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Chromeo (Brighton)
Canadian Electrofunk came, saw and conquered a particularly welcoming Brighton crowd on this pleasantly mild autumnal night. Not only was the venue (Digital and its monstrous new sound system) aptly suited to such revolutionary activity, but the Brighton crowd welcomed the Jewish and Palestinian pair without the need to separate the city into opposing warring factions.
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Ash (Glasgow)
In a venue reminiscent of Vegas circa 1983 and with an impressively inventive use of dead woodland gracing the stage, Ash grace the stage, still wearing that slightly empty look of a three-piece who have lost one of their members, the much-missed Charlotte Hatherley.
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The Departure (Edinburgh)
Playing to an audience not much bigger than your band and crew in a venue the size of a large living room is an intimidating prospect. What does one do in these circumstances? Well, if you’re The Departure’s front man David Jones, it seems getting a bit pissed and being a cocky bastard is the way to go, which may have worked had he not dropped his mic mid-song.
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King Creosote (Brighton)
The Duke of York's Melting Vinyl series kicked off in Brighton last night with a sit down gig from Scottish performer King Creosote and his backing group. The band were supported by an earnest acoustic guitar player from Newquay (Rory Joseph), who, like Creosote, swears by sticking to one's home town to avoid the petulance of music scene rivalry.
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Fightstar (Edinburgh)
After an embarrassingly long array of loud and incomprehensible ‘rock’ support acts, a sombrero (yes, sombrero) clad Fightstar graced the stage to front a sea of overexcited black-skinny-jean-wearing children of emo.
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Brighton Live 2007
Six days and close to thirty bands, and finally the madness has stopped for your intrepid reporter who's been out all week attempting to gauge the health of the Brighton music scene. I am pleased to report back that we are in a good state and that there are some real hidden treasures out there to discover for lovers of quality music.
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The Gossip (Brighton)
The Gossip come on stage and Beth shouts “The Gayest City In England!” in her distinctive southern American accent. From the photo pit I had Beth right in my face, jumping around like a mad woman with no sign of stopping. She did admit that she had “partied too hard last night”, but managed to hide it well.
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Mice Parade (Brighton)
After being dazzled by their delightful self-titled third album, this show was ultimately a disappointment. The sound mix was a disaster and spoilt the entire spectacle, with far too much emphasis on the electronic side of their sound and not enough attention paid to the sound of the guitars that form the central focus of the highlights of their album.
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Kelly & The Kelly Girls (Brighton)
There is no doubt that Toronto-born renaissance man Kelly Clipperton will be a star before the end of the year. The only real question to ask is of the magnitude. Having already tried his luck at being a film star, a writer and an artist, it would appear he has finally stumbled across the one thing that is destined to make him massively successful.
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All Tomorrow’s Parties (Minehead)
Dirty Three founder member Bad Seed and now lead-noise-maker for Nick Cave’s venture Grinderman, it was the eccentric Warren Ellis who curated the first of this year’s ATP festivals. His influence was evident throughout the lineup, which was marked by consistent quality, if not notable quantity, and a decidedly Australian lineage.
