Coming home meant that I didn’t have to buy dinner out, which for the last couple of times has involved Bill’s or Wahaca, which are both nice and not particularly expensive, but I realise I have turned into a miser and I am beginning to resent all sorts of costs – I might even think twice about buying a cheap and dirty Maccy Dee’s these days. So, I was refreshed and dressed appropriately, and headed back to the big city that is Brighton.
Last time I was here to see Priests, I didn’t stick around downstairs, so on this occasion I took some time to properly appreciate the main bar. It’s a kooky, off-beat kind of affair. The tables didn’t match; the wallpaper was faded. It had a real organic feeling, which was nice. It felt kind of “thrown together”, but it worked. It was bright enough, but quite informal and welcoming. In the corner, the kitchen was situated in a caravan which they had somehow recreated inside. I had a very nice non-alcoholic German wheat beer before heading upstairs.
There were three bands on the bill on Wednesday, so they didn’t have time to hang around. The first band on were Gloo, who were brilliant in my opinion. The drummer was very precise, as well as sporting a very impressive almost handlebar moustache, and his rhythms drove the Buzzcocks-esque songs. I certainly could have listened to more of them. The second band were from Brighton, Big Spring. They were good as well, but I don’t think their sound was quite suited to the venue. It may be that if the sound had been set up for them specifically, it might have been clearer. They seemed to be going for a big arena-style sound though, and to my mind it didn’t quite fit the surroundings.
Then it was time for Sick Joy, who blew me away. They were brilliant. They reminded me slightly of Nirvana, in that there was a power to their music, even when they played slower, more restrained numbers – it felt like they could explode into a cacophony of noise at any point. I think Dinosaur Jr have the same feel as well. I loved their songs, they were balls-out rock. They finished their set and we all called for an encore, to which they replied that they hadn’t written any more tracks. They did finish though, with “Heaven”, which seemed to be a crowd favourite.
I’d not heard any of these bands before Wednesday, but it did strike me that we currently have a wealth of brilliant live music being played around the country, and we are quite lucky. On this occasion I paid £7 for a ticket and got to see three great bands. On my previous visit to the Hope and Ruin I wasn’t that keen on the main band, but the support made up for it. And before that I got to see Sophie and the Giants, who were brilliant - so I’ve had a good run of luck recently with my choices. Long may it continue!
TTFN.
