Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Festival Fever

Gordon Brown at the Dome (photo © Matthew Andrews)

It's been all go at the Brighton Festival this month, hence my lack of updates until today. On Sunday we made the national news as Gordon Brown appeared at the Dome Concert Hall for an interview conducted by Anthony Minghella as part of the Books & Debate strand. Security was tight, protesters roamed outside the building, and there were television cameras everywhere. The only event that I've been able to attend this week was Victoria Wood, also at the Dome Concert Hall, where she talked about the Mass Observation Project and her role in Housewife 49, and generally about her life and work in comedy. A very entertaining interview, well chaired, and followed by a lively and amusing Q&A afterwards. You can keep up to date with all the latest pictures from the festival by checking out photographer Matthew Andrews' official festival blog here.

Meanwhile in the Festival Fringe I managed to catch The loveGods at the Komedia on Thursday night. Now relocated to France, they don't play so many gigs in Brighton these days so it was good to catch up with Deah and Artie and see what they're up to. They played a semi-acoustic set downstairs which suited them well, their sound bolstered by new cello player Eloise. A few new songs were previewed (Sunshowers a stand out track) whilst old songs sounded fresh and revitalised and Deah seemed mellower, her occasional arrogant streak kept firmly in check. Perhaps towards the end it all got a bit cabaret, but on the evidence of the first half of the show alone, the band still have a lot to offer.

No comments: