THE GIG LIST – NUMBER 33

We are about to get not one but two white-hot record labels represented in town, as both Paris’ Kitsune and Frankie Chan‘s IHEARTCOMIX arrive to showcase bands at Concorde 2. You simply cannot afford to miss this!

REDLINE.jpg Red line picture by odelaybradford

CHEW LIPS

On this particular section on The Recommender we scavenge our local city’s horizons to locate the best nights out that Brighton can offer. Within our vibrant music scene there are many good promoters, but none reappear on this blog more than the events that have one particular man involved. We always serve up two great nights out on this Gig List and this fella has somewhow managed to get a mention for both of his upcoming events. He goes by the name Henron and has a particularly impressive ability to book cutting edge acts. His latest adventure carries his new regular event, named Horsepower, to one of Brighton’s most successful mid-sized venues, Concorde 2. To kick this new night off he brings to town some truly amazing talent. First on, Recommender favourites, The Golden Filter, who have recently completed a Q&A with us here. Second on stage will be the mind-blowing showmanship of Chew Lips, Camden’s hottest talents, with the beautiful singer Tiggs and her signature energetic display and their adorable, synth-heavy, 8-bit tunes. Finishing the night off will be a DJ set by none other than the IHEARTCOMIX label’s Designer Drugs. In an unusual but fantastic twist, there will also be a discount rummage sale from the trendy fashion label, American Apparel, as well as other well known Brighton brands, set up in the corner. It doesn’t get much more hipster than this.


ACT
:                     CHEW LIPS, THE GOLDEN FILTER, DESIGNER DRUGS
VENUE:                Concorde 2, Madeira Drive, Brighton
COST:                   £3.00
DATE:                   Thursday 1st October 2009
WEBSITES:          Chew Lips Myspace, The Golden Filter Website, Designer Drugs Myspace
TRACK:                 CHEW LIPS – SOLO ysi
REMIX:                 CHEW LIPS – SALT AIR (PLASTICIAN REMIX) ysi

REDLINE.jpg Red line picture by odelaybradford

CASIOKIDS

Henron’s second event will be located at his normal underground scenester venue, New Hero. Here he showcases the Norwegian pop sensations that are Casiokids. A five piece that always get out of bed the right side it seems, so positively contagious is their energy. They have to be witnessed to be believed, as they bounce around the stage like a bunch of children, (were they supplied with nothing but McDonalds and Smarties for the previous month!). Constantly swapping instruments, blink and you will find the guy that was playing the piano is now playing the drums, whilst the drummer’s picked up a guitar! It’s their amazing ability to always give an outstanding performance, playing with such broad smiles, that always gets the crowd bouncing. For this they are worth their weight in gold, let alone the required £5. This will be their first return to Brighton since they played the Loop Festival a couple of months ago, so if you missed them on that occasion do not repeat the mistake! Henron has done it again and the place will be packed, so book your tickets as soon as you can. He always encourages a sense of abandonment in his home venue, with his nights always feeling like more of a college party than a club night. Prepare to be doing Casiokid congas around the dancefloor.


ACT
:                     CASIOKIDS
VENUE:                New Hero – Dyke Road, Brighton
COST:                  £5.00 adv / £6.00 on door
DATE:                  Friday 2nd October 2009
WEBSITE:            Myspace
TRACK:                CASIOKIDS – FINN BIKKJEN ysi
REMIX:                CASIOKIDS – FOT I HOSE (AXEMAX REMIX) ysi

REDLINE.jpg Red line picture by odelaybradford

On a separate note, The Recommender is about to embark on a photo shoot with both Wave Machines and Lovelikefire this week, so look out for the results on our Flickr page real soon. Nice.
(MB)

THE GIG LIST – NUMBER 21

February has picked up a fair few gig highlights in Brighton already with Late Of The Pier, Wild Beasts and Elbow due to play, as well as the NME Tour hitting town. An amazing blend of tastes, ages, styles and clout for the circuit to showcase for Brighton’s lovely residents. Here’s a couple of fresh listings that should also be well worth making note of…

DAS POP
I cannot stand Alphabeat. Really. They’re the kind of sugar-infused pop that’s simply too sickly even in the smallest of portions. It therefore goes that I should also dislike Das Pop just as much, as there’s certainly enough of a similarity. It’s the kind of 80′s-tinged pop that takes too much from the period that’s shelved under ‘wrong’ – i.e. the Kenny Loggins, (see the song Footloose), kind of beat and glaringly obvious melodies – you know exactly where the next 16 beats are going to go. Where as the 80′s-tinged pop La Roux goes for is all Prince, Eurythmics and The Cocteau Twins – i.e. superb. However, my notice was prompted by the fact that Das Pop comes with a blessing from the likes of Justice, SebastiAn and Soulwax. Hmm. Upon further investigation they’ve grown on me. It’s less McFly and more Ladyhawke and apparently their live set is something to behold, with their swinging basslines and funked-up fun. It is with this that I point you to their mid-Feb club night in New Hero. Get drunk, step up and don’t forget to wear your dayglo leg warmers…

ACT: DAS POP
VENUE: NEW HERO, Lower Dyke Road, Brighton
COST: £ 6.00 +
DATE: 13th February 2009
WEBSITE: Myspace

HEELS CATCH FIRE
As previously pointed out to so lovingly in The Recommender 23 recently, this Brighton based 4-piece are well worth a few of your finest shillings to see live. They play very tight sets of angular, fast-paced Indie. It’s all about the guitars with these guys. You wouldn’t be too wide of the mark thinking of a kind of Maximo Park on fast forward. It’s never too heavy to or too brash to make you switch off. The songs drive along as if heading for a brick wall, only to swerve to safety at the last minute. It’s high octane, brilliant stuff. Elliot’s vocals lift the scene from the page and together this provides the melody that sits neatly on top of the guitars riffs. Set for a promising 2009, they play at Brighton’s NME club night, just a few weeks before they head off to the awesome SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas. There’s no better showcase for new bands anywhere in the world than at this Texan party, so catch them now, before any triumphant return from the States.

ACT: HEELS CATCH FIRE
VENUE: COALITION, Club NME, Brighton Beach
COST: Free
DATE: 11th February 2009
WEBSITE: Myspace

Don’t allow either of the above gigs to slip under your radar in what will prove a busy month in February. At least now you can’t say that you haven’t been warned. See you there…

Mike