Spirit of Gravity, Marlborough Theatre, Brighton, Tuesday 22nd August

We were promised an across the board feast of Electronica, Jazztronica and Gaytronica. Well, what a great show.

Faoi
Starting the evening with a great set delivered from an office style computer (no Laptop for Jonny) was Faoi. Strong synth sounds, rumbling basses, but I lied about the overwhelming drumness to be expected: the percussion was tight, but restrained rather than minimal. Excellently tuneful, expansive and soaring, some snatches of voices, a melange of old and new tunes weaved around each other, blended and bought joy to us all.

The Spirit of Gravity Quartet
The Spirit of Gravity Quartet was McCloud on an old SH101, Steve Minimal on CD's and FX and Henry Collinz on toys and his strung upright hoover. Joined by Geoff Hearn on Soprano saxophone. Sublime chaos, the saxophone soared and chattered, chattered back at different speeds from the toy sampler, space noises ponged, synths fluttered, Henry played tunes on the Hoover, and then let it rip. Here's a review from Chris who reviews the "On the Edge" nights for Safehouse:

"The music created did not drop into predictable electro rhythms and pulses, but hunted and ranged over different structures. Growling sounds opened into high frequencies, over laid and messing up, then smoothing out. The S.O.G quartet working the electronica up, improvising, blending, building and breaking down again, they constructed a shape and form out of fragments. The connections were sharp and direct.
"The power of Hearn's playing the Saxello, (like a soprano sax but curved), was astounding from the opening statements on. The energy behind his playing was tactile, and balanced against the increasingly thick, dark sounds cooked up by the SOG quartet. Melodies were coming and going from the work of Hearn dueting with Henry Collins (sting Hoover, electronics), creating chamber like phrases and at times nocturne in style. Then screeching and screaming, plucked strings and harsh staccato, they were sculpting with sound, tearing at sound, dropping out and shifting, restless. The expanse of sounds and texture that Hearn added grew and grew; he played with dedication and masterful resourcefulness. The range of sound maintained freshness and imagination, Hearn played the Saxello to the limit and some more.
"The performance was refreshing in that it stayed true to the unexpected, the S.O.G quartet and Geoff Hearn feeding each other with creative nourishment. This is a collaboration that should happen again." (Chris Parfitt Aug 06)

Britch
And possibly the only person who could follow that, Britch, did a turn that was informative, hilarious and something entirely different. The curtains closed and opened again and DearBritch read from his Sindy annual, played some songs, allowed us to admire his jumper (mmm, nice appliqué), told some jokes and gave us some anatomical analogies to the fringe of the stage curtain. The music is brutal, harsh sounds, disjointed bass drums and distorted reversed voices. Over this delirium he sings (what a strong voice, too) and rhymes and puns. During the penultimate "Bi" (Curious) the curtains were again bought into play (Bye) and one last song and he's off.