So that was May

Image by Ginger DJ via Flickr

I needed a break from my blog after May's daily spew of Fringe reviews. Luckily I have Twitter to remind me of my past happenings.

Chelsea Flower Show
With Kerry's RHS membership, we avoided the hoi polloi to visit the Chelsea Flower Show on a members day. We took a half-day off work and arrived about 3:30pm. First impression was how stupidly busy it still was. Seeing any of the show gardens meant shedding your manners and elbowing your way in. Anyone saying that the youth are rude obviously hadn't visited this place. There were one or two gardens that really impressed me including the Australian one with bar/pool. After about 3-4 hours we were pretty well much done with the place including a glass of Pimms at £5 and Kerry buying the most expensive but stylish Hunter wellies ever.

 

Xpress2, Maxxi Soundsystem 3
May's bank holiday weekend was mainly to celebrate Paul's birthday night though started without him as I warmed up the old firm with some DJing at Kev and Karol's. The new, disco loving crew including Paul attended the Maxxi Soundsystem night at the Funky Buddha Lounge. Xpress 2 were in town on the same night at Coalition so love of tough house we opted for this. Our previous visit to Coalition was a good one but it all went wrong at the door. Security insisted on seeing ID with home addresses and the majority of didn't (we're old enough and look it) so only Kerry, Trev and me paid £10 to get in. The others went straight to the Buddha Lounge.

Coalition wasn't exactly heaving and the atmosphere was restrained. The support DJs were ok but didn't really charge the crowd who look like hen/stag extras. Xpress2 turned up with Ashley Beadle and its soon turned out into an ordinary DJ set i.e. no 6 decks, multiple samplers etc. I was determined to enjoy myself even though the others complained. Eventually after an hour we left for the other gig.

Maxxi Soundsystem was the opposite in terms of atmosphere. The music policy was supposed to be disco but new mate, Neal Lewis was playing some good retro flavours like Big Fun and Cassius 99. We all ended up in Paul's Disco Dungeon with myself making sure I got a DJ set in before everyone else took over.

The Breakfast Club, Brighton Fringe Review

Like the Bright Club's choice of venue for their 'sea' special, this was another inspired choice. The classic 'brat-pack' film of the 1980's, The Breakfast Club was brought to life in Brighton's own Jubilee Library.

A sell-out crowd waited in front of the main stage (well, ground floor) which consisted of a number of desks and a view of the suspended walkway with theatre prop: a vandalised locker. Strangely no one outside really noticed that there was a play going on inside. The actors entrance was ordered from the first floor all taking their place as if sitting in for detention and immediately sulked into their own character. The 'Brain' reads out the introduction letter to set the scene: Five high school student stereotypes and their punishment on a Saturday.

Just like film, the actors were no teenagers but all had pinned down their look, attitude and accents very well. To complete the cast were the teacher and janitor characters. The marijuana scene was a little incomplete as the 'Jock' character didn't do his comical, adrenalin run. Slightly shocked they were even smoking at all in a public place but it was a theatrical prop fag. The play had a good pace and some of the action used the library's inside features very well such as the balcony, suspended walkway and lift. All the actors stood out really well, some more comfortable than others. Overall, every line, direction and character was true to the original film.

Cast were:

• Bradley Gardner as John Bender (The Criminal)
• Noah Rutter as Andrew Clark (The Jock) - check out his home-made zombie film 
• Elaine Cree as Claire Standish (The Princess) 
• Natalie Piper as Allison Reynolds (The Kook)
• Ben Richardson as Brian Johnson (The Brain)
• Andrew Fitzpatrick as Principal Richard Vernon (Argus newspaper article reporting on his suit!)
• James Bates as Carl Reed (Janitor)
• Directed by Jamie Martin

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Max and Iván at the Brighton Festival Fringe

Last year's Brighton Fringe highlight was Max and Iván's Televisionaries so their return to the Malborough Little Theatre was an instant purchase for us.

Their classic Mario and Luigi sketch from the Televisionaries show started off the night and will probably go down as their own 'dead parrot' in future. Although it was still very funny I was worried we'd see their material only remixed and relabelled for 2010. My worries soon went away as new sketches and characters appeared with the quality ranging from warm giggles to some red-hot hilarity.

