Lovegods play rare Brighton concert

THE LOVEGODS – BRIGHTON FOLKLORE ROOMS, BRIGHTON 18.6.2

Formerly Brighton based, The Lovegods were the great ‘should’ve been’ band of the mid noughties. They were a great live band with superb material who ground to a sudden halt circa 2007 when Australian vocalist and co-songwriter Nadeah Miranda’s visa expired. She was not permitted to renew her visa and was (in her own words) “kicked out of the country”. Since then, she has been based in Paris where she has concentrated on modelling, singing with Nouvelle Vague, and her own not unimpressive solo career. On top of that there has been occasional Lovegods activity, of which tonight’s show at The Folklore Rooms on Brighton is an example. Oh, and Nadeah has become a mother as well.

Tonight’s version of The Lovegods is a little different to that of sixteen years ago. Then The Lovegods were a hard-rocking proposition that seemingly effortlessly laid venues to waste the length and breadth of the UK. Now there is no rhythm section, although former bassist Tim is in the audience. The Lovegods tonight consist of Nadeah and guitarist and co-songwriter Art Menuteau. There is no support act, so Nadeah opens proceedings solo with ‘Whatever Lovers Say’, which features some nice choppy guitar. Nadeah plays a lot of guitar tonight, which I don’t remember her doing before. This short two song section is concluded with ‘Song I Just Wrote’, which was written in North Carolina after Nadeah had been “kicked out of the UK”. It features some delicate fingerpicking, and is rudely interrupted by a motorcycle outside, much to Nadeah’s (and everyone else’s) amusement. There is lots of witty repartee between, and even during, songs. This carries on all evening, and adds to the feeling of informal intimacy.

Art then joins Nadeah. There is a setlist on stage, but that is abandoned in favour of the audience pulling the names of songs out of a hat! More interestingly, the songs in the hat are a mixture of Lovegods and Nadeah solo songs. What fun!!! So next up we get ‘Scary Carol’, which is a solo song from the ‘Venus Gets Even’ album. The verses are spoken, and the song finishes with a rendition of ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’ sung in a Scottish accent. Let it be said that there is absolutely nothing normal about tonight’s gig, which is a compliment incidentally! For ‘Stand’ a lady in the audience supplies the harmony. ‘Like U Do’ is the first Lovegods classic of the evening. Even with just the two of them it still really rocks, with Art playing the lead on acoustic guitar. This really is a testament to the quality of the song, as this is a completely different rendition, yet the song loses none of its power.

‘Such A Star’ is inspired by The X Factor. Nadeah gets the audience to scream as if she’s playing in an arena, not a venue with a capacity of 60 people! The verses have a real Mink DeVille groove. The song appears to be about somebody in a mental healthcare institution with delusions of grandeur, or is possibly musing on the effects of fame, or maybe a bit of both! The next song out of the bag is ‘Ordinary Colours’ from Nadeah’s ‘While The Heart Beats…’ album. Nadeah says that she doesn’t really know this, but she’ll do it anyway while Art changes a string. She needn’t worry as she gets prompts from the audience! The song is quite dark, and appears to be about drug addiction.

‘For My Eyes’ is a Lovegods song and marks Art’s return from grappling with his broken string. It’s quite a delicate song, and Nadeah dedicates it to Art. ‘On And On’ is another Lovegods classic, and the audience joins in. It’s one of the first songs Art and Nadeah wrote when she was eighteen. For the classic ‘Broken Tongue’ Art actually stands up! From that they go straight into ‘14 Hours’, and then ‘Mississippi’. This song is almost a microcosm of the whole set, as there is lots of light and shade, and it is a prime example of the dynamic range of their material: from being so quiet that a pin could drop and be heard, to a mind blowingly thunderous roar, often within one song, as indeed it is here.

As the bag begins another tour of the audience, Nadeah suggests that the remaining three songs are taken out at once, saying “oh! They leave their three best songs till last! How original!!!” And so it is, for in short order along comes ‘Sadie Mercedes’, ‘Heroin’, and ‘Magic Fairy Butterfly’. Are they the best songs of the evening? Possibly, but there is an awful lot of competition. What is striking is how well the Lovegods songs and Nadeah’s solo material fit together. This has been a two hour show with no dip in quality. There are not many artists who can match that, which makes it even more laughable that The Lovegods and Nadeah are so little known. They almost redefine the term ‘under-appreciated’. They are playing a free show in Paris on Friday, but after that? Who knows. I believe that Nadeah is returning to Australia for a while after the next two shows in France, but I could be wrong. Whatever, I hope it’s not too long before she and Art return for more shows on these shores.

The Lovegods can be found on Bandcamp.

nadeah.com