(Review by Keir Shields)
THEE SACRED SOULS + CINNAMON GUN – BRIGHTON CENTRE 15.7.26
In 1966, while England were celebrating their first World Cup win, Motown and Stax were on top of the world, pumping out the likes of ‘Try A Little Tenderness’ or ‘This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You)’. By 1978, Stax had gone, but Motown was thriving with The Commodores and Rick James, while England didn’t qualify for the World Cup, Argentina won for the first time. Nearly five decades later, Daptone is flying the flag for nostalgia with Thee Sacred Souls’ warm and viral soul revival, while their Brighton Centre show clashes directly with England and Argentina’s semi-final.
With a DJ set from Soystrene 25 scheduled to start from doors opening, his set of ‘sophisticated soul and funk’ is pulled due to the equipment being “f*cked” (in his own words), and we’re met on entry with a clear ‘This is Soul’ Spotify playlist, hastily found at the last minute. Instead, opening up proceedings is Cinnamon Gum – the project of Polish multi-instrumentalist Maciej Milewski, raised on the same steady diet of ‘born-in-the-wrong decade’ as tonight’s headliner, with Alejandro Garcia discovering him.
Milewski and co enter the stage, to the pre-recorded sleaziness of the announcement “Some soulful vibes… please welcome Cinnamon Gum.” Across 40 minutes, Cinnamon Gum provides exactly what you’d expect in a Thee Sacred Souls support slot. From the floating overdrive of ‘Cinnamon Guy’ to the sensual lilt of ‘That’s All’, Milewski’s band are well versed in 70s funk, down to the smoky half-spoken vocals in the vein of Isaac Hayes. There’s a slight jukebox feel, these influences worn openly, with the Wurlitzer popping up on the mild psychedelia of ‘It’s Alright.’ A support slot starting the same time as the England semi-final was always going to be a tall order, but this is never more apparent than in the sparse upstrokes of ‘Hand Me No Lies’, the “ooos” primed for audience participation that never happens. As the room fills, Cinnamon Gum’s job seems insurmountable, yet a final duo of loving ballad ‘Mary Liz’ and the soft funk of ‘Simsalabim’ finally sees the room relinquish FOMO, and start dancing.
Cinnamon Gum:
Maciej Milewski – guitar, vocals
Dorothy and Renee – backing vocals
Tommy Jr – keys
Stan Corazon – drums
Tony – bass
Al Jacob – sound boards
Cinnamon Gum setlist:
‘Cinnamon Guy’
‘That’s All’
‘It’s Alright’
‘Hand Me No Lies’
‘Amanita’
‘Sweet Honey’
‘Let Us Fly’
‘Moon Water’
‘Mary Liz’
‘Simsalabim’
With the balconies closed, bleacher-style seats impeding halfway into standing, the room for Thee Sacred Souls still isn’t full – the football has won, but a dedicated front row has already formed. With an instrumental intro, Josh Lane arrives on stage – working the full width of the stage for the sweet, horn-bursting swing of ‘Love Comes Easy’ before the Wurlitzer-heavy, snare-hi-hat swing of ‘Lucid Girl’. With a crowd still checking SofaScore, Lane unleashes the mellow arpeggiated guitar of ‘Will I See You Again?’ to raptures from an audience, only increasing as he jumps down to greet the front row.
“We’re so grateful you chose to come see us rather than your favourite pub”, Lane states, “We’ll keep you updated on the score.” Airing another favourite, the lovelorn yet timelessly soft ‘Easier Said Than Done’ lingers in the air, with Viane’s backing vocals given their opportunity to shine. With a soft sway to the room, Lane breezes through a series of overtly affectionate tracks from the ghost-note laden ‘Lady Love’ to ‘Any Old Fool’, only stopping to emphasise, “Love is important when ICE are deporting our neighbours, and Palestinians are being bombed.” Within this run, a sea of screens briefly appears in the crowd – Argentina have equalised, and the mood has dropped. There’s a sense of misfortune and additional work to Thee Sacred Souls’ set as they have a slight uphill battle keeping an English room’s spirits up. While the loving lyrics of ‘Oh There She Is’ are hopeful, Josh Lane is at the mercy of a football match back in his home country.
Updating us on the score, he states, “It’s fitting as we’re about to play a sad song… if you have a sad memory pull it up.” The slow dance swing of resigned ‘For Now’ captures the crowd, which, while downbeat, shows Lane is reading the room and senses the wallowing needs to stay, even subtly reintroducing optimism with the yin-yang ‘On My Mind.’ Lane announces, “If you really like to dance, now is the time”, with ‘Running Away’ barrelling in with an interlock between Santilli on percussion and Garcia on drums driving the beat forward. A burst of horns is frantic, adding to a chasing pace – fittingly, Lane goes sprinting through the crowd, intent on dancing with as much of the room as possible. With people coming down from the seats to standing to groove, Lane has put a smile on the face of nearly everyone in the room: with England’s knockout confirmed, this feat is more impressive than selling out Brighton Centre.
“We can look later. Let’s stay in the moment,” Lane offers before the lights go red, and the tempo drops back down with ‘Weak For Your Love’ – showcasing a despairing falsetto over clean guitar and soft snare-based drumming. With a knock, ‘Future Lover’ echoes with call-and-response for its swaying rhythm, a final dance for the lovers before the band abruptly leaves the stage.
With slightly echoed “one more song” chants, Lane arrives back on stage first to screams – even doing a drumroll to announce the rest of the band. “It’s important to love yourself”, Lane explains, “It’s what this song is about. The more you love yourself, the more you see your neighbour, not his religion or colour”, as the conga-percussive drive of ‘Live For You’ allows one final dance. Naturally, the swaying ‘Can I Call You Rose’ ends proceedings with a shimmy and a shout of the first line, while horns punch on beat. While football definitely didn’t come home, Thee Sacred Souls did an astounding job with a reluctant audience – knowing when to let them settle into the sadness, and when a pick-me-up is needed. It’s this kind of crowd control that has the room leaving more joyous than the rest of Brighton.
Thee Sacred Souls:
Josh Lane – vocals
Alex Garcia – drums, guitar
Sal Samano – bass, drums
Viane Escobar – backing vocals
Andy De Los Santos – backing vocals
Shay Stulz – guitar
Camille Kerani – tenor saxophone
Julian Johnson – trumpet
Steven Schlosberg – trombone
Alex Santilli – percussion
Thee Sacred Souls setlist:
‘Love Comes Easy’
‘Lucid Girl’
‘Let Me Feel Your Charm’
‘Will I See You Again?’
‘Easier Said Than Done’
‘We Don’t Have To Be Alone’
‘Lady Love’
‘Love Is The Way’
‘Price I’ll Pay’
‘Any Old Fool’
‘There She Is’
‘My Heart Is Drowning’
‘For Now’
‘Somebody Knew’
‘On My Mind’
‘Running Away’
‘Weak For Your Love’
‘Future Lover’
‘Live For You’
‘Can I Call You Rose?’
