June's Gigs: Reviewed
Let's Brighten The Corners
This month, it was all about this newish festival in Ipswich, Brighten The Corners. I can’t say that I thought much about Ipswich but I would definitely go back next year! Some ratings included for those who don’t want words!
14-15th June - Brighten The Corners Fest. - Ipswich, Multiple Venues
I’m not reviewing every band because that would be utter madness but the festival was everything you could want. Amazing musicians in excellent venues. BTC found some amazing talent and did a brilliant job of organising the whole thing. £50 for the two days was an absolute bargain and I would encourage anyone to go next year! Anyway, now for some of the acts.
Ugly - Mesmerising, ambitious songs. Songwriting ability and harmonies second-to-none. St. Stephens Hall was an acoustically gorgeous venue too. ⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
HONESTY - Amazing staging, with synchronised graphics projected in front of the band. Would have liked less pre-recorded stuff and sound quality though. ⍟⍟⍟
Dave Okumu - What style and presence. Captivating merging of genres and then some sexy guitar playing near the end. Corn Exchange was an incredible venue. ⍟⍟⍟⍟
Ibibio Sound Machine - Incredible energy. Utterly joyous ⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
Man/Woman/Chainsaw - Youthful buzz with ambitious songs. I very much like their music but I thought their in-jokes and silliness was immature and didn’t give the music the attention it deserved. ⍟⍟⍟⍟
Tapir! - Cute folk with quirky sounds and instruments but a tiny, tiny, tiny bit boring. ⍟⍟⍟
mary in the junkyard - Absolutely loved it. At the end of their set, they slowly collapsed to the stage with their instruments lying on top of them. The whole thing was very cool. ⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
The Mysterines - Lead singer had a great presence but songs were rather predictable and in no way as diverse and as intriguing as any of the other bands on offer. ⍟⍟
Overall night rating: Without a doubt, 5 stars. The venues, the company, the food, the freedom (no kids for a couple of days!) and, of course the music! ⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
29th June - UFO Rodeo - Norwich Arts Centre
Punching started off the night with aplomb! Shouty, punky stuff is always a good way to start a gig night. I particularly liked their cover of Liam Lynch’s United States of Whatever. I had a quick chat with the guitarist and it turns out he loved IDLES. Needless to say, I liked him. ⍟⍟⍟⍟
Magnolia were completely epic again. Maybe not quite the same intimate vibe as last time I saw them but they were still exceptional. ⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
UFO Rodeo have some ultra-talented musicians so I was very happy to catch them for the second time in two months. I feel like the female vocalist could have had more impact. ⍟⍟⍟⍟
Overall night rating: The whole night was fantastic but I was so tired that I felt like I was having an out of body experience! ⍟⍟⍟⍟
That’s it for this month! Tune in for my half-year review, coming in a day or two. If you missed it, here’s my most recent Recent and Decent playlist:
Coming up this month, I’m seeing at least The Klittens and some musicians at Strumpshaw Tree Fair… more needed I reckon! Let me know if you’ve seen anyone good recently! Until next time.
Brighten The Corners sounds fabulous. A multi-venue festival really is hard to beat (even when you don’t manage to catch Divorce’s set 😉)
Highlight of my week has been Royel Otis playing at Rough Trade East on Monday. They really are sensational and a lot of fun to watch.