BUGBEAR + CORDELIA GARTSIDE + RHIANNON RUTHVEN + PHOEBE AUSTIN – PINK MOON, BRIGHTON 12.3.26
There is a new name on the Brighton gig circuit, this being Paperface Productions, which is the brainchild of Katie Prescott, the former member of now sadly defunct Swallowtail, who had relocated themselves from Nottingham to Brighton a short while back.
Katie has been busying herself since leaving Swallowtail and not only is she now an artist in her own right under the banner of Hitman Sheela who made her debut live performance at The Rossi Bar on 17th March, but she also runs Paperface Productions, and tonight is their debut event. This is going down at Pink Moon which is a hidden gem of a place that is located at 52 Ship Street, Brighton, BN1 1AF. Performances happen on the first floor of the building and it has the welcoming feel as though the musicians are playing live in your lounge.
As it’s a special celebration, the music artists and even the punters were informed to come in fancy dress. Headliners this evening are London based Bugbear who are an alternative rock/wonky pop trio who draw on a wide range of influences and worlds to create music that is immersive, high-energy, and powerfully expressive. Accompanying them on the bill is a trio of local acts, these being Cordelia Gartside, Rhiannon Ruthven and Phoebe Austin.
Proceedings commence at 7:30pm sharp, with a succinct four tune 19 minute performance coming from Phoebe Austin who is a singer songwriter that I don’t recall having witnessed live before. This evening is a case of Phoebe’s voice and her acoustic guitar. My ears pricked as Phoebe performed her opening song, ‘Crossfire’. Her delivery immediately sparked a similarity to Lana Del Rey due to the fact that this pop ballad was delivered with true feeling. The audience were immediately absorbed into Phoebe’s world as you could hear a pin drop, as she continued with the second offering titled ‘Don’t’. The guitar intro of track three, ‘Dancing With Death’, reminded me of David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ and Phoebe signed off with ‘Broken Like You’ which saw her passion and power raise several notches. At 7:49pm she was done and I must convey that I wished there had been time for one or two more offerings. I’m certain that “Phoebe Austin” is a name that you will be hearing much more of in the future. A solid start to this evening’s proceedings.
Phoebe Austin:
Phoebe Austin – vocals, guitar
Phoebe Austin setlist:
‘Crossfire’
‘Don’t’
‘Dancing With Death’
‘Broken Like You’
linktr.ee/phoebeaustinofficial
Next up, it was the turn of frizzy-haired Rhiannon Ruthven and her trio of chums, these being Rudie Goodsell on saxophone, Alfie Arno on bass or drums, and Marshall Mckay on drums or bass. They are a young group of people who I’m guessing are still at music college. We are in their company for 30 minutes, from 8:09pm to 8:39pm. In all honesty it’s an eclectic half-dozen song set, which keeps you wondering what they are going to be up to next. Opener ‘Devoured’ highlights Rhiannon’s vocal twang and the song changes in beat, jazz style. There’s some spoken word delivery throughout the set at times as well. ‘The Mess’ benefits from a skippy drumbeat, whereas the remaining quartet ‘Give And Take’, ‘Lullaby For Scared Children’, ‘Furniture’ and ‘Sunday’ comprise of a poem with backing, the use of a tiny musicbox (which I have previously seen Hannah Peel utilizing), ‘Incy Wincy Spider’ nursery rhyme, and some further freestyle jazz inflections. It’s an “interesting” set, and I’d suggest, work in progress. Rhiannon has youth on her side, so there’s plenty of time in order to hone in on her talents.
Rhiannon Ruthven:
Rhiannon Ruthvenn – vocals, guitar, musicbox
Rudie Goodsell – saxophone
Alfie Arno – bass or drums
Marshall Mckay – drums or bass
Rhiannon Ruthven setlist:
‘Devoured’
‘The Mess’
‘Give And Take’
‘Lullaby For Scared Children’
‘Furniture’
‘Sunday’
www.instagram.com/rhiannon.ruthven
It was now the turn of Cordelia Gartside and her band (Willow Simpson – lead guitar, Tom Ironmonger – bass, and Max Garner – drums) to show us what they have got. We are in their company for 31 minutes from 8:59pm to 9:30pm, although I must confess that it felt quite a bit shorter as I was totally absorbed in what the musicians were up to tonight. There’s a strum intro for opener ‘Joke Not Funny’, which grows in intensity and has the feel of something Gaelic meets the Cocteau Twins. Cordelia is in the zone with her thousand yard stare, as they perform ‘X-Ray’ with its skippy drumbeat. It’s a tune that changes in intensity, which is arguably a Gartside trademark. A quartet of other tunes (‘Shut Up’, ‘Laura Palmer’, ‘Tinnitus’, and ‘Free Dive’) are performed and include some rumbly bass guitar action, some sweetly delivered vocals which morph into Grace Slick Jefferson Airplane era intensity. Interestingly, I noted that in this section Max placed a blue rubber mat atop his drum which offered a muffled effect which worked well. They signed off with the best tune of the whole night in the form of ‘Hospital Corners’ which has seriously tapped into my brain and on every hearing, I am covered with goosebumps. I have even previously witnessed Cordelia crying as she delivers the belted out vocals. It’s extremely moving!
Cordelia Gartside:
Cordelia Gartside – vocals, guitar
Willow Simpson – lead guitar
Tom Ironmonger – bass
Max Garner – drums
Cordelia Gartside setlist:
‘Joke Not Funny’
‘X-Ray’
‘Shut Up’
‘Laura Palmer’
‘Tinnitus’
‘Free Dive’
‘Hospital Corners’
