Brighton What's On Guide - 13th - 19th June 2014

Check out my What's On Guide in the Brighton and Hove Independent today on page 19, digital copy below.

The Noise Next Door Review - Brighton Komedia - 12th June 2014

With Komedia's Krater Comedy Club dominating the weekend's quota for comedy with consistently high standard stand-up, it must be a real challenge for any other comedy act to meet the audience's expectations. The flip side of this is that Brighton's comedy attending audiences know how to laugh and how to have a good time. This is particularly important in improvised comedy which relies heavily on audience participation such as The Noise Next Door.

The show was by no means your average compilation of stand-up acts, with a quintet of performers, joined by two special guests, on stage and all participating for the majority of the night. Imagine 'Mock The Week' but all the contestants working together to create a coherent two hour show rather than throwing in one-liners to get "points" for their team. By working together, The Noise Next Door are a truly formidable force of creative comedy at the peak of excellence.

The show was divided into three different types of sketch: musical numbers based entirely on audience generated material, physical situational comedy (again generated from audience material) and guest comedians performing stand-up slots before getting involved with the other sketches. These elements were mixed together well like ingredients of a cocktail, shaken up and served over ice with fruit on top to garnish.

The night opened with a hilarious improvised song about a new 70mph speed limit being enforced in Brighton by Mario, by penalty of spanking if caught not complying. With clever rhymes, funny voices and crazy actions it was a great start to the night, swiftly followed by a manic search for a solution to the problem of Tom being stuck to a football by tiramisu.

The first of the two guests was Canadian potty mouth Paul Myrehaug, whose anecdotes about being thrown in a drunk tank for unintentionally assaulting a police officer with a meatball sub and unicorn fantasies were a little out there, but generally received reasonably well. I thought his use of all five microphones to move across the stage was a nice touch however his contributions to the improv later on showed that he was not as practiced as the others in that area of comedy.

After a very skilled piece of physical comedy and mime where Tom (another Tom) and Matt were portraying all the props required in a search for a magic lamp, located in a home for dementia sufferers located on Machu Picchu, the second guest stand-up was Romesh Ranganathan. He talked about Indian culture, veganism and parenting in a side-splitting set, which was followed by a brutal interpretation of what Father's Day would be like with his family, with the guys from TNND playing him, his wife and his two children, a cross-dressing 4-year-old and a feral 2-year-old, with Romesh sat on the side of the stage, squeaking a dog toy if they were accurate and tooting a horn if not. This was followed by the unexpected welcoming to the stage of his actual family, the children seeming happy and his wife taking it all in good spirits.

After an interval the show continued with much of the same, with the second half starting off by acting out several headlines that were written down by the audience during the break. The highlight of this for me was the three-way comedy carousel that was linking together three different sketches together via the topic of STD's; A Loose Women show, a reggae song and a film that was Pretty Woman meets Thriller. The juxtaposition of these sketches worked very well and as with the rest of the show, was very well received.

The finale of the show was a boy band song based on the life on an audience member who was brought to sit up on stage to hear her beautiful ballad. The vodka-loving, marmalade-hating Marketing student who had aspirations to go to Thailand was mildly grilled, with criticisms of her "mickey-mouse degree", the length of her denim shorts and an arsenal or semi-crude sexual puns (not unlike any other boy band song though!). After the initial look of "Get me out of here!!!" she seemed to enjoy it towards the end, before quietly shuffling back to her seat, probably with a thing or two to say to her friends who nominated her to go up.

By far the most impressive part of the show is the speed of which they manage to generate new and genuinely funny material, adapt to unexpected situations verbally and physically and perform in several different accents (some of which were better than others but for me the only thing funnier than somebody putting on a good accent is somebody trying and not quite getting it, so in my eyes that worked to their favour!).

The show is a regular at Komedia, however they will be going up to perform daily at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival so will not be back until after the summer. For fans of comedy, stand-up or sitcoms, the show will be sure to tickle your funnybone from start to finish and the best part is that with improvised comedy, every night is a different performance! Check them out when you can! For more information or to buy a DVD, visit their website below.

http://www.thenoisenextdoor.co.uk/
@NoiseNextDoor

9Bach Album Review - Tincian - 10th June 2014

I saw 9Bach playing at +Komedia Brighton last week, I was blown away by their performance - see my review here. Here is my track by track rundown of their album Tincian which was released on 12th May 2014. As the titles are in all Welsh, as all of the tracks are (excluding Asteri Mou which is in Greek), I have written the translations in parentheses afterwards. The album is fantastically folky and wonderfully Welsh and is well worth a listen! Below is an album sampler where you can hear snippets of each track.

