THE GOLD MACHINE

The acclaimed writer Iain Sinclair and the director Grant Gee have created an extraordinary, award-winning film, The Gold Machine, which will have its first Sussex screening at the Electric Palace in Old Town on 3 September, followed by another showing at the Kino in St Leonards on 4 September. The film is about a father and daughter who find themselves haunted by the life of a Victorian botanist ancestor who was exploring the heart of unknown Peru. It is apparently based on Sinclair’s research into his own great-grandfather who wrote an account of his imperialist ‘adventure.’ Sinclair is a St Leonards man – as well as being the author of a body of psycho-geographical work on London – and will be at the screenings for a Q and A.  
Tickets are available on their respective websites. 

BRIGADE AT THE CRYPT

The anarcho-tunesmiths, Bandaid Brigade perform at The Crypt on Friday, 9 September. Their music has been described as the sound of punk colliding with Elton John. 

COASTAL CURRENTS

The extraordinarily diverse collection and celebration of our coastal creativity returns this September. It would be impossible and invidious to sum it up in this small space but expect a fantastic range of artists on show all around the town and surrounding areas. There are painters, sculptors, filmmakers, dancers, street artists, open studios, exhibitions and events. In short, all manner of unique delights for those that like a little subversive spice in their life. There is an opening party at 55 Prints, 19 Grand Parade, St Leonards, starting at 7pm Friday, Sept 2, with free fizz for early arrivals. You can and should download the programme online.

For more information go to coastalcurrents.org.uk 

ROCK AGAINST RACISM

There is a fascinating free exhibition of the history of RAR, and its current campaigns, at St Mary in the Castle from 27 August – 17 October. The event opens on 27 August with a gig featuring Neville Staple from The Specials. Dub Pistols and Hot Wax are also on the bill. 

Tickets for the gig are available on Eventbrite. 

HASTINGS INTERNATIONAL PIANO PRESENTS

On 17 Sept at Fairlight Hall, the former BBC Young Musician of the Year, James Bartlett, will be performing
a programme of piano pieces. The works include compositions by Bach, Hayden and Rachmaninoff. Standard tickets are £25.

Book via hastingsinternationalpiano.org.uk 

STAY FABULOUS

The wondrous Fabulous Red Diesel play the Kino Stage in Rye on Sunday 28 August at 1pm. This is part of the Rye Jazz and Blues Festival.

For more details go to ryejazz.com

THE DIRTY OLD GALLERY

The DOG brings us an exhibition curated by the inclusive pop-up collective, The Museum of Us, entitled ‘Upon Waking.’ It features the work of William Shepherd, an artist who has made his name as part of project artworks. He says his exhibition is inspired by his daily mantra, “get up, eat breakfast, paint.”

It is on from 2 September to 2 October. The gallery is on West Street in Old Town.   

SOMNIANS

On Thursday 1 September, The Piper, in Norman Road, hosts a band described by our critic, Lucy Brown, as “taking PTSD punk energy to the point of overdose.” The Somnians gig coincides with the release of their new schizosonic single, ‘Habitual Ritual.’ This is likely to be a full-on performance but be warned, it may leave you gasping for sanity. We look forward to Lucy’s review.  

Tickets are available at thepiper.club/events

The third and last of this spring’s run of Hastings Sonics events brought two of Brighton’s leading bands to The Brass: Slum of Legs and Codex Serafini. This event followed on from February’s joyful all-dayer at The Crypt, headlined by Mr Thing, and Yao Bobby and Simon Grab’s splendidly visceral assault on the eardrums at The Piper in March. It’s nice to see Hastings’ promoters extending a helping hand to our less fashionable and happening neighbours to the west, and the two ensembles concerned responded with rip-roaring and whole-hearted sets which made this a Friday night to remember.

Slum of Legs
CREDIT: Lucy Cage

Codex Serafini’s advance billing as “a Saturnian ritualistic band hailing from outer-space, temporarily residing in Sussex” did leave open at least a slim possibility that they would actually be a bunch of total chancers who once borrowed a Sun Ra album from their uncle Kenneth. Happily, the reality of this crimson-robed quintet of sonic adventurers was more akin to a lost jam session uniting Hawkwind with British jazz sax legend John Surman. While Scandinavian Afrobeat adventurers, Goat, are their most obvious contemporary reference point, Codex Serafini actually have a meatier sound than that capricious ensemble and at times scaled heights of guitar/sax interplay unreached since the halcyon days of Blodwyn Pig. 

There’s a really interesting physical balance between the band’s female drummer and vocalist as a central fulcrum – the latter down in the pit but with her back to the audience as she unleashes stentorian ululations to chill the blood of even a Sisters of Mercy fan – with a trio of masked male instrumentalists spread across the stage playing guitar, sax and bass. Codex Serafini’s recent Invisible Landscape cassette EP might not quite have fully realised its promise of “indecipherable conjurations of ecstatic noise from beyond the solar veil”, but on this energising cacophonous showing, such a dream might yet be achievable. 

