Brighton Sewers Tour, 13th May

Exploring the sewer system that runs underneath Brighton might not be everyone’s cup of tea but this tour is both exciting and interesting. The guy’s from Southern Water lead us in to a reception area underneath Palace Pier before talking us through heath and safety aspects. Rather alarmingly we listened as they gave instructions detailing the appropriate action should the sewers start filling up with water or if there was a gas leak! We were told not to touch our faces as a precaution against infections associated with raw sewage and told to keep an eye out of rats! With all that out of the way, we watched a short video giving a brief history of the Victorian sewers then proceeded to don our hard hats and gloves. Just to give you a brief idea, the clever Victorians constructed about 44 miles of circular brick tunnels under the city to carry away the sewage. This amazing feat of design will probably far out last anything we can build today! Since then various projects have been undertaken namely the construction of Europe’s largest storm water tunnel stretching for 3 miles under the seafront of Brighton and Hove. This eradicates pollution during storm conditions.

Once under ground, it was absolutely great! You’d think the smell would be unbearable but strangely, within minutes you hardly even notice it. Some of the tunnels are quite narrow and being 6ft tall, it left me with a slightly bent neck! Our guides from Southern Water were extremely knowledgeable and were on hand to answer any questions that came up. Walking through a slippery sewer in near pitch-black darkness is pretty hairy stuff but at the same time, it's quite good fun. A person’s sense of adventure quickly surfaces knowing you are walking around underneath everyone else! The tour ended with us being lead up through a manhole cover into the street much to the surprise of passers by! I can imagine that it might look quite strange, 25 people piling out of Brighton’s sewer system! Without a doubt, one of the most intriguing experiences of the festival.

Ed Bryne – Udderbelly 12th May

Funny man Ed Bryne has been making audiences all over the world laugh hysterically since his first gig in Glasgow in 1993. Tonight he’s at the Udderbelly for the Brighton Fringe. The stage is dressed only with a chair and a microphone complete with stand as the sell out crowd await his entrance. After seeing Ed on various TV shows he was high up on my list of people to see. His intelligent and witty style is bolstered by the fact he is Irish; a nation famed for being the butt of many a joke. Ed talks openly about his distaste for certain ‘celebrities’ with the attention seeking Jade Goody receiving a good battering! Posh-boy singer James Blunt also takes a verbal beating as Ed comically pulls apart his hit song ‘Beautiful’, pointing out the contradictions in the lyrics. The material starts off being fairly mild mannered but it didn’t take long before Ed brilliantly lowered the tone somewhat. The audience reacted well to this and a few obvious Brighton jokes were thrown in for good measure. A few right-wing religious groups also received a going over. Making religion a subject in a comedy show is bound to ruffle a few feathers but personally I think it makes for the perfect material! The subjects of men, women and sex were Ed’s chosen topics towards the end of the hour long set. These particular topics have been done to death over the years but somehow he manages to pull them off, something that other comics often fail to do. The air turns blue as the show reaches its climatic end and Ed leaves the stage to rapturous laughter and applause. Ed Bryne delivered an hour of hilarious comedy drawing on influences from throughout his career and the things that personally bug him. Although this was the first time I’d seen him live, I did recognize some of the jokes from his various appearances on Mock the Week. All said and done, this man will make your sides spilt.

Friday 9th – Sunday 11th May

Friday night was about to be celebrated in fine style as I readied myself for a glamorous burlesque experience. Le Scandal has already taken New York by storm attracting a wealth of A-listers through it doors and boasting sell-out shows on a nightly basis. It premiered in the UK for the first time at the start of the Brighton Fringe Festival and has proved a popular choice with festival goers. On arrival at the Udderbellys pastures, the queue was already snaking across the front of the stage and out through the main gate. I wedged myself into one of the few remaining seats seconds before we were plunged into pre-show darkness. At lights-up, we were introduced to the show then to the house band, The Gents. Upon entry kazoo’s were given out at random for audience members to join in with the band which proved for a rather interesting soundtrack! The show proceeded to throw up a variety of alternative performances turning the arena into a dreamscape. The women were stunning and the men muscle bound as Le Scandal stayed just the right side of provocative. The show has everything from unicycle mounted fire jugglers to high flying acrobats, shining up dangling drapes of white fabric like it was a walk in the park. The show was punctuated with cabaret style entertainment from host/compare Miss. Bonnie whose songs rarely deviated from the subject of sex. Not that we complained! Le Scandal is tastefully sexy and the top class acts were alluring, making eye contact with onlookers almost daring them to show some flesh. The glamorous finale saw a role reversal with about half the paying public taking to the stage dancing whilst a few of the shows scantily clad females cast themselves onto the remaining audience! This is one stylish soirée.

