‘VARIOUS ARTISTS’ – ‘HIDDEN HERD ALL-DAYER’, GREEN DOOR STORE, BRIGHTON 6.7.24
Last Saturday saw local promotor Hidden Herd’s second All-Dayer event of the year at the Green Door Store in Brighton championing new up and coming bands. (You can read our review of their March event HERE. Saturday’s exciting and varied lineup featured: Adult DVD, Bishopskin, Currls, Trip Westerns, Fräulein, Ladylike, Vanity Fairy, Room Service and The Stanford Family Band.
THE STANFORD FAMILY BAND
GREEN DOOR STORE 13:15 – 13:45
Opening the day’s entertainment were Brighton based five piece The Stanford Family Band who dropped their debut 12″ six track ‘For Your Listening Pleasure’ EP on Goo Records back on 5th April. Their pleasant, charmingly old-fashioned sound had a catchy take on 1950’s and 60’s pop. ‘Make My Day’ (from the aforementioned EP) had a mellow 1960s feel with its jangly guitars, whereas ‘Nothing Like Something’ (also found on the EP) had a faster rockabilly sound with a country twang. They closed their opening set with a lively number ‘No My Holiday’ which is the closing tune from their EP. The Stanford Family Band’s vintage pop with its nostalgia and warmth was well received by those in early at the Green Door Store.
www.instagram.com/thestanfordfamilyband
ROOM SERVICE (Find photos on our sister website HERE)
GREEN DOOR STORE 14:15 – 14:55
The tempo picked up with the next band, who were the exciting Brighton six-piece, Room Service. Given the band’s make up of three French people and equal parts Texan, Brit and Portuguese, it was no surprise that their experimental sound was a mix up of different genres and influences.
They kicked off with a good catchy pop song, followed by a moodier number which also had a good funky jazz feel. Their third song was more of a Latin rhythm. Their set was a set of two halves (a strict running order meant no extra time or penalties). Before their next song, they announced “Here’s the high energy part of the set”. ‘No exceptions’ was a punchier and dancier song. ‘Figure It Out’ had a real sense of fun. The interplay between the two lead vocalists Helena Marchand and Nez Garcia worked well on this song as throughout their set. Helena announced the next song as being “about my favourite type of dog”. It was ‘Hot Dog’, a lively rock n roll sound which reminded me of The B52s at times. The next tune was introduced as “about an action star from Belgium”. The funk glam rock track called ‘JCVD’ was their homage to Jean-Claude Van Damme. Their lively fun set got a great reception from the crowd.
VANITY FAIRY
GREEN DOOR STORE 15:15 – 15:45
If there was an award for outfit of the day, Vanity Fairy would have won it easily with her dazzling gold dress come massive poncho. Vanity Fairy performed solo to a backing track. She started the music with ‘Sentimental Lover’ which was a hi-energy ABBA-like disco soundtrack. From the start and throughout, Vanity Fairy had some extravagant Kate Bush-like dance moves. She would crouch down and reemerge as if a butterfly from a cocoon with her dress like the butterfly’s wings. ‘He Can Be Your Lady’, from her debut EP ‘Love From Above’, was delivered like a cabaret diva hitting those high notes so well. ‘Vanity’s Dream’ had a synth disco sound and was accompanied by smoke effects. This was the first time during the day, when a singer left the stage to perform in the audience. Vanity Fairy even disappeared into the bar area of the Green Door Store for a few seconds before dramatically reemerging through the curtain. Returning to the stage, she thanked the audience for “parting like the Red Sea” for her.
She was almost apologetic, announcing her next song as “… not a dance song, let’s get it out the way as you’re itching to dance.” That slower tune did allow her shimmering vocal falsetto to shine. After showering the audience with her business cards styled as playing cards, ‘Love Of My Life’ took the bpm back up. Her latest single ‘Top Of The Pops’ was to be the last song of her set, as her chat meant she was over-running. So unfortunately, her set was one song short. ‘Top Of The Pops’ was a mellower number which had the feel of a 1970’s disco crossed with a US cop show theme tune from that era. It had another amazing vocal, which she sang unaccompanied at the end holding the long and high notes wonderfully. Deservedly Vanity Fairy got a great reception for her captivating fun set, which sparkled as brightly as her outfit.
LADYLIKE (Find photos on our sister website HERE)
GREEN DOOR STORE 16:15 – 16:45
By contrast to the previous act, Ladylike were very understated allowing their music to do all the talking. Ladylike offered an innovative blend of folk, post-rock and psychedelia that was uniquely their own. Without any announcement Ladylike started their set with an instrumental. It started rather quietly with Spencer Withey on synth and singer Georgia Butler strumming on guitar, and gradually got louder as they were joined by Archie Sagers on bass and James Ely on drums.