Although the whole show was excellent there were three highlights that really stretched the laughing muscles. The 'truth-jock' (bit like a shock-jock but went on about conspiracy theories) who picked on Kerry or who should now be called 'Peace Gazelle' and says  neigh; the really bad comedian which we could hear his inner monologue (another question for Kerry or renamed as Julie to be embarrassed about); and the fitness class instructor for some full-frontal nudity.

Otherwise Max and Iván showed off their wide range of talents with singing, playing musical instruments, dancing and a lot of physical comedy. A must see!

Simon Munnery at Bom-Banes, Brighton Fringe

If Brighton had its own Lonely Planet guidebook, Bom-Banes would be in it. Located in George Street in Kemp Town, its a shoebox of a cafe/restaurant/theatre/music venue that has the typical Brightonian personality being quirky, charming, hand-painted and talented. They have a regular 'musical' event which customers can dine on Belgian beers and food then be entertained by the hosts of Jane Bom-Bane and Nick Pynn who have a rich Fringe past. Expect a review for this at some point.

For May's Fringe, Bom-Banes had secured some intimate gigs in their basement including one of our favourite festival comedians, Simon Munnery. I say intimate as there is literally only room for about 16 people where dining chairs have been rearranged, a sofa used in an alcove and a dining table/bench put against the opposite wall with cushions. ESSENTIAL TIP: go for the normal chairs otherwise you'll be very uncomfortable. If you sat in the front row, you would have to watch your feet if the performer took a step forward!

Simon Munnery is an acquired taste. He has an awkward manner and a lot of his jokes are an analysis of ordinary happenings and sayings. He'd previously done some TV work as Attention Scum, some radio and festival work as his alias Alan Parker: Eco-warrior and I remember some really weird but funny stand-up performances at Glastonbury as he wore an orange dress and a bucket on his head (this liking of strange things won't surprise many of those who know me).

The first half of his stand-up performance was very much a personal, reflective one as we learned about his new family, living in a rented stately-home like country house near Bedford and making fun out of his recent health problems where he'd suffered from nerve damage in his left arm and demonstrated how he would now point directions to anyone in a zig-zag way. The second half was back to his normal routine stuff, some of which we'd heard before like his Bob Dylan songs, then changing the pace with some strange poetry, a couple of one-man sketches like Sherlock Holmes and the Cook's Assistant with an aubergine. His last surreal joke (maybe a true experience) was catching his dad masturbate brought us to tears of laughter.

It was quite strange to see him that close and buy a DVD from him in person (more awkwardness or was it part of the act that he admitted he'd only brought four DVDs with him earlier). After learning about his nerve damage in his arm and hand (which you couldn't help looking at whenever he held his guitar and mic stand) I just felt sorry for him and slightly star-struck by stumbling over my words when asking about the DVD content. More awkwardness!

Groove Armada at Brighton Corn Exchange

Image by Ginger DJ via Flickr

On hearing their latest album, Black Light I was predicted they would concentrate their gig on their new 80's Roxy Music inspired sound. I was not wrong. After their excellent previous album, Soundboy Rock they new direction removes all their dance and reggae roots, everything that makes them who they.

We had a nightmare getting into the venue. The gig was just one of dozens across Brighton for the Great Escape Festival which turned the town into one huge music festival. The concept is that you could buy a wristband for the whole weekend or just one day. However, Kerry and I bought priority tickets separate to this. When these tickets sold out the only option for our mate Mark to join us was to buy a day's wristband. This resulted in all of us queuing for over an hour to guarantee our entry with security guards discouraging those with wristbands that they would not get in.

The support band, Art vs. Science, an Australian band were awful though their dicking about on stage was slightly amusing climbing on each other to play guitar. Groove Armada came out with a sort of intro non-song then straight into the high energy Song 4 Mutya with the best laser lightshow I've seen in awhile. The new female vocalist, SaintSaviour was impressive with her energy and stage presence and wore a Gary Glitter/Pharoah gold amour waistcoat. Most of the songs featured her in some way apart from the old style reggae tracks with their regular MC like Superstylin' which went down really well. Otherwise only 'At the River' was the only highlight as the trombone grabbed the limelight. Somehow I think we've missed their peak performance.

To make up for the night, we went down to the Funky Buddha for Maxxi Soundsystem's disco night then an after-hours party at Paul and Sarah's. Looking back, we should have really made the effort to see Carl Craig at Jam but our wallets were feeling stingy at the £7 entry fee at 2am.