1. Lliwau (Colours)

Sparse and chilled out with a gentle drum groove, psychadelic 70's guitar lines and an exposed vocal, Lliwau is actually a song comparing colours to the beauty of childbirth. The chorus translates to "Pretty you are like colours" just in case you wondered what you were singing along to, as it has a very catchy melody.

2. Llwynog (Fox)

Lisa Jên (lead singer of 9Bach) spoke passionately when introducing this song, declaring it a song for the underdog fox who managed to escape from the farmer, his shotgun and his dog. It can't help but bring to mind Wes Anderson's 2009 film "Fantastic Mr. Fox" with George Clooney voicing the eponymous fox. So imagine this is a song about George Clooney being hunted in the Welsh countryside if you like. 

3. Pebyll

Pebyll is a ruin located in Llanddewi, a small village in mid-Wales. The song was written after Lisa discovered it whilst walking her dog. Laced with silky elvish-sounding vocals, this track is smoother than James Bond at a cocktail party.

4. Plentyn (Child)

Starting off with breathy three-part vocal harmony, this song tells an unsettling fictional story based on a real life event of a child that is stolen away from its mother at a very young age. The additional percussive rhythms and slide guitar create a rich texture for this tragic story.

5. Wedi Torri (It's broken)

From one dark song to the next, Wedi Torri is about witnessing somebody that you love in a broken state, and the effect that it has on you as you try to desperately piece them together, often at the cost of yourself.

6. Pa Le (Which place?)

Spacious with eerie backing vocals, this traditional song is about the search for a loved one years after they were last seen. Complete with a harp breakdown section which is very pretty.

7. Ffarwél (Farewell)

An unsurprisingly somber track based on a poem from a book of locally gathered songs in Bethesda. The poem is about a quarry reflecting on the times that he used to enjoy with his friends, many of whom had since passed. The chorus of male voices adds an epic filmy sound as well as additional emotional depth to the track. 

8. Llwybrau (Pathways)

A haunting piano opens the track, with a serene, piercing and catchy vocal melody garnishing it sweetly, building up slowly as the rest of the instruments come in and worldless vocal harmonies take over. 

9. Babi'r Eirlys (Snowdrop Baby)

Full of vocal harmonies, this beautiful track is completely a capella, with reverb-laden voices layering up a rich and sleek texture. 
  
10. Asteri Mou (My Star)

Sung in Greek, Lisa's third language Asteri Mou has guitar slides, a delicate melody and a nice piano hook which is imitated by the harp. Whilst building towards the end, it is a quite subdued end to the album, winding down rather than going out with a bang, but with this type of music, that is what you want.

www.9bach.com
www.facebook.com/9bachmusic
www.twitter.com/9bach

Brighton EP/LP Launches in June 2014

With so much music going on in Brighton, it can be hard to keep track of everything. Here is a list of CD/EP/ launch nights this June to keep you afloat.

Sat 7th June - Wild Rivers - Sticky Mike's - All The Lights LP

Who: Clark Maides and Josh Renton
Genre: Indie Pop
Info: OUT NOW, Wild Rivers' 11 track debut album is available for just £3.
Contact: www.facebook.com/wildrivers

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Fri 13th June - Via Tirana - GDS - Full Moon EP

Who?: One man and a guitar, amps and lots of effects.
Genre: Electronic, noise
Info: The EP was recorded with experienced producer James Gasson at Brickhouse Sudio.
Contact: www.facebook.com/viatirana

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Sat 14th June - Half Crown - The Haunt - £7 entry - Everything Goes LP

Who?: A diverse and charismatic group with an infectious energy that spreads across the whole band.

Genre: Blues, Folk, Hip-Hop, Reggae 

Info: The band recently won the Best Unsigned Band of 2013 Award from S&M

Contact: www.facebook.com/officialhalfcrown

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Mon 16th June - Fools Empire - GDS - This Is Not For You!

Who?: Led by Chelsie Tyrell's vocals and piano, this Brighton 5-piece create ambient soundscapes of beauty and wonder.
Genre: Electonica, Pop
Info: Surprisingly this is Fools Empire's debut EP!
Contact: www.facebook.com/foolsempire

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Mon 16th June - Jack Evans - Sticky Mike's - £3 entry - Stripped Back EP

Who?: A young Brighton-born singer-songwriter
Genre: Acoustic, singer-songwriter
Info: Jack will be playing all the songs from the EP at the gig, plus there is support from Ella Croucher, Giorgia-May, Robbie Skitmore & the Spanish Harlem Incident
and yourgardenday
Contact: www.facebook.com/JackEAEvansMusic

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Tue 17th June - O'Chapman - GDS - £6 entry - Relapser EP

Who?: A curly haired London
Genre: Folk, shoegaze, slowcore, dream pop and lo-fi rock.
Info: "You're just a sad sack." - Simon Cowell
Contact: www.facebook.com/ochapmanmusic

