The Brighton Festival kicked off this weekend, with a fantastic three week programme of theatre, comedy, art, dance, talks, debate, cabaret and music, music music. CMU's sister publication, ThreeWeeks, is covering it all, and you can check the coverage at http://www.threeweeks.co.uk, with music reviews here each day in the CMU Daily. Look, here are some now.
Run Lola Run Featuring A Live Soundtrack By The Bays
Exhilarating and heart-pounding, experimental live-only band The Bays showcased their unique set of vibrant electronica via a dazzling performance at the Dome in which the group improvised a soundtrack to the BAFTA-nominated film 'Run Lola Run', which centres on the protagonist's nerve-wracking race to save her boyfriend in no more than twenty minutes. The Bays - using bass, drums, keyboards, decks and programming - certainly know how to push boundaries. They captivated their audience with an illuminating combination of electronic and acoustic sounds, a continuous concoction of house, breaks, hip hop, ambient jazz-tinged melodies, and an explosion of drum&bass. The music, like the film, was thrillingly dramatic, making this one of the most spine-tingling shows I've experienced in a long time.
Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, 5 May, 8:00pm, £16.00, festival pp11.
tw rating: 4/5
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Gypsy Squat Pop Project, Alice McLaughlin, Lana Music
The Gypsy Pop Squat Project: it's all in the name. A gypsy folk band with upbeat songs about illegal squat raves and wanting bigger tits, they brought the great atmosphere of this night to its all-clapping, all-dancing peak. First in the line-up came Alice McLaughlin, a young singer-songwriter whose emotive if somewhat formulaic songs were elevated by the rich, smooth timbre of her voice. Acting as a bridge between this more serious performer and the charismatic chaos of the Gypsy Squat Pop Project was Lana Music, whose tongue-in-cheek glamour and flirtatious bluesy stylings quickly won the audience's heart. Although none of the three acts were pushing any boundaries, their confident presence and light-hearted banter left genuine smiles on the faces of the crowd.
Joogleberry Playhouse, 6 May, 7:00pm, £7.00, fringe pp25.
tw rating 3/5
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ThreeWeeks in Brighton is only possible because of the kind support of Latest 7 - check it out at http://www.latest7.co.uk - plus tune into the Latest 7 radio show, every afternoon on Radio Reverb, listen online via http://www.latest7.co.uk/radio