make a rare appearance in the UK – you won’t be sorry, I promise!

Highlights:

  • Taka’s effortless vocals and stage presence alone, made the show thrilling to watch.
  • Having not heard too much of the band’s back catalogue, it was great to hear a lot of tracks from their most recent album, Eye Of The Storm.
  • There was an instrumental break during which Taka left the rest of the band to rock out on stage, demonstrating just how talented these musicians are – it was nice to see him let some of the other’s in the band have some of the limelight for a while, particularly a little drum solo from Tomoya.
  • The sheer polished-precision with which the band delivered their set, showed just how much rehearsing must have gone in to perfecting their live shows.
  • The loyalty of the crowd, singing back every word of every song, showed just how far-reaching their fan-base is.
  • PYROS! Pyrotechnics just make a show even better! It was great because they weren’t overused, just boosted a couple of songs when you least expected it.

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 Setlist

Push Back
We Are
Taking Off
Unforgettable
Clock Strikes
Head High
Take What You Want
Stand Out Fit In*
(Instrumental)
Giants
I Was King
Change*
The Beginning
Jaded
Mighty Long Fall

Encore
Wasted Nights

* These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.

Finally, I want to say an absolutely HUGE thanks to Robbie Peacock for enabling this review to happen and to both ONE OK ROCK and Anteros for putting on a fantastic show.

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#Review: IDLES @ Brighton Dome, Brighton – 29/03/19

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On Friday 29th March 2019, IDLES arrived in Brighton to play an excellent show, following their Brit Award nomination and in support of their second album, Joy As An Act Of Resistance. The band were supported by Crows. Here’s what we thought of the show…

Crows

There’s something instantly hypnotic about this band with their heavy, repetitive and dare I say, almost monotonous drone of sound that sits somewhere between Editors and something much darker. They’re definitely sat on the less pure side of indie and not necessarily for everyone but they’re stylistically edgy and even though the singer’s vocal is quite bland, it is intentionally done to fit with the style and somehow it just works…really well!

Highlight: I particularly loved the singer’s use of two different microphones – one for more crisp vocals and the other for shouts and harmonic wails that have tons of reverb on – it’s a pretty unique element to the performance. What’s more – he knows how to get lost in the music and really let loose!

Setlist

Silver Tongues
Demeanour
Wednesday’s Child
Empyrean
The Itch
Hang Me High
Whisper
Chain Of Being

IDLES

A hum of anticipation rang through the crowd as the lights went down and IDLES took to the stage. Surrounding the band, were a ring of strobe-like lights which continuously circled the band, getting progressively faster, as they launched into opening song, ‘Colossus’.

Whilst this is not a band I would normally enjoy, I can appreciate the energy that emanates from their performances, bringing punk into the modern, contemporary age.

The band don’t let up for a minute with their passionate, in-your-face and downright ballsy demeanour, fronted by Joe Talbot, who, throughout the show, makes references to now being sober and how he’s recently become a father. He also shares little anecdotes and passes comments on what he’s passionate about, like the importance of looking after each other, when you “argy-bargy” in the crowd.

This is shouty, grungy and lyrically dynamic punk that has picked up fans of all ages – a truly diverse crowd watched in awe as the band members got progressively more pumped up and not once, let the energy in the room, drop.

Even if they’re not your sort of thing, I still recommend checking them out; they put on a great show and they just continue getting bigger, so try and catch them at a more intimate venue, before they’re selling out arenas!

Highlights:

  • When both Lee Kiernan and Mark Bowen got off the stage and worked their way through the crowd to perform amongst the audience, sitting on the floor, before being crowd surfed back to the front…epic!
  • Joe Talbot’s energy throughout was infectious, particularly as he pumped himself up, punching his arms up and down in front of him, like he was operating a pneumatic drill!
  • As the band started their set, the circling lights were mesmerising and quite hypnotic and the audible chaos, the end of their set descended into after Joe left the stage, was equally amazing.
  • The genuine care Joe showed for his fans and the audience by looking out for them and also sharing anecdotes, really engaged the crowd.

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📷 All of the photos in this post, are credited to Damon Peirce  📸
Why not give him a follow on Instagram and Twitter or check out his website.

 Setlist

Colossus
Well Done
I’m Scum
Queens
Great
Danny Nedelko
Divide & Conquer
1049 Gotho
Love Song
Never Fight A Man With A Perm
Mother
Faith In The City
All I Want For Christmas (Is You) (Mariah Carey cover)
Benzocaine
Samaritans
Exeter
Television
Rottweiler

Finally, I want to say a big thanks to Rob from Sonic PR for making this review happen and also to both IDLES and Crows for putting on a great show!