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Bright Club: The Sea at the Sealife Centre, Brighton Festival Fringe

This was a bargain at just a fiver and one of the most memorable events of the Brighton Fringe. First, we got to avoid the normal £12.50 admission fee to the Sealife Centre to see some cool fishy goings on (loved the jellyfish under UV light); and two for possibly the geekiest comedy night we've ever been to.

After a slightly confusing but very scenic route to the main auditorium we sat down in front of the main fish tank where sharks and turtles mingled. Apart from the cabaret band just in front of the pool, the main 'stage' was actually a floating pontoon so geeky excitment levels were high. This was Bright Club, described as 'the thinking person's variety night, making waves in London with a new mix of comedy, funny intellectuals and music. As part of the Brighton Festival Fringe they presented the subject of Sea with host, Rufus Hound, songstresses Strawberry & Cream, and a cast of scientists, archaeologists and funny people. An end-of-the-pier show for people who prefer a better class of joke.'

Rufus Hound introduced the four brainiacs who were to amuse us with their science and nature facts. The first speaker, Tom Morgan came across extremely nervous but his take on how dolphins have a completely unfair reputation was quite funny. Apparently, dolphins get far too much funding protection compared to other species who really need it especially sharks and that they are dirty little buggers trying to shag anything that moves inluding other fish, dolphins (in their blow-holes) and even reports of trying 'bum' divers. Best description of them was the 'premiership footballers of the marine world'. My YouTube video.

Second speaker, Tristan Smith talked about climate change in respect of how shipping escapes much of the bad press air transport gets especially with globalisation and cheap Chinese imports. There's a bit of hope with the idea of re-introducing clipper-like sail ships. Not particularly a funny subject but still very thought provoking.

Strawberry and Cream who'd normally play bigger instruments played ukeleles as the marine life don't like bass vibrations, played some cute songs accompanied with an unamed drummer using brushes for drum sticks.

The third speaker, Richard Robinson (might be wrong on this as they changed the advertised order) talked about his washing machine, why duvets always swallow other clothes and the building blocks of life, all in such a charming, funny and intoxicatingly intellectual way. Check him out in my YouTube video.

The fourth speaker, Mark Carnell gave us a sort of A to Z of disgusting facts about sea creatures including their poo, spunk, how they poo, eat, die, anything to really put you off living near the sea - perfect for Brighton residents. We also got to see the biggest penis and a man holding it which can be found here. In this YouTube video he tells us about the giant squid's method of spreading the seed.

The last two sci-comedians were probably the best of the four and the evening ended with another sea-related song from Strawberry and Cream (and their nameless bloke). Rufus rounded things off and there was some vague indication that another Brighton Bright Club would happen in February (February?!).

My 2nd Mixcloud set

Just a 45 minute quickie I did tonight. After two or three sweet house tracks I build it up with some funky-ass tech-house including the excellent Mark Knight & D.Ramirez Vs. Underworld's Downpipe (track 4) and my current favourite, Union Jack's Two Full Moons and a Trout (Luke Chable remix) which is track 5.

Enjoy and spread the love on Mixcloud!

Gingerdj Presents '4play B4 I Tech U In The Rear' by Gingerdj on Mixcloud

Brian Eno: This is Pure Scenius

Brian Eno is the guest artistic director for this year's Brighton Festival and there were two events we made an effort to see. His Speaker Flower Sound Installation in Malborough House off Old Steine is worth a look and is free to get in. It's a grand and beautiful building to wander round in and the installation is quite interesting but not worth a long journey for. If you're in Brighton anyway than make the effort. Below is a video of me walking through a couple of rooms to give you an idea of what to expect. Nice use of coloured paper on the windows.



We followed up the visit with the 6:30pm showing of Brian Eno's This is Pure Scenius. We were initially put off by the £20 price tag even if Underworld's Karl Hyde was performing because it was split into three performances. There was no guarantee to know which one Karl would turn up in but after speaking to the curator in Malborough House he was playing in all three. So for just £10 each we got excellent seats.

It was a very adult almost classical music performance where the audience seemed to be awe of the line-up and ego of Eno. Spotted just a few rows ahead was Oz rocker, Nick Cave. After a beautiful ambient electronica track, Eno spoke to the crowd as if presenting a lecture from the future explaining some made-up music genres & cultures. Slightly odd but funny at the same time.

