The Great Escape may be in the process of taking over Brighton, but don't forget the city is already in festival mode thanks to the Brighton Festival and Fringe, which takes place there throughout May with a brilliant programme of comedy, theatre, dance, art, talks and whatnot, and, of course, lots of music. Our sister publication ThreeWeeks is reviewing it all, and you can check out the ThreeWeeks music team's reviews here in the CMU Daily.
The Great American Songbook
Alyson Green and her Jazz Trio
A real mix this Friday night at the Joogleberry Playhouse - in 'The Great American Songbook' Alyson Green and her Jazz Trio featured a series of arrangements from both a catalogue of jazz standards and a handful of contemporary pieces. With an elegant sizzle to her voice, Alyson Green charmed her audience - something necessary for the success of this performance, given that she was forced into a musical tug-of-war with a nearby stage whose music was all too audible during her set. With a certain musical grace, if lacking perhaps distinction in range and colour, Alyson Green and her Jazz Trio managed an impressive set, kept together by an impeccable sound and good humour.
Joogleberry Playhouse, 9 May, 10:00pm, £9.00 (£7.00), festival pp37.
tw rating 4/5
[cp]
Caroline Nin
Squeezed into the tightest frock you've ever seen, split so high up the thigh it made my eyes water, the Parisian ambassador for old-school glamour, Caroline Nin, belted out her set accompanied by pianist Sean Hargreaves. Nin has a voice to be reckoned with, one that can sing in three languages and pull off Piaf well, but this was not an evening based solely on music; a seduction mission was clearly afoot. Put it this way, Nin knew exactly where to move her hands over that skin-tight gown. However, the scene-setting stories tended to ramble and her lament that prostitutes are no longer called 'girls of joy' made me splutter. Did I leave seduced? Not really, whilst it is undeniable that the lady is a vamp, it all felt a bit too cruise ship for my liking.
Komedia, 8 May, 11:00pm, £14.00 (£12.00), fringe pp8.
tw rating 3/5
[jh]
A Cappella Sensation deciBelle
At first glance the brightly attired ladies grouped around the microphones perhaps resembled a hen party about to murder some karaoke; once they broke into their first number, though, it became clear these were pros. deciBelle were a spirited yet well-disciplined group, with tight musical arrangement that made use of the large number of diverse voices. Alongside well-known hits like 'Sweet Dreams', there was country singing from Shreeve 'n' Shaw and comedy songs from The Cocktail Party, including a delightful song about neighbour envy written by the group's singer/guitarist. decibelle's version of Basement Jaxx's 'Good Luck' was probably the highlight, with well-simulated guitar sounds, of what was a well-planned evening of songs from a large group of lively and talented performers.
Hare & Hounds, 10 May, 8:00pm (10:30pm), £6.00 (£5.00), fringe pp32.
tw rating 3/5
[se]
More at http://www.threeweeks.co.uk