There was a low key almost understated nature about both Georgia’s vocals and the band’s sound in general. Her quality vocals fitted the cleverly crafted soundscapes perfectly. Georgia played a lot of the set with her back to the audience, yet still held their attention. On one of the earlier songs in the set, Georgia’s vocals reminded me a little of Kate Bush singing “rolling the ball” on ‘Them Heavy People’ from ‘The Kick Inside’.
‘Southbound’, the band’s debut single. was a livelier song which had a Cocteau Twins sound and was more assertive in its multilayered structure. The final two tracks of a remarkable set were introduced as “a couple of new ones”. ‘Concrete’ built to a wonderful wall of sound. The closing number ‘Sour Carol, I’ had a more ethereal start. Spencer on synth added to the song’s atmospheric feel, while Georgia’s vocals took on more of a folk style. The guitars later seamlessly broke through to take the lead from the atmospheric synth beautifully.
Fitting in with the feel of the set, it closed with Georgia simply saying “Thank you. Have a good day.” Ladylike have really developed their sound well since I last saw them. It was as if they’ve been listening to the likes of Slowdive, without copying them to create their own sound. Ladylike’s beautifully crafted, almost understated, performance was my personal highlight of the day.
FRÄULEIN
GREEN DOOR STORE 17:15 – 17:45
Next up were 90s-flavoured alt rock duo Fräulein, who are Joni Samuels on guitar and vocals, and Karsten Van der Tol on drums. There was no gentle introduction to their set, going straight into ‘Three’. Their opening number was a loud quiet song built around Joni’s impressive and often screamed vocals. ‘Belly’ showed a darker, almost sinister, side to Fräulein’s sound, while ‘Feels Like Flying’ had a slower softer sound in the ‘Night’ part of the mashup. At times it was just Joni singing accompanied only by her guitar.
Fräulein didn’t waste any time during their set, even when Joni swapped and retuned her guitar between songs, Karsten played impressive drum solos to keep the crowd engaged. Towards the end of their set Joni checked how long they had remaining. There was no messing around as they took on the challenge of fitting their final 3 songs into 9 minutes. The first of these 3, ‘Golden Boy’ had an artier feel. Pressed for time due to a few technical issues with Joni’s pedalboard, the last song ‘Pruning’ was introduced with “We’re going to do it quickly.” For me, they saved their best track until the end. Tight musically, ‘Pruning’ showcased Joni’s range of vocals, which at times she sang through gritted teeth adding even more emotion.
Fräulein announced during their set, that it would be a while before they’d be back in Brighton. After their forthcoming support for The Kills, they’ll be taking a well-deserved break from relentless touring. Based on the reception from the Green Door store crowd, I and many will be eagerly waiting for their return to the city.
TRIP WESTERNS (Find photos on our sister website HERE)
GREEN DOOR STORE 18:15 – 18:55
Fast-rising rock ’n’ roll band Trip Westerns gave a great performance with their exciting combination of psych, surf, sun-soaked 60s R&B and garage rock. Lead singer Harrison’s Stetson gave a clue to the band’s country and western influence. This was confirmed as he played harmonica on their first song ‘Alive’. A psychedelic twist gave this and many of their songs a distinctive and modern sound. Their second song ‘Free Mind’ had a more rock instrumental break, while ‘Showdown’ could have been on a spaghetti western film soundtrack.
Standing in for their regular drummer, Ellis-D, was Jed Johnson, who incidentally plays drums for Ellis-D. It was a great performance on the back of only a few hours practice at late notice. One of the band quipped, “We don’t even know who he is.” Jed’s wife, who was in the crowd, was lightning quick replying “That’s my husband!”
After ‘False Start’ with a harmonica and its psychedelic feel, Harrison announced “Time to take it down a little bit. If you’re here with a friend, give them a hug.” That slower number ‘Harrys’ worked well with Harrison’s storytelling vocal delivery. Declaring “let’s boogie” indicated a tempo change with ‘No Clues Blues’. Trip Westerns closed with what I thought was the best song of their set ‘Blame Charlie’. It started with a great guitar psychedelic intro, which got progressively livelier. So fast that Harrison’s Stetson fell off, as he moved around singing and dancing. The song was brought back down before and an impressive frenzied crescendo. Judging by the dancing and cheering, Trip Western’s lively entertaining set went down very well with the crowd.
CURRLS
GREEN DOOR STORE 19:15 – 19:45
Brighton trio Currls of Holly Deanna (vocals and guitar), Hannah Websdale (drums) and Jack Smith (bass) started with an announcement that it was to be Jack’s last show with the band.
