Live Preview: Pink Narcissus/ Hold The Fight/ Accidents Will Happen/ Oh.Captain @ The World’s End Feb 8th

Sussex’s premier promotions company, Rio Bravo, return with their first gig in a long time. A night of rock at Brighton’s The World’s End with Pink Narcissus, Hold The Fight, Accidents Will Happen and Oh. Captain.

Fronted by the eloquent and brilliant Oli Spleen, freak rock four-piece Pink Narcissus create a spastic carnival of chaotic colour and magnificent mania, taking influence from kings and queens of wonder and imagination like David Bowie, Jane’s Addiction, Bjork, Radiohead, The Velvet Underground and Leonard Cohen. The band’s sound breathes new and exciting life into alternative rock, with elements of glam, punk, heavy rock and cabaret infused with the mystery of Eastern European and Gypsy music.

Few bands pack more of a punch than Hold The Fight. An acoustic-core trio from Eastbourne, they’ve shared stages all over the UK with bands like The James Cleaver Quintet, The Town Needs Guns, Blitz Kids and Fights And Fires, gaining an established reputation in the process. Last September the band released the first single off their forthcoming album With A Breath And A Hope, How Many Times Man, I’m Not Caesar.

Fronted by Jade Spiro, London-based rock band Accidents Will Happen have, thanks to powerful vocals, catchy melodies, big bass and rhythmic drums, shared stages with the likes of PAIGE and Hildamway. Influenced by bands from Don Broco to Biffy Clyro, their sound is a real girl power riot, with all elements working together to send the crowd into a frenzy.

New on the scene, Brighton band Oh. Captain have three vocalists at their disposal, with the enigmatic tones of Hope Rudd surely shining through.

DOORS 7:30 FREE ENTRY

Gig Review: The Vaccines-De Monfort Hall, Leicester November 19th

After having ample time to prepare thanks to the three support acts, Pale, Deap Vally and DIIV, The Vaccines finally appeared at 9.30pm on Monday 19th November in Leicester De Monfort Hall to perform their hour-long set including an encore; a set that proved they deserve all the credit they get.

Opening with riff-heavy No Hope, a track that displays the passion of the band, The Vaccines had already managed to lift half of the seated audience from their seats from the first song. The next song they played was Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra). For an incredibly short track, only about a minute and a half in length, the band certainly gave it everything they could, amazing the audience with their energy. However, it was the next song, Wetsuit, which raised the entirety of the seated audience due to its ballad-nature. As just about any true Vaccines fan in the audience knew the words to this track, the hall was elevated by everyone singing along to whatever words they knew and the feeling of unity among the fans was astounding. After playing a few tracks from their first album, such as A Lack Of Understanding, the band exploded into Teenage Icon, in which most of the crowd went absolutely crazy. Being their most famous song from the new album, this was the moment in which the atmosphere in the room was at its peak. The stage lights were in full swing and every member of the band was doing all they could to put on the best show possible. After Teenage Icon, they continued to play tracks from their newest album, such as Aftershave Ocean with its catchy chorus and Ghost Town with its original lyrics and tone compared to most of their other songs. The highlight of the gig was definitely the performance of Post Break-Up Sex, which happened a few songs before the end. Being their most famous song to date, the crowd enjoyed every second of the upbeat, feel-good track of 2011.  After belting All In White to an overly content audience and performing another couple of tracks, the set ended with If You Wanna, leaving the crowd chanting for more.

The encore consisted of Bad Mood, Wolf Pack and Norgaard. With Bad Mood creating a darker atmosphere than the one they ended with, Wolf Pack successfully restored the upbeat style that The Vaccines are known for. Norgaard was the strongest track of the encore, ensuring that every single person in the hall was on their feet dancing or jumping, singing along to the quirky, original lyrics. Overall, The Vaccines gave an incredible performance and left the audience more than satisfied with what they received.