THE ZUTONS + CASINO – CHALK, BRIGHTON 22.4.24
It was a brisk walk along the Brighton seafront on this sleepy Monday night, as I made my way to one of the city’s best up and coming venues going by the name of ‘Chalk’. The sea was a nice shade of blue around the West Pier, with an ominous topping of moody sky above it, but nothing was about to dampen the spirits of the assembled fans of The Zutons this evening. It must have been as far back as 2004 since my wife and I caught The Zutons in a live setting, so tonight was a long time coming.
‘Who Killed……..The Zutons?’ was the name of the band’s debut album (released way back in 2004), and it was the question on many people’s lips tonight, as The Zutons were all set to play Brighton as part of their first tour in 16 years. It is a fact that is hard to process, as it doesn’t seem that long ago since they were strutting their stuff at the forefront of the UK’s indie scene. They’ve taken a few bumps along the way (as most band’s do) but it’s great to see the band back where they belong, performing and writing their own particular brand of storytelling Rock n’ Roll in their own unique soulful way.
Hailing from Liverpool, they formed in 2001 and honed their music by playing all over the country, before releasing their first album (as mentioned above) to appreciative fans and music critics alike. My wife had this album on heavy rotation at the time, so I was going to get familiar with the songs whether I liked it or not. This particular album was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize at the time too, so you could say they had made a big splash in the music world at the time. Their second album (‘Tired Of Hanging Around’) was also very well received, and featured one of their most well known songs by the name of ‘Valerie’ (It was also made famous by a certain Amy Winehouse, even though, I preferred The Zutons version personally). Shortly after releasing their third album (‘You Can Do Anything’) in 2009, they decided to disband with no official statement made, which makes this recent reformation all the more intriguing.
They are now back with a bang though, with the forthcoming release of their new album, ‘The Big Decider’ on the horizon (out on April 26th) of which lead singer/guitarist Dave McCabe has recently likened to their first album, in regards to the fun they have had recording and performing it. The lead off singles from the album have also passed the litmus test amongst fans, already garnering plenty of radio airplay. The line-up nowadays consists of core members Dave McCabe (singer/songwriter/guitar), Abi Harding (saxophone) and Sean Payne (drums) plus Jay Lewis (guitar/backing vocals), Neil Bradley (keyboards/percussion/backing vocals) and Tim Cunningham (bass guitar).
By the time the band took to the stage tonight, the venue was well and truly busy with an audience already warmed up nicely by fellow Liverpool band and touring partners, Casino (More on them later…). It was an early start and early finish tonight, so the headliners were onstage by 8.20pm which is normally the time that the support band are getting ready to spring into action (I’m not complaining mind you, as this old git had work in the morning). The backing tape warm up music started to get louder to the strains of Barry White, followed by ‘Hi-Ho Silver Lining’ which got the crowd’s vocal chords warmed up for the long singalong ahead of them. An introduction rang out over the P.A system, telling us to leave our worries at the door and before we knew it, The Zutons were all present and correct onstage and blasting out their anthem, ‘Zuton Fever’. The first thing I noticed was the sheer volume of the band’s sound as they played their hearts out with gusto, and with energy only surpassed by a recent Jim Jones Allstars gig we went to in October at The Con Club in Lewes (Review HERE). It was safe to say that The Zutons were on fire tonight and were not about to take any prisoners.
They were then straight into a song called ‘Confusion’ from their first album that almost had a Pink Floyd style intro, followed by another early number by the name of ‘Don’t Ever Think (Too Much)’ which saw the crowd chanting and Abi Harding putting down her saxophone briefly in favour of the maracas. Tonight was mainly about the new album, so next up was the title track going by the name of ‘The Big Decider’ which saw Dave McCabe switch from his electric guitar to an acoustic one. It wasn’t long before crowd pleaser ‘Pressure Point’ got an airing, accompanied by a funky clavinet keyboard intro to keep our feet moving. The band were in full flow at this point and Dave McCabe proclaimed “Can it really be 16 years since we last played in Brighton?” with a look of disbelief across his face. A similar look probably spread over the audience’s faces too as they wondered where all those precious years had gone. For the record their last Brighton gig was at Brighton Dome on 6th December 2008. The Zutons then treated the crowd to their first hit single (‘Why Won’t You Give Me Your Love’) followed by a few more from the forthcoming album. The new tunes seemed to go down well with the audience too, and there were quite a few people who seemed to know the words, which is no mean feat as the album isn’t due out till Friday (April 26th).