Saturday morning came around rather quickly with my daughter coming in and poking me in the ribs at 6:30am. I found myself in the familiar state of regret after having a few extra beers the night before. Although the day was sure to be a busy one, the evening was the only night off I’d get during May so both the sofa and the TV were calling followed by an early night! Onwards and upwards, I had an excited 3 year old looking forward to the Tim Bat Trick Show at the Brunswick. Mr. Tim Bat is a warming character and the kids in the room loved him and his visual, almost clumsy entertainment style. Dressed in a red blazer and black shorts with his socks held up with braces, he started the show with a dance routine. The show came complete with balancing acts and the juggling of assorted objects including eggs! Today was all about the kids and as the parents took a back seat, the room was full of laughter and beaming smiles. My daughter however, couldn’t hide her frustration at not being picked to go on-stage and proceeded to scowl her best scowl at Tim Bat! Come the end of the show and seemingly enlightened with what they had just seen, a heard of children bounced from the pub. It takes a brave man to entertain crowds of children and Tim Bat complete with his Trick Show pulled it off brilliantly. Enjoyed by all.

Sunday was spent lazing in the sun. After the present giving ceremony (girlfriends birthday) more lazing in the sun occurred. The evening promised possibly the only event in the festival that I was slightly unsure about, despite reassurances from friends that it was brilliant. The Ladyboy’s of Bangkok. Now, I am by no means closed minded or prejudiced in any way but I just couldn’t see that I’d enjoy this sort of show. Cabaret’s not really my thing. After arriving promptly we were shown to our table which was right at the front by the stage. This made me slightly nervous as I’d heard rumors of audience participation. I quickly noticed the happy and excited faces sitting around me and the atmosphere seemed to be rather cool. What was I worrying about? The show, as it happens, turned out to be a blast! Glamorous costumes, bad lip-syncing, great dance routines and a wonderful tongue in cheek attitude make the show what it is. As they ploughed their way through heaps of well known pop songs, people were up on their feet dancing, forming conga lines and all sorts. A few bewildered onlookers did indeed get dragged up on stage and it added to the party atmosphere nicely. I can understand that this might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I urge you to go along. I guarantee you’ll tapping your feet and clapping your hands within 10 minutes of curtain-up.

Carl Cox @ The Brighton Centre

We sent aspiring techno DJ/producer and fully fledged member of the All About team Baz Sanders, along to what potentially was going to be the largest club night on the Brighton calender. Read on for the low down.

After going out for a few pre-club drinks with friends, we got to the Brighton Centre around midnight. Being the party animal press types that we are, we neatly avoided the lengthy queue and sauntered in via the back entrance. A couple of the All About team had never been to the Brighton Centre before and to be honest I wasn’t exactly sure how it would hold up as a club venue. With hindsight, I needn’t have worried. The sound was superb and the acoustics second to none. Upon entry we headed straight onto the dance floor which was bouncing suitably. Up on the decks was the legendary Frede Le Grande who had the smash hit “Put your hands up for Detroit” in 2006. I was quite surprised, I was expecting a fair bit of cheese from Le Grande but he played really good dance music, a mixture of Electro, Breaks and Techno and a new remix of “Put your hands up for Detroit”.

Up next was the man himself, Mr. Carl Cox. The place was buzzing with anticipation and as he introduced himself on the microphone, the place erupted. He opted to lay straight into funky techno beats and the tempo of the music started getting quicker, kicking the Brighton Centre up a notch. Through out the 4 hour set, Carl was overshadowed by a giant image of his own head! He played a mixture of tunes, although it was pretty much techno all the way through. Immersing myself in the music, the 4 hours disappeared rapidly as tune after tune, the man delivered in his fine unique style whilst the obligatory lasers flashed on overhead. Unfortunately the night had to end somewhere and come 6am we were completely broken from all the Strongbow and the 6 hours of stomping insanely. Time to head home for an all important sleep.

Thursday 8th May

A busy night ahead. Finalised an interview with up and coming electro/rock specialists Late of the Pier. I ended up going down to their sound check at the Barfly which was predictably running late, pushing back my interview slot from 5pm to 6pm. Thankfully they were great lads and the conversation flowed freely. More from Late of the Pier in future issues of All About…Brighton.

After ducking home for 20 minutes and having enough time to throw a half cooked pizza down my throat it was time for a dose of comedy – or so I thought. It was my first visit of the year to the Parlure Spiegeltent which sits attractively behind St Peters church. London’s famous Headliners comedy club has come down for a stint at this year’s festival. Now I don’t know if I set my expectations to high but I have to say I was a tad disappointed. On reading the listings and I quote “renowned for consistency and quality of its lineups,” I was expecting great things. Indeed I had heard great things from the previous nights show. I think I had maybe picked the wrong night, either that or it just wasn’t to my taste. I did however notice some other negative comments from audience members. The night was compared by TV trickster Paul Zenon, who I have to say was the funniest of the lot. The other few highlights were Jordi Gunter, a German porn star who proceeded to simulate sex acts with a few very embarrassed looking female onlookers and Skate Bush, a chap dressed as Kate Bush on roller skates re-enacting the babooshka video. Expected more laughs really.

