Thursday 2 April 2009

Brighton Calling Monthly at The Providence (Gig)



Living in a city with such a burgeoning music scene is always a privilege but with a seemingly endless stream of new Brighton bands emerging, how are you supposed to decide who to go and see? The answer is to get someone else to do it for you. Step forward Brighton Calling who provide four, half hour slices of the best Brighton has to offer for the negligible price of two pounds (almost all of which goes to the bands).

Friday 27th March saw the two girls of Brighton Calling seizing the chance to take the helm of their monthly night since Lout's departure. With Berni beaming on the door and Lily enthusiastically mingling through the crowd they cultivated a friendly atmosphere (that's so often missing from venues as outwardly devoid of personality as the Providence) and curated an evening of great bands. First on the bill was Guided By Lights playing some pleasant, violin laced, indie folk to warm the crowd. They're a relatively new band and only have two songs on their myspace so it made sense to have them open but their quality really demanded to be higher up the bill especially considering the lack-lustre performance of the second band. On a good day Left Hand Red can belt out energetic rock with a punk edge and are supposedly 'putting the rock back into indie', however, they must be used to longer sets than these half hour teasers as they were cut short and left sounding unfinished. Thankfully, The Valentines were on hand to thoroughly upstage them and get the evening going again immediately with their first song 'Welcome To The Show'. This five piece had clearly made the most effort, four of them wearing suits and polished guitars strapped so high as to almost be at choking point fronted by the disheveled sixth member of the Rat Pack. They look like the kind of band your grandparents wouldn't have been allowed to go and see but they sound like a cross pollination of The Strokes and The Beach Boys. Energetic 60s influenced indie with the drawl of Julian Casablancas and the melancholic drama of The Editors backed by harmonic, surf rock vocal harmonies. Finally, the headliners take to the stage, Educated Animals are a good pick, having had airplay on Radio 1 and been on the Brighton scene for a while they come off like a British version of Shout Out Louds. Twee indie with synthesizers and a dash of electro for the dance-floor rounds the evening out and all by 11pm so those who want to go out and sample Brighton's equally vibrant club scene can continue their journey into town.

Brighton Calling prove that they can sort the chaff from the wheat on the local scene and provide a great value night out for anyone interested in new music or supporting what makes their city so great.

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