The music continued with long, orchestra performances, a kind of grown-up electronica music. Karl Hyde added his own strange poetry, dark vocals and samples (recognised the King of Snake Asian voice monologue). The band themselves were made up of a drummer, classical bassist, guitar, electronic effects/piano, another pianist and Eno on laptop and conducting. At the front of the stage there was a lounge set up with a settee and coffee making facilities for musicians to take a rest from their duties! A personal highlight was the piano duel with every long chord allowed to ring out into silence followed by what I could only describe as a sonic raindrop dream and Karl Hyde quoting Mills & Boon literature. It all sounds very strange in written form and perhaps a little bit anal but it all worked beautifully. The same performance happened last year in Sydney which someone videoed which is lucky as Brighton Dome staff clamped down on anyone taking picture or photos.

Late Night Gimp Fight at Brighton Fringe

Our Brighton Fringe marathon continues and so far its going well but nothing to really to shout to world about until now. It was no surprise that with an act name to include the word 'gimp' it would attract a lot of attention and it was a sell-out crowd of mainly excitable students at our favourite upstairs small theatre above a pub venue, the Three and Ten on Steine Street.

Late Night Gimp Fight's entrance was so original (not giving that away) and their opening song introduced all the performers' characters and mischievous humour so very well especially the wheel-chaired guy. All their sketches were well-paced, timed to perfection and almost always surprised the audience either with their originality or their close to the knuckle subjects. It just goes to show that you don't need over-the-top costumes and expensive props to guarantee a shed load of laughs. I really hope these guys get picked up for a TV show as their talent deserves bigger recognition.

• For a video of Late Night Gimp Fight try this Twitvid page.
• Their Facebook page.

Andrew Maxwell at Komedia

I'd only seen Andrew Maxwell a couple of times on TV (including his stint on the Secret Policeman's Ball) in very short doses but what I did see was very funny. As part of the Fringe, he was appearing upstairs in Komedia, Brighton. It wasn't exactly packed though perhaps people were either voting or queuing up to vote Green (apart from our ward).

We were half expecting a warm-up comedian but the little Irish fellow built up his entrance and really needed too as the crowd just seemed non-plussed as if they were expecting a political debate. Once on stage he did his best to charm us by some shouting, swearing and asking where people came from to prompt any stories or opinions he had to say. Again, the crowd really weren't helping with the best heckle in answer to a question was a polite 'Pardon?' and the energy levels didn't get any higher than that. Maxwell admitted he forgot to book a warm-up guy and took on the whole show himself delivering almost two hours.

His style is more of a sweary man down the pub telling some random stories with extra padding and some funny descriptions and insights along the way. He used some of the same material in the video below as if to jump start a routine but generally stayed on local politics, what he'd been doing before the gig, a great insight into his young daughter's scheming mind and a few boozy nights out such as demanding to see some homeless people at a Salvation Army hostel. Kerry and I had a whale of time and may have given him a small lifeline and target to aim at, when the Green Party was talked about.

By the end of the night he seemed to be either testing the crowd with a self-defeatest attitude, admitting that we, the crowd had been one of the toughest yet. It was almost like hari kari on stage. Shame really, a few less intellectuals in the audience and maybe the gig would have been different.

Eyes down bingo with Ida Barr at the Brighton Festival Fringe

Freerange is the domed arena at the back of St. Peter's church that provided some of the more quality Fringe netertainment. It doesn't quite match the heady days of the Udderbelly (the Fringe isn't really the same without it) but does capture a little of the alternative festival magic the Fringe so desperately lacks. Outside is a cosy forecourt with double-decker cafe, some organic food and drink stalls and a decent sized bar.

Inside the Freerange dome was a table and seating arrangment for a large carbaret in front of the stage where the bingo machine and prize table (see photo) was waiting for the main act, Ida Barr. She's described as an ex-music hall star turned OAP rapper that is known for her unique brand of Artificial Hip Hop as well as her skill in bingo calling. Chatting to those sat next to us, we discover that Ida Barr is in fact played by the entertainer, Chris Green who also plays Tina C, the leggy Southern belle country singer.

Ida Barr herself was an excellent character though I don't think the venue did her many favours as it was an echoey cavern with the traffic and policecar sirens disturbing the sound quality. For the bingo you had to listen intently for the numbers and Ida's special spin on the number names which were quite topical with the election or were mildly humourous.

