SAINT ETIENNE + PENELOPE TRAPPES – THE OLD MARKET, HOVE 27.11.21
A bitingly cold day and the frustration of watching Brighton & Hove Albion play well but fail to score against Leeds earlier in the day meant it was a good time to have a long-awaited local Saint Etienne gig lined up for this evening, something I had been looking forward to for a while.
After hearing their first single on Radio 1, a cover of Neil Young’s ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’ (with vocals by Moira Lambert), I’ve been following this band for almost its entire 30 years. I remember queuing at the much lamented Rounder Records in Brighton Square for a copy of their debut release ‘Foxbase Alpha’ in 1991 which quickly became and remains one of my all-time favourite albums. Drawing on influences from the house scene at the time, but with a retro 60’s twist, the album remains a classic to this day. It’s almost impossible to believe that three decades have passed since then to their appearance at the atmospheric Old Market in Hove this evening on the final night of their current tour.
I had last seen Saint Etienne at their gigs in 2018 and 2019 which were at the British Library and Barbican in London, so it was great to see them back on our doorstep in Sussex. Although singing personnel have varied slightly on certain songs, the core of the band remains the same to this day, the triumvirate of Bob Stanley, Hove-based Pete Wiggs and singer Sarah Cracknell. Tonight the band lined up as a versatile 8-piece with regular backing singer ‘Debsy’ sharing the vocal duties with Sarah and various members of the band playing different instruments, which really showcased their versatility.
The tour is in support of their latest offering ‘I’ve Been Trying To Tell You’, an album which was finished in the lockdown period with Bob, Pete and Sarah in separate locations scattered around the country. The album is heavily influenced by the late 90’s and early 00’s when New Labour carried all before them and the twin towers changed people’s perception of the world. Heady stuff, yet this is a reminiscent album with the band returning us to a time when life seemed simpler and thus sounds much more like an earlier Saint Etienne album, with samples, dubs and sound loops combining with dreamy vocals. I think it’s their best work for a while.
The lights dimmed to the delicate sometimes lo-fi sound of ‘Music Again’ (the first track from the new album which heavily samples ‘Love Of A Lifetime’ by Honeyz) allowed to play out with the band absent from the stage before their rapturous arrival, all dressed in black (save Sarah’s sparkly silver jacket) at the end of the track.
Against a backdrop of evocative films and images, the set called on a mixture of their classics from different decades and in fact, we only heard two more offerings from the new album, ‘Fonteyn’ and ‘Penlop’, influenced by the Lighthouse Family and Lightning seeds, particularly redolent of the era the band have tried to capture.
All in all, it was an enjoyable performance with Sarah and Debsy on great form vocally. My personal highlights of the night being ‘Split Screen’, ‘Girl VII’, ‘Heart Failed’ and ‘Nothing Can Stop Us’. A double-encore culminated in the best track of the night for me and one I hadn’t heard played live for years, the beautiful 1992 release ‘Avenue’, the video for which was filmed on Brighton beach by the then young band, so this track was the the perfect place to finish their nostalgic set and indeed tour.
Saint Etienne setlist:
‘Music Again’ (walk-on track)
‘Like A Motorway’
‘Mario’s Cafe’
‘Split Screen’
‘Girl VII’
‘Magpie Eyes’
‘Who Do You Think You Are’
‘Heart Failed (In the Back Of A Taxi)’
‘Spring’
‘Fonteyn’
‘Penlop’
‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’
‘Tonight’
‘Sylvie’
‘Nothing Can Stop Us’
(encore 1)
‘Her Winter Coat’
‘He’s On The Phone’
(encore 2)
‘Avenue’
Support for this evening came from talented Brighton-based Australian Penelope Trappes, replete in a striking vintage nursing dress who treated us to a very intimate and ethereal set of minimalist electronica set against her haunting vocals (think Cocteau Twins, Mazzy Star).
The performance was very well received by the appreciative crowd and received warm applause at the end.
Check out Penelope Trappes HERE.