Two things were clear straight from the opening line “I know a girl, but we don’t know her name…” of their first track ‘Honey’. Firstly, Holly has a powerful voice, and secondly, this was going to be a very fast set. That fast pace was set by Hannah on drums, as if challenging the guitarists to keep up. As with many tracks, ‘Nerve’ had a fast heavy bass line from Jack.
During their song about Joy Division, ‘Transmission’, Holly had problems with her guitar. Without interrupting the flow of the song, Jack flawlessly stepped in on the vocals as he and Hannah continued the song. With Holly’s guitar fixed, next up was a short sharp song ‘Throwback’ followed by a relatively slower loud quiet number ‘Cruel’. ‘Family Man’, as most of the set, was played at breakneck speed. So when Holly asked the sound desk, if they had time for one or two songs, you just knew Currls would fit both songs in. Those last two songs were their first two releases, ‘Let Down’, followed by ‘April Fool’, which had virtually everybody dancing.
Currls also delivered another great fun fast set on Saturday evening. Jack will be missed at Currls live shows; not just as a bassist, but also his big personality, and, dare I say, his jokes between songs.
BISHOPSKIN (Find photos on our sister website HERE)
GREEN DOOR STORE 20:15 – 20:45
After Bishopskin’s stunning and thoroughly unique performance, I was asked “Wow, how are you going to describe that?” Here goes.
Bishopskin’s distinctive sound, or more accurately sounds, brought together folk, blues and punk. They crafted those with religious, tribal and mystical styles from much earlier eras to add an almost mediaeval primal feel to their eclectic sound.
The seven piece band Bishopskin opened with ‘Hey Little Sister’ from their debut album. Evident from the start was the charismatic stage presence of the lead singer Tiger Nicholson. Also clear was how well the vastly different vocal styles of Tiger and fellow vocalist Tati Gutteridge worked. This was a key feature throughout a musically varied set. Their second song ‘Profit’ had a tribal new age sound with a good bass line.
Tiger started ‘I Was Born On An Island’ with solo chanting, as the rest of the band sat on the stage floor before joining in a capella tribal chanting in a round. The drums joined as Tiger switched to pained shouted lyrics as the rest continued their chanting. This song went straight into ‘Born’ which had a mystical feel with Tati’s clarinet and Hana Miyagi’s violin to the fore. ‘Mother’s Steel Bike’ was an upbeat number, with Tati’s beautiful soaring vocals more prominent. This had not just Tiger dancing, but many in the crowd. ‘Worship’ a slower number showcased another side of Tiger’s vocals with a sweetness and later a spoken delivery. ‘Ave Maria’ started with a jazz feel before sounding more religious. The interplay between Tati’s choral vocals and Tiger’s more direct style and how they switch the lead from one to the other was spectacular.
Bishopskin’s distinctive set charmed the crowd at Hidden Herd’s All Dayer keeping them transfixed through its wonderful unique blend of styles from modern and by-gone eras.
ADULT DVD
GREEN DOOR STORE 21:15 – 21:45
Leeds dance-rock outfit Adult DVD closed Saturday’s Hidden Herd All Dayer with their indie and acid house floor-fillers built around driving synths, and equally catchy guitar riffs. From the start of their opening dark synth dance track, lead vocalist Harry Hanson sang from the very edge of the stage. Well, it was rather crowded behind him with their array of keyboards and synths. Harry had a great rapport with the crowd. When he went from one side of the stage to the other over monitors, it was almost like tightrope walking along the narrow gap.
Many were dancing from the very first notes, several no doubt remembering Adult DVD’s show at The Prince Albert earlier in the year. ‘7 O’clock Warning’ had a heavy bass and drum sound cleverly overlayed with fast higher synths parts, while ‘Hot Step’ had a more hi-energy disco sound with great bass lines before more of an Ibiza club feel.
‘Do Something’ from their forthcoming EP was a great dance track. ‘Doomsday Prepper’, which was only released the previous Wednesday, featured some great synth effects and percussion. As a departure from their own material, they played ‘Role Models’, which they had remixed for fellow Leeds band Treeboy & Arc. Harry joked, “If you don’t like the lyrics, they’re not ours.” It reminded me a little of 1990’s Liverpool band The Farm.
Adult DVD closed their highly danceable and thoroughly entertaining set, and the event as a whole, with ‘Bill Murry’. During this closing number singer Harry jumped on the shoulders of an unsuspecting member of the audience and sang part of the track aloft amongst the crowd. At the end he simply said “That was pretty good” which was the understatement of the day. Adult DVD rightly got one of the loudest receptions at the Green Door Store I’ve heard in a while.
If you want to discover even more exciting emerging artists, ones-to-watch and hidden gems, Hidden Herd’s twice monthly events have become the place to go. Get yourself along to their evenings at The Hope and Ruin and The Prince Albert.
