The promoter of this night had done a great job, booking 3 bands fronted by girl-guitarist-singers, which gave the night a good identity and consistency.Also he'd done some actual promotion (the same could not be said of many gig promoters I could name), so we had a decent crowd of strangers to play to.
The venue (The Green Door Store) is fantastic, really it is. Sound-wise it's tough - quite a small room with lots of exposed brick and a cobbled floor makes for some harsh acoustics, but also makes for a great vibe (Which is more important? Discuss.) So when we got on stage we decided to keep the temperature down - not playing a half-arsed set with no intensity, but just keeping certain sections more spacey rather than animal and ear-destroying.
We have parts of our set that never stay the same, and I love playing in such intimate venues 'cos you can really take it down, and everyone can hear the actual acoustic stage noise, not just what's coming through the microphones. Our last gig in Hoxton (the Workshop) had a similar vibe, and we love taking the dynamics to extremes at these gigs. I think that's the best thing about playing drums - there are some sounds you can get in those quiet places that the other electricity-reliant guys on stage just can't compete with.
It was also great that the stuff that went down best at the gig was perhaps our craziest - shows that the Brighton crowd is an open-minded one! That's the stuff we're most proud of and where we feel we're being most original, and it's great to see people diggin' that, 'cos it seems like that's where we're headed at the moment.
So enough about the gig - just make sure you get down to our next one there if you're anywhere near Brighton in the future. We stayed on and partied in Brighton (thanks to my brother Loz for a bed and a dry loaf of bread), which was buzzing due to the Pride festival that weekend. The city had an amazing vibe and a fantastic lack of fighting for a Saturday too! Nothing better than drinking wine on the beach with loads of other people at 3am after a great show.
So hungover and happy we awoke too early on Sunday morning and moved our exhausted, dehydrated shells around town until we felt alive enough to attempt the M4. With the help of Janis Joplin, the Seeds, many espressos, James Gurley's incredible filth, wine gums and reduced co-op sandwiches we made it back alive, inspired and tired.
Moral of the story: none really, except don't promote at a venue unless you know how to promote gigs, don't drink lots of lager and expect a peanut butter sandwich to avoid a hangover and ALWAYS be open minded, whether at a gig or just on the beach.
Oh and go to the Green Door Store - a proper music venue, which we love.
