Viva Brighton Issue #39 May 2016

LOCAL MUSICIANS
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Ben Bailey rounds up the Brighton music scene
TIME FOR T
Mon 9, Prince Albert, 7pm, £5
Their first show of the
year sees Time For
T emerge from some
winter downtime
with a launch party
for their new single Rescue Plane. Given that they
describe their singalong slacker tunes as ‘tropical
folk rock’ it seems apt that the band should only
come out to play once the sun has shown its face.
Though they’ve got a decent following in Brighton,
they are apparently quite the thing in Europe,
especially in lead singer Tiago Saga’s birthplace of
Portugal. While they may play huge festivals over
there, Time For T seem content to keep the sunny
European vibe alive and well in Southern England.
Hora de festejar!
KING LAGOON’S FLYING
SWORDFISH DANCE BAND
Wed 18, Spiegeltent, 9pm, £10/8
Dressed like a cross between
P-Funk and The Mighty
Boosh, this eleven-piece dance
band play a fusion of Afro-
Latin rhythms, psychedelic
guitar riffs and funky bass.
Going for the full multi-sensory impact, the band
even employ their own smell technician to waft
song-specific scents in the direction of the audience.
Though this show is part of Brighton Fringe,
it’s also a fundraiser for next month’s Kemptown
Carnival – which means you’ll also hear some
samba, in this case from the Carnival Bizarre drum
troupe Barulho. So don’t be surprised if you find
yourself surrounded by a 25-strong roaming gang
of manic drummers dressed like freak show characters.
Should be quite a night.
Photo by Jon Southcoasting
THE GREAT ESCAPE
Thu-Sat 19-21, everywhere, £65.50
The three headliners of this
year’s showcase weekender give
a good indication of how far
the festival has come from its
drainpipe-indie roots. They’ve
got alt-pop duo Oh Wonder on Thursday, desert
punk from Timbuktu’s Songhoy Blues on Friday
and Croydon grime rapper Stormzy finishing up
on the Saturday. But The Great Escape has never
been about the big names. Better to throw away
your programme and see where you end up. You
might even bump into some local talent you’ve
never caught before: from electronica producer Salute
and grunge trio Tigercub, to singer songwriter
Jack Watts and dark synthpoppers Miamigo.
PORRIDGE RADIO AND
THE COSMIC SADNESS
Fri 27, Marwood Coffee Shop, 8pm, £3
The buzz surrounding
this band might
be less important to
some than the actual
buzz on the scant
recordings they’ve
put out. Starting with some scrappy acoustic online
demos, singer songwriter Dana Margolin has
found herself heading an equally scrappy electrified
full band, formed in the time-honoured tradition
of having friends who happened to own the right
instruments. With separate zine and screen-printing
projects on the go, and a split-EP on Brighton
micro tape label Memorials of Distinction, there’s
no doubt Porridge Radio are pure DIY. While the
edges of their lo-fi noise rock might be smoothed
off over time, the melodies and heartfelt honesty of
the songs have emerged perfectly formed.
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