I then headed across to the Barfly to catch the Late of the Pier gig as part of the Levi’s Ones to Watch program. As expected, they raised the roof with their seemingly effortless blend of electro sounds and rock rhythms. I saw these guys on MTV with Zane Lowe the other week so keep an eye out for them. They’ll be coming back for the Great Escape Festival on the 16^th and as previously mentioned watch out for our future coverage.

An evening of theatrical entertainment

Wednesday 7^th May

Another day of brilliant sunshine! I could really get used to this! With two theatre performances to attend in the evening the day passed by pretty uneventfully, aside from the helpless feeling you get from being grounded in an predominantly glass fronted office whist the weather outside seems to be getting hotter by the second!

The first play of the evening was a one man production entitled Fear of Projection, written and performed by a chap named Drew Davies. Soap fans amongst you may recall Drew from his days in New Zealand’s longest running soap, Shortland Street. The story goes that Edward, an assistant lecturer with floored public speaking skills, is forced to take over projector duty following the death of his genius mentor. Some rather interesting emotional issues begin to surface and Edward slowly comes apart at the seams as he strives to be a successful and respected lecturer in order to impress his girl, Rosemary. The projector on the other hand, has very different ideas. Ed finds himself forging a questionable and strangely amorous relationship with the projector as it starts to communicate with him. This beautifully imaginative storyline explores our obsession with technology and at one point Drew depicts perfectly our crazy mobile phone culture. Drew portrays Ed as an accidental comic, nervously bumbling his way through life in a constant emotional battle. Despite some technical difficulties (spot the irony!) on the night, the play was uniquely compelling and a prime example of what makes the Fringe Festival so special. This one’s a true gem.

I was lucky enough to catch the premier of Power Lunch, a play written by Alan Ball of American Beauty fame. The choice of venue was the Open House pub in Springfield Road, not to be confused with the many artists’ open houses during the festival! Essentially the play is about sexual attraction and the various methods used by both sexes to gain one-upmanship. It is set in a restaurant which gradually transforms into a psychological battle ground as the main characters begin a game of flirt and resist. Both the man and the woman are successful career minded types who take lunch in a restaurant only to find themselves enthralled in an emotional tug of war fuelled by bravado and the failure by both parties to back down. During this clever rollercoaster journey their obvious sexual attraction is represented by hilarious courtship dances that had onlookers in stitches. Alan Ball’s superbly written play neatly observes both male and female tendencies in a dramatic and comical fashion. It is brought to life by Nick Warnford (Scorch Theatre) who directs as well as stars in Power Lunch. His fantastic chemistry with Australian co-star, Jett Tatttersall injects a high dose of realism which leaves you questioning your own relationships! Wonderfully impressive and brilliantly acted out.

Tuesday 6^th May

After a fabulously warm weekend, the alarm clock sounded the start of another baking day. Only trouble is its back into the office! An 11 O’clock appointment with Malcolm Campbell for a guided tour of Brighton’s famous back passages was on the cards today. Just to clear up the obvious confusion, the tour is of the many alleyway’s and passages in the older parts of our city, not as the name might suggest, a trip into Brighton’s alternative scene! With that cleared up, I went to meet a very passionate Malcolm adjacent to Brighton Town Hall. Winning a best tour of the festival award in 2005, it promised to be an interesting time. Starting in the historic lanes area, Malcolm led us down some of the little known passageways but not before giving a detailed talk which provided some great little snippets of information. The group I was in had around thirteen people in it, varying greatly from Brighton residents through to one chap travelling the UK from New Zealand. Malcolm certainly knew his stuff and I can safely say that everyone went away having learnt something new. From the lanes we headed towards the centre of town, then through some of the quaint little passageways left of Brighton station before heading down Trafalgar Street and into the north laine area. A personal highlight was the alley that has become a shine to both mods and rockers, made famous in the film Quadrophenia.

After a humid afternoon at the office I was looking forward to Still Black, Still Proud at the Brighton Dome. Admittedly I was rather excited about this one. It was a pan-continental tribute to the Godfather of soul himself, Mr. James Brown. What’s more, it was a world exclusive! The band was pulled together by two lynch-pins in the soul/funk genre, Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley. These two guys directed, and even wrote some of Browns greatest tracks and also toured extensively with him. For this particular spectacle, Pee Wee and Fred along with musicians from around the world proceeded to raise the roof afro style in what was essentially one giant house party. At times the two drum kits to the rear of the stage were manned and worked perfectly in tandem with beats coursing through the packed venue. Each brilliant musician had their turn to impress the crowd with a solo piece and I was blown away by Fred Wesley on the Trombone. I didn’t think that such a range of sound was possible on the instrument! The entire place was rocking! Other highlights included Senegalese superstar Cheikh Lo and his stunningly beautiful vocal. If you have to step out of your musical comfort zone once this year, make sure it’s for this.