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Wed 18th June - Last Days of Rome - Hope - £4 inc EP

Who?: Recently renamed from Blind Eye Fury
Genre: Metal
Info: This is their first show with the new name and they have an EP for you, which you'll get for free if you attend the launch night at The Hope.
Contact: www.facebook.com/lastdaysofromeuk

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Sat 21st June - Phoria - The Haunt - £7 entry - Display EP

Who?: '....super-smart and endearingly pieced together from a breathtaking blend of whisper-like vocals and euphoric electronics .' - NME
Genre: Alternative, Ambient, Electronic
Info: The first track off the EP has already accumulated over 100k views in under 2 weeks!
Contact: www.facebook.com/phoriamusic

For more Brighton-based gig info, listings, reviews, CD reviews and interviews, subscribe to my blog or follow me on twitter @tomsayeruk.

If you are a local band and have a new release that you would like me to review contact me on tom@tomsayer.co.uk

Twelfth Day - The Devil Makes Three - Album Review

After seeing their captivating performance supporting 9Bach at Brighton Komedia - see my review - I was given an exclusive copy of their album, out for release tomorrow - Monday 9th June. Read my track by track guide to The Devil Makes Three below.

 1. Noise Show - Opening with two gentle breathy vocals in harmony, before the harp and plucked violin repeating figures accompany the verse. As the track progresses, the dynamic fiddle part plays in contrary rhythm to the harp creating a contrapuntal mesh which the voices force their way through, depicting the title of the track well.

2. Magic Circle With an angular melody and slightly mystical lyrics, this track has a clear flavour of Björk to it, particularly with the pagan connotations. Once again the trio of voices, violin and harp create an interesting texture however at times the instruments outgun the vocals.

3. Me and My Friend A delicate harp and smooth sweeping violin tell an upbeat Hobbitesque tale of friendship in the first instrumental track of the album, with influences of minimalism and traditional folk.

4. Young Sir By far the most Scottish of the tracks so far, Young Sir tells the story of “a lass who was bonny but poor” who crossed the border to England in search of work, and meets a young gentleman with whom she becomes enamoured. An uplifting ballad with a catchy chorus couplet.

5. A City You Can See Out Of Written about Edinburgh, where the ladies now reside, this melodically endowed song has a lovely harmony throughout and personifies the city in a sincerely heartfelt way.

6. Swimming Safe The second instrumental on the album, this track cleverly shares the melody between the instruments in a sleepy daze.

7. Shapeshifter The galloping harp leads a lyrical pursuit of light, time and magic.

8. The Devil Makes Three A new musical setting to the traditional folk song, sang in the film ‘O Brother Where Art Thou’ by three sirens. This version lacks the sinister undertones of the song but adds a sense of urgency with the dramatic speed up in the middle, leading into a folky fiddle-led middle section.

9. The Beach Serene, folksy and with shades playfulness, this instrumental track would work wonders in a film if the right Director’s hands, in particular the muted harp part in the middle which could underpin a montage or chase scene with ease.

10. Dusking Winding down with a gentle track, the voices in this song blend well acting as another instrument in this tapestry of sound.

https://twelfthday.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/twelfthday
https://www.twitter.com/twelfthday

I will be uploading my review of 9Bach's album Tincian tomorrow.

For more reviews, interviews and features subscribe to my blog or follow me on twitter @tomsayeruk

Interview with Jon Gomm

Check out my interview with guitar legend Jon Gomm before his gig at Sticky Mike's Frog Bar last night, where he talks about crowdsourcing, his banjo pegs, his jazz education and much more.


He was a very lovely chap, even with his poor habit of feeding chips to the seagull on the seafront. His gig in the evening was a brilliant showcase of his guitar and vocal abilities, including a lesson for how to play drums on guitar and an insight into his background, playing in the working men's clubs of Blackpool  ("The city Brighton could have been" he quipped in response to a heckler) to particularly unreceptive audiences of "confused Glaswegian pensioners on holiday" prompting him to bring out one of his trademark showpieces, his instrumental arrangement of Chaka Khan's 'Ain't Nobody'. 
For the rest of his tour dates and more information go to www.jongomm.com or @jongomm

Keep up to date by following my blog on whattomwrites.blogspot.com or @tomsayeruk

Time for T Interview in Brogue Magazine

Check out my interview with Time for T in the latest issue of Brogue Magazine: it's the opening feature! :D

http://issuu.com/broguemagazine/docs/the_final_one_brogue_three_publishe

Very excited! Thanks to Spirit De La Mare!

My interview with guitar legend Jon Gomm will be up soon! For more updates follow me on @tomsayerukwww.twitter.com/tomsayeruk