THE PRISCILLAS + JOANNA & THE DROPOUTS + GRIPPER LEE – THE PRINCE ALBERT, BRIGHTON 28.11.24
It’s a chilly but dry evening as I head to The Prince Albert for tonight’s entertainment. Being a “school night” I wonder how many folks will be there. Surprisingly downstairs is packed which is a good omen. I head upstairs to the gig and at the door I have a quick chat with Andy Cavendish of ‘An Alternative Gathering’ promoters who has an uncanny act of putting on bands that really complement each other I head on in…
First band on and hailing from Bexhill/Hastings is Gripper Lee who consists of Richie Nice on vocals and bass, as well as Martyn “Gripper” Lee on drums and vocals. Tonight they welcome a brand new band member who happens to be Justin Sabin (ex UK Decay) on guitar.
Their opening track ‘End Of Days’ starts and sets the scene for an enjoyable and over too quickly set. ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ and ‘Paper-Thin Skin’ follow with Richie making the crowd laugh with his explanations of the songs. ‘Hard Yards’, ‘That Passed And So Will This’ and ‘Right On’ see the band really getting into their stride. Justin to his credit has played like he’s been in the band for years. So far the set has all been songs from the new 2024 ‘So What Do We Know?’ album. A new unreleased song ‘Look Away Now’ follows and is every bit as good as the more familiar songs and then on to the final song ‘My Train Is A Bus’ which seems more than appropriate following Richie’s public transport travel delays in getting here. The band leaves to warm applause which is thoroughly deserved.
Gripper Lee:
Richie Nice – vocals, bass guitar
Martyn ‘Gripper’ Lee – drums, vocals
Justin Saban – guitar
Gripper Lee setlist:
‘End Of Days’ (from 2024 ‘So What Do We Know?’ album)
‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ (from 2024 ‘So What Do We Know?’ album)
‘Paper-Thin Skin’ (from 2024 ‘So What Do We Know?’ album)
‘Hard Yards’ (from 2024 ‘So What Do We Know?’ album)
‘That Passed And So Will This’ (from 2024 ‘So What Do We Know?’ album)
‘Right On’ (from 2024 ‘So What Do We Know?’ album)
‘Look Away Now’ (new, unreleased)
‘My Train Is A Bus’ (from 2018 ‘End Of The World Party’ album, as Gripper Lee 3)
Next up is Joanna & The Dropouts, a local band consisting of Joanna Jacobs Trevena on lead vocals and guitar, Ross Trevena on bass and backing vocals, Charlotte Pelham on keyboard and backing vocals, and Cheryl Chitty on drums.
Surprisingly I’ve not seen them play before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I did immediately like their pink neon band sign on the keyboards. ‘George Baby’ opened followed by ‘Bad News’ and ‘Mr Honeypot’ which were well received and the band seemed to relax as they seemed a bit nervous at the start. ‘Bad At Being Good’, ‘Moving Forwards’ and ‘You’re So Cool’ were all enjoyable, as were ‘Sick In Love’ and my personal favourite ‘Miss Frankenstein’. This just left just two songs to end with, these being ‘Sticks And Stones’ and ‘Sold Your Soul’. My verdict? Definitely a band to go and see again! Some good backing vocals and the keyboard helped the songs no end. Again, there was deserved warm applause.
Joanna & The Dropouts:
Joanna Jacobs Trevena – vocals, guitar
Ross Trevena – bass, backing vocals
Charlotte Pelham – keys, backing vocals
Cheryl Marie Chitty – drums
Joanna & The Dropouts setlist:
‘George, Baby!’ (a 2019 single)
‘Bad News’ (a 2021 single)
‘Mr Honey Pot’ (from 2018 ‘Leopard Spots & Polkadots’ EP)
‘Bad At Being Good’ (a 2019 single)
‘Moving Forwards’ (from 2024 ‘Joanna & The Dropouts’ EP)
‘You’re So Cool’ (a 2022 single)
‘Sick In Love’ (a 2020 single)
‘Miss Frankenstein’ (unreleased)
‘Sticks And Stones’ (unreleased)
‘Sold Your Soul’ (from 2024 ‘Joanna & The Dropouts’ EP)
Well so far so good, a decent size crowd in and everyone in good spirits with Gripper Lee and Joanna & The Dropouts getting quite a few dancing.
It’s now time for tonight’s headliners The Priscillas who I saw at the Barn in Portsmouth at least 10 years ago and due to probable inebriation coupled with old age memory loss I can’t remember anything at all, though Jen the singer does stir a spark of recognition. The rest of the band are Valkyrie on guitar and vocals, Taylor on bass and vocals and Jola on drums.
Starting off with ‘Mystical Shit’, ‘Oh Keiko’ and ‘(All The Way To) Holloway’, they look like they’re enjoying themselves and the crowd are certainly enjoying them. ‘The Dream’, ‘Fly In My Drink’ and the wonderfully titled ‘TFL Chris (Didn’t Know Liberace Was Gay)’ sees an increase in the dancing and Jen having a walkabout among the crowd. ‘Out Of Your Mind’, ‘Y.O.Y’ and brand new ecology warning single ‘Plastic’, which drops tonight at midnight, are all impressively delivered songs.
Jen is off into the crowd again during their ‘Angela’ composition and then we sadly learn that it was their penultimate number. The Priscillas bring the evening to a close with ‘One Christmas Wish’ which came out last year.
The time seemed to fly by for the Priscillas set, which consisted of great songs and excellent harmonies on the vocals as well. From this evening, myself and the other punters present can take away a couple of memorable things. Firstly guitarist Valkyrie almost falling over the drums and showing great reactions to stay on her feet and not destroy the kit! And secondly Gripper Lee reciprocating with a bottle of wine for the band during their set after The Priscillas had brought them a pint during theirs. It’s great seeing bands get on like that. All in all a smashing evening and at £10 entry exceedingly good value.
The Priscillas:
Jenny Drag – lead vocals, tambourine
Valkyrie – guitars, backing vocals
Taylor – bass, backing vocals
Jola – drums
The Priscillas setlist:
‘Mystical Shit’ (unreleased)
‘Oh Keiko’ (from 2009 ‘10,000 Volts’ album)
‘(All The Way To) Holloway’ (from 2009 ‘10,000 Volts’ album)
‘The Dream’ (a 2024 single)
‘Fly In My Drink’ (from 2009 ‘10,000 Volts’ album)
‘TfL Chris Didn’t Know Liberace Was Gay’ (unreleased)
‘Out Of Your Mind’ (unreleased)
‘Y.O.Y.’ (from 2009 ‘10,000 Volts’ album)
‘Plastic’ (a 2024 single)
‘Technology’ (unreleased)
‘Angela’ (a 2023 single)
‘One Christmas Wish’ (a 2023 single)