Jay Lewis on guitar (spotted in the East Street Tap pub earlier on, trivia fans) seemed to have a great rapport with the drummer Sean Payne, as they played those songs as if there was no tomorrow. The same can be said for Abi Harding, who played a mean saxophone (setting The Zutons songs apart in many ways) whilst still managing to somehow stay upright in high heels. Dave McCabe’s distinctive vocals and cheeky charm also shone through, and all delivered from a burgundy tracksuit that some would probably kill for. A new song called ‘Best Of Me’ was a stripped down one, and Sean Payne stepped from behind his drum throne to join the rest of the band in vocal harmonies (complete with tambourine) for the set’s intimate moment. Before I knew it, the band launched into ‘Valerie’ which had the whole crowd singing and eating out of their palms, truly showing what a pop classic that song really is. There was a bit of banter from the crowd at times, which Dave McCabe handled very well. There was even one person that kept shouting “More!” in between every song, even though they were nowhere near an encore. He should have been careful on what he wished for though, as we were now sadly approaching the last few songs of the night.
‘Creeping On The Dancefloor’ was up next and this is my favourite pick of the new songs. It has great rolling drum beat that gets us in the groove, and Dave McCabe’s guitar line really reminds me of Sly Stone’s ‘Thank You (Faletinme Be Mice Elf Agin)’ in its delivery, which I’m sure he won’t mind me saying as Sly is one of his major influences (or so I’ve read). Another crowd pleaser was up next in the form of the earworm, ‘You Will You Won’t’ which had the crowd chanting along with the band to good effect. Dave McCabe and the band said their goodbyes to the big crowd gathered here tonight and they all seemed genuinely pleased with the reception they received. They played one last tune though, called ‘Zutons Reprise’ which saw the whole band wigging out onstage (even more than the crowd), and leaving us with a chant that was duly stuck in our heads for the rest of the evening (along with the whistling in my ears. No-one told me that Motorhead had come back as an indie band?). The Curtain was called and the band bowed from the stage as the last piece of stray confetti floated to the floor, leftover from the night before. A great time was had by all, and something tells me that it won’t be another 16 years until the next time. Tonight was all about ‘The Big Decider’ for the band, but I can safely say that The Zutons reigned victorious in Brighton this evening, with no penalty shoot-outs required.
The Zutons:
Dave McCabe – singer/songwriter/guitar
Abi Harding – saxophone
Sean Payne – drums
Jay Lewis – guitar/backing vocals
Neil Bradley – keyboards/percussion/backing vocals
Tim Cunningham – bass guitar
The Zutons setlist:
‘Zuton Fever’
‘Confusion’
‘Don’t Ever Think (Too Much)’
‘The Big Decider’
‘Pressure Point’
‘Why Won’t You Give Me Your Love?’
‘Pauline’
‘Dirty Dancehall’
‘Best Of Me’
‘Rise’
‘Hello Conscience’
‘Disappear’
‘Valerie’
‘Remember Me’
‘Creeping On The Dancefloor’
‘You Will You Won’t’
‘Zuton Fever Reprise’
The support band tonight were called ‘Casino’ and are also based in Liverpool. They are named after the legendary venue in Wigan no less, and are self described as a Motown/Stax Soul melting pot with a dash of Northern Soul thrown in for good measure (or ‘The bastard sons of Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding’. Take your pick). That description alone was enough to pique my interest, so I made sure I was present and correct and stage front for their set tonight.
The band began their set with ‘Love Go On’ and it was evident from the start that these guys could definitely play. Northern Soul was definitely featured heavily in their songs D.N.A and they were all the more catchy for it. The second song called ‘Heaven’ had a disco feel to it and the third song boasted some funky drummer technique in its delivery (ala James Brown). This particular song had more of an 80’s Soul style (complete with Hammond Organ solo), which sounded mighty fine to these ears. We also noticed that Abi Harding from The Zutons was watching them from the back of the stage too, which was nice to see. ‘Stay Awhile’ had a more modern RnB sound, complete with handclaps and impressive falsetto singing from Dillon Kelly who had a voice way beyond his years. ‘Let Me Down’ had almost a surf guitar line running through it, and by the end of their set, the room was full to capacity. I would say a very good choice for The Zutons tour support and a band to certainly watch out for.
Casino:
Dillon Kelly – vocals
Jamie Wild – drums
Anton Jackson – bass guitar
Oliver Stone – keyboards
Tom Donoghue – guitar
Casino setlist:
‘Love Go On’
‘Heaven’
‘Visions’
‘A Little Peace’
‘Father I Stand’
‘Stay A While’
‘Let Me Down’
‘Fever’
‘Back In The Day’