The disruption caused to adolescent cycles of self-discovery is one of the many unheralded negative side effects of Covid-19. The Brass is to be very much congratulated on its willingness to fulfil the tight licensing conditions required for ‘all ages’ (14 plus) shows like this one, to try and bridge that gap. The welcome smattering of younger audience members could not have wished for a more inspiring example of unfettered joy and spontaneity in the way the six members of Slum of Legs picked up the cudgels of live performance, for what was only their second gig since their debut album came out, just prior to 2020’s first lockdown.

Codex Serafini
CREDIT: Lucy Cage

Singer and lyricist Tamsin Chapman’s songs are feminist battle-cries – “We are a super-structure spiked with glass / We are a fur-lined rupture / a clatter mass” – given extra musical muscle by the sinewy violin-playing of Maria Marzaioli. And with subject matter ranging from the terrorist envy spiral of ‘The Baader Meinhof Always Looks So Good In Photos,’ to a heartfelt paean of praise to Beyonce’s alter ego ‘Sasha Fierce’, Slum of Legs managed to be heart-warming and iconoclastic in equal measure. 

The gig’s climax came when maverick Monotron virtuoso Emily Kawasaki stepped out into the crowd to saw through a packet of Ryvita. Woman cannot live by crispbread alone, and if this does prove to be Slum of Legs’ penultimate live show – as was threatened from the stage – their legacy will be this revolutionary gesture. Something, perhaps, to rival Jimi Hendrix setting fire to his Stratocaster. 

• Sadistic Force, Venomwolf, and Stamp Out play a 14+ metal show at The Brass on 3 June. 

Indie rockers Jesus Jones stormed the stage at their recent show in The Crypt, Hastings. Perhaps best known for their smash hit single Right Here, Right Now, the band are widely considered to be one of the defining acts of the 90’s alt music scene.

Jesus Jones have achieved considerable success since their humble beginnings in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, in the late eighties. Known for their distinctive blend of dance rock, the band are currently on a UK-wide tour to mark the thirtieth anniversary of their seminal album Liquidizer.

The relatively intimate confines of the Crypt gave the show a refreshingly lo-fi feel, as lead singer Mike Edwards and the rest of the band took to the stage. Fans were duly treated to a full rendition of Liquidizer from start to finish, with a selection of other hits – old and new – thrown in for good measure. Jesus Jones displayed all the vigor of an act half their age and the crowd reacted in kind, as much whooping and enthusiastic bopping along to the beats ensued. Edwards sounded pitch perfect throughout, as the rest of the band sporadically engaged with the crowd.

After playing for a solid two hours, Jesus Jones thanked their small army of fans and a DJ took to the decks for the retro-themed afterparty which followed. This event is set to be the first of many at the newly renovated Crypt, which has previously played host to some of the biggest names in the international music scene.

The Crypt has everything you could want from a live music venue and dance club. Its consciously industrially-styled interior is juxtaposed with a state of the art DJ booth, lighting and Void Acoustics sound system. At a time when oversized stadiums seem to be the new normal in live music venues, it’s exciting to experience a band at somewhere more intimate and real.

The Crypt is well and truly back, and it’s here to stay. Let’s help keep its independent spirit alive!

Jesus Jones played at The Crypt, in Hastings, on Friday 15th November 2019 (Doors 7pm-with after party until 3am). Please refer to the band’s official website for further details on future shows www.jesusjones.com

• Keep up to date with all the latest music and event news via The Crypt’s website www.thecrypthastings.co.uk

For those who remember The Crypt at its sweaty peak, it’s now back on the Hastings live music scene. After closing in 2011, The Crypt in Hastings is re-opening its original doors on Havelock Road on 15th November.  There will be thousands of people with long-lasting memories of seeing some of the biggest names in British music pass through this vaulted space over the years on their rise to stardom.

The Crypt live music venue is the stuff of legend. Coldplay, Muse, The Kooks, Kasabian and Snow Patrol are just a few of the acts who found their way to The Crypt over its previous 30-year incarnation. The venue has recently benefited from a total refurbishment, creating an atmospheric environment for both audience and bands. The newly introduced set up will be benefiting the local community, bringing in new entertainment and live music to Hastings. Live Shows, Comedy Nights & Cabaret, are just some of the plans in the pipeline for this venue. The aim is to create a hub to educate and to nurture local talent.

It will all be kicking off with a live performance from the band Jesus Jones. November 15th is the official date that the original doors will re-open. The owner says “We eagerly await the public to join us for the re-launch of this historic venue. We hope that it will have a big impact on the community and the support of local talents.” 

• Tickets are available to the grand opening event online 
(on skiddle.com) or on the door. 

It will take place on 15th November at 7:30pm, through the original doors on Havelock Road.