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#Review: David Gray @ Brighton Dome, Brighton – 19/03/19

        On Tuesday 19th March 2019, David Gray arrived in Brighton, in support of his latest album release, Gold In A Brass Age. He performed an incredible, 2-hour set at Brighton Dome and was supported by L.A. Salami. Here’s our thoughts on the event… L.A. Salami L.A. Salami was a fantastic, soulful, folky and witty singer-songwriter who’s clearly […]

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On Tuesday 19th March 2019, David Gray arrived in Brighton, in support of his latest album release, Gold In A Brass Age. He performed an incredible, 2-hour set at Brighton Dome and was supported by L.A. Salami. Here’s our thoughts on the event…

L.A. Salami

L.A. Salami was a fantastic, soulful, folky and witty singer-songwriter who’s clearly honed his talent. His crisp voice, annunciated every word with clear precision and told a story, like that of a performance poet. His way with words must have been painstakingly crafted to create his art and his tales are intriguing. Also, his use of just a guitar and harmonica somehow manage to produce a rather full sound.

His stage persona is quite understated and there are some imperfections in his performance but somehow this is quite endearing. He was certainly an interesting and captivating support…plus his style (and hair) is pretty cool!

Highlight: I particularly enjoyed his final song which began with him telling an anecdote of how it came about, after meeting a wise man on a beach in Normandy whilst high on acid; the audience rang with laughter.

David Gray

As David Gray took to the stage, rapturous applause erupted from the audience and he launched straight into a string of tracks from his latest album, Gold In A Brass Age, showcasing just how much his sound and style has evolved since his career-launching album, White Ladder (first released back in 1998).

His new sound is electronically dynamic and truly envelops the audience, with atmospheric sounds, powerful harmonies and a diverse set of instruments played by him and the band. It sounds strange, but there’s something beautiful about the tracks of his new record, that give off an almost autumnal feel – they’re warm and crisp and give an audible sensation of swirling around you – it’s quite remarkable.

One thing you can’t help but marvel at throughout his performance, is his truly unique use of a loop pedal, with which he builds up the base for quite a few songs; some had various, layered guitar melodies, another he created a distorted vocal wail through the microphone built into an acoustic guitar and at one point he even made some vocal harmonies for him to collaborate with himself – sensational!

He began by stating, “We’ll start off with the new music,” and shared several tracks from the new album (‘Hall Of Mirrors’, ‘If 8 Were 9′ and ‘A Tight Ship’ particularly stood out), before thanking the audience for lending their ears to them. He then delighted the crowd by saying, “We’re going to dig deep,” leading on to a string of his old hits (‘Sail Away’, ‘My Oh My’, ‘The Other Side’, ‘Babylon’ and ‘Please Forgive Me’), that had the audience standing, cheering and singing along at the top of their voices – it was beautifully nostalgic.

The set clocked in at the 2-hour mark, which is pretty amazing for a concert these days and just goes to show not only the vast back catalogue he has, but the dedication he puts in to giving his audience something substantial to get into.

Being honest, I didn’t know much of his more recent music before last night, but having witnessed the wonderful performance I did, I will most definitely be getting copies of his last few records to get up to speed, and can’t recommend highly enough, watching him play live – he puts on an immaculate and rather rousing show!

Highlights:

  • The use of a loop pedal throughout his set is something wonderful to witness, particularly how he seamlessly switches back and forth between his guitar and keyboard, to build a track up.
  • The sheer effortless power, soulfulness and aching melancholy behind his vocal is passionate and all-consuming.
  • His new sound is progressive and actually quite incredible – I’ll definitely check out the new record! And, actually, when you see him live, you realise quite how electronic his sound (both old and new) is, in places and that there’s actually some dance music elements behind some of his material.
  • Gray’s rather awkward dancing and twitching around on stage is actually pretty endearing!
  • His personality is very modest and relatable and probably goes a long way towards his rather broad and loyal fanbase; it might also explain why so many people were comfortable shouting out support to him, between songs.

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 Setlist

Mallory
The Sapling
Gold In A Brass Age
Hall Of Mirrors
Watching The Waves
It’s Late
A Tight Ship
If 8 Were 9
Sail Away
My Oh My
Be Mine
Freedom
The Other Side
Breathe
The One I Love
Back In The World
Silver Lining
Babylon*

Encore
Birds Of The High Arctic
Please Forgive Me*

* These songs can be viewed in the YouTube playlist, below.

Finally, I want to say a big thank you to Rob from Sonic PR for enabling this review to happen, and to both David Gray and L.A. Salami for their incredible performances.

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#Review: As It Is @ Concorde 2, Brighton – 15/03/19

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On Friday 15th March 2019, As It Is arrived in Brighton for the final date of their The Intimate Depression Tour, in support of their latest album release, The Great Depression. The band were supported by Modern Error, Bellevue Days and Klae. It was an extra-special evening, not only because it was the last night of the tour, but it was a return to the city they started in! Here’s what we thought of the evening…

Klae

Klae are five-piece, female-fronted band from Brighton, who kicked off the evening with their blend of gritty pop rock. They have a tight, commercial sound to them, and clearly a loyal following is already building for them. They’ll be a local band to keep an eye out for with their atmospheric, airy guitar melodies and honest lyricism…though at times, some of the dancing seems a little contrived.

Klae

Bellevue Days

Next up, was the rather slick Bellevue Days – their performance was flawless and they have obviously honed their songwriting skills to perfection, with little fills and quirks in all the right places; whilst it makes their songs stand out, at times they change pace a little too often, meaning you can’t quite get into the groove, or the song appears to end, just as it seems to be building up to something more.

Personally, I preferred the backing singer’s voice, when he took the lead on ‘Faith’ and think he should definitely take the lead a little more, however, between the three vocalists, their harmonies are sensational!

They’re very much Weezer meets Brand New with a little Blur thrown in…one song in particular was almost like a carbon copy of Brand New though. All round, they’re a great live band and certainly have a good stage presence…even if the drummer did look petrified throughout the performance.

Modern Error

The last support to take to the stage was the intense, high-energy, Modern Error – an in-your-face, scream-metal band with solid production (in the form of atmospheric backing tracks) interwoven seamlessly with their skilful performance.

The band are nicely topped off with the lead singer’s screaming vocal which seems to come so effortlessly – though his attempts at more melodic singing weren’t quite as strong.

It’s clear that this band have found inspiration in the likes of Underoath‘s album, They’re Only Chasing Safety, as far as synth sounds merging with post-hardcore or metal sensibilities go.

The band’s octane-infused set really ignited the audience into a frenzy, creating swirling circle-pits and people manically moshing around. Modern Error are a well-rounded band with a clearly well-rehearsed stage presence and really know how to work a crowd; the only criticism…a little too much reaching out with one hand.

As It Is

Finally, As It Is took to the stage! Although each of the supports were well-rehearsed and their performances polished, the quality of this band is truly next-level impeccable, instantly demonstrating just how professional they are at this.

It might well have been the last night of their UK tour, and by their own admission, they were exhausted, but you definitely couldn’t tell…the energy they brought was magical, captivating even. The band are very much at home on stage – standing on speakers, thrashing round wildly, swinging the microphone round, for some perfectly-timed manoeuvres and Ronnie Ish even pulled off a little crowd-surfing…simply put, they owned that stage!

Having started out in this very city, the band shared their gratitude (a few times) for finally being able to headline their own show at the iconic Concorde 2, having watched some of the bands that inspired them, performing on that very stage. It was special thanks that went out to their fans, throughout the show, for getting them to where they are today and you could tell, their appreciation is genuine.

They may have visually changed their style since their last record, and their sound may have got a touch heavier than before, but at their core, they’re still quite the pop punk band they always were – they just have a little more ’emo’ edge to them now. They’re writing and singing about more taboo subjects, like anxiety, depression, self-harm, etc. but are managing to do so with sincerity and integrity. You can tell that their fans admire it too, singing back every word with equal the passion that Patty Walters sings out to them.

Watching this set, truly felt like watching the early days of the iconic punk rock/pop punk/emo bands I used to love, growing up – the likes of Good Charlotte, New Found Glory, My Chemical Romance, The Used, etc. It was really something special and I’m certain that if this show was anything to go by, this band are only going to continue to grow to new heights in their career, from here. I would highly recommend seeing them live – they’ll draw you in and have you moshing around in an instant!

Highlights:

  • The way the band use the whole stage, to jump and spin around, interact with each other and even swing the microphone round, made the show something spectacular to behold.
  • Whilst the set was predominantly filled with material from their latest album, The Great Depression, there was also a good deal of older songs to please fans old and new.
  • Patty Walters‘ honest out-pouring of emotion and sharing of personal anecdotes with the audience, let them know that this is more like a family than just a band and their fanbase, even referring to them as family. His speech around mental health, and the way talking about this is sometimes perceived within the genre, was actually very touching and heart-felt – things like this can so often be cringey, when delivered by someone in his position, but actually, I found myself hanging on his every word, and if this is enough to save even one life, then it can only be a good thing!
  • The audience’s love for this band is raw and emotionally-driven too, making the atmosphere in the venue, electric. A few people were even brought to tears by their presence, their lyrics and the passion the band pour into their art.
  • It was actually a highlight in itself, just to see this band (who could so easily sell out a larger venue) performing to a smaller audience, in a more intimate setting, but without compromising any of the quality of their set and stage presence. It was a truly marvellous event!

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📸 All of the photos of As It Is are credited to Chloe Hashemi 📷
Go and give her a follow on Instagram and Twitter, and visit her website.

 Setlist

The Wounded World
The Two Tongues (Screaming Salvation)
The Great Depression
The Reaper
The Handwritten Letter
No Way Out
The Fire, The Dark
The Haunting
Cheap Shots & Setbacks
Such Great Heights (The Postal Service cover)
The Truth I’ll Never Tell
You, The Room & The Devil On Your Shoulder
The Question, The Answer
Winter’s Weather
Patchwork Love

Encore
Okay
Dial Tones
The Stigma (Boys Don’t Cry)*

* This song can be viewed in the YouTube video, below.

Finally, I want to say a big thanks to Patrick Marsden at Lout Promotions for enabling this review to happen but also to As It Is, Modern Error, Bellevue Days and Klae for making the evening such a special one!

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Matt – Muzik Speaks
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