Her singing and rapping were more impressive as a talent. Her first song was a take on Sugar Hill Gang's Apache rap (see my YouTube video) that really stood out as a performance. The lyrics were really well written to the song and her delivery excellent. Other songs were more music hall style and still quite fun to join in with. In the right environment i.e. better sound-proofing and perhaps a crowd who'd had a few to drink, the performance would have been a classic. Check out her Underneath the Arches song on YouTube.

The bingo carried on and prizes were given out, Ida was a little senstive of giving away her Queen Mum figurine but seemed keen to get rid of her tapestry of Constable's The Hay Wain. Her last song was actually the Hokey Cokey which everyone had no problem of dancing and joining hands in circles. The final moments was another dance embarassement of the conga but this snaked its way out the tent cleverly to end the show.

Good fun for a load of mates but in need of a smaller venue and plenty of booze.

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Off The Cuff Present Cuff TV at the Brighton Festival Fringe

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How to survive a zombie apocalypse at Komedia, Brighton

Ok, so the show title is a winner. It got us to buy the tickets and Brighton Fringe events can uncover some hidden gems every now and then. Unfortunately, 'How to survive a zombie apocalypse' at Komedia wasn't one of them.

It was a low budget affair (not like their website) with not much thought or expense into their costumes. The four person cast didn't really achieve that much stage presence. The general concept was a seminar with a professor leading his 3 colleagues to explain how to survive and improvising suggestion made by the audience. To be honest we were expecting a lecture format with some funny PowerPoint slides but the improv style had become a bit stale for us as there's a lot more funnier performances out there. The funniest bit for me was how to recognise the sounds made between a zombie and live human climaxing in a, well funny climax if you know what I mean. Otherwise, it achieved only a few giggles.

If you're a fan of zombie related films and games then you'll appreciate it more.Worth a giggle for a late night after a few beers.

Happy 40th Birthday Julian

Brighton buddy, Julian turned 40 this week and he wanted a big blow-out. Bored of Brighton clubs (especially Audio), we answered his birthday wish with a time-machine going (or what seemed like going back 10 years) to Ministry of Sound. I really didn't fancy the multiple train journey or the shuddering feeling of waiting for the tube stations to open at 6am on a cold Saturday morning so opted for the drive with James tagging along.

Before driving up to London we gave Julian his special present of a Venture Bros. mug we'd designed. This went down extremely well and surprised that no one picked up the copyright infringement. Nowhere outside the US actually sells the merchandise due to copyright issues.

It was the Gallery's 15th birthday and had brought back some of the biggest name DJs to celebrate. Check this out for a golden oldie special: Danny Rampling, Paul Oakenfold, Seb Fontaine, Tall Paul, Lottie and more. For Kerry and me, this really was a nostalgic journey back at least 10 years having got engaged there (as well as Kerry's nose getting broken). The door staff and security were certainly a lot less precious allowing cameras and a more relaxed dress code. Drink prices were affordable and the club hadn't really changed in layout. What was different was the sound levels (unless that's an age thing) or rather that every room had full-on volume so no decent area to have random chats and chill-out. Only the smoking area or front yard allowed this but still the bar's DJ set could be heard.

The years hadn't been kind to the DJs. Danny Rampling wore a cap to hide his hairline, Oakenfold sent his dwarf brother instead (though this didn't put off his army of fans crowding the stage) and Seb Fontaine was looking more like a beefy Danny Boyle. The main room music was a bit trancey with every track having a big breakdown which came across as a constant dance and stand around affair. I was so glad I'd brought my own earplugs as the levels were just too loud. This didn't deter what I'm certain was a knee-high-healed boot wearing female prostitute with all her front teeth smashed in (though Kerry argued it was a man) dancing on the speakers and constantly being dragged off by security.

The Baby Box room music choice was still a non-starter everytime we went in there. The upstairs bar had better sounds but the hard techno didn't suit the atmosphere. Most of the time we spent in the bar with Seb Fontaine providing a better soundtrack although being the Gallery birthday night, a few too many old classics got spun.

The crowd were quite ordinary making no particular effort to impress and didn't seem up for the music. At least their age range didn't make you feel that old. By 3am all the big name DJs had finished their sets and had gone home as well as half the clubbers. Good if you wanted to swing your arms about. I managed to attract some randoms for some funny conversations and by about 5am we managed to peel Julian away from his rhythm ramblings on the dancefloor. A great night out overall.