Dark thoughts , Brighton Cowley club

Dark thoughts, telekineses, never
Brighton Crowley club

Funnily enough whenever I’m asked about my favourite gigs I tend to mention the ones I was involved in putting on rather than the many amazing spectacles I have travelled to see. First time in Brighton I saw fugazi in the dome and that was a special night. Fugazi felt like they were ready to bring our diy to a whole new level and that our small alternative was briefly seen as a progressive light by many more that the handfuls that had been screaming about it in each city. Against me were similar and that night in the hobgoblin in Brighton we were ready to take on the world and we were going to win. Hard skin and Dillinger four played in a venue I don’t remember but a night I will never forget. Classic songs if not a touch too much alcohol taken by some of the band members.

I’ve been to four gigs now in Brighton. The first three were all memorable so I had the bar was set very high for tonight’s offering. This was always going to be a struggle due to that elevated benchmark but got to start somewhere eh?

I had looked hard amongst posters for other gigs around the city and there was none with tonight’s line up on it. Even my visit to Crowley club during the day greeted me with closed doors and no sign of what was to come. It’s all about the internet these days. I guess people don’t need a flier or poster or gig listing if they have a Facebook event page!!

In all my times visiting here I’ve never entered the Cowley club, i must have travelled at times that it wasn’t open as the volunteers can’t run the venue/ space like many would wish them too. Tonight was some introduction . I know in our punk rock world that age doesn’t matter and attitude is all important but when you’re 49 and double nearly everyone’s age in the venue (in some cases treble) it doesn’t feel like that. And so I entered trying not to give across the impression that I was an undercover con as I took out my phone and lowered my head

First band on didn’t introduce themselves but there was some noise coming from the teenage collective. Huge tight distorted sound with screaming vocals

Second band on continued in the vein of expectation that we all know what they are called and I’m sure the rest of the crowd did. It kind of felt like walking in on a punk family gathering, even more so with no posters being on display anywhere for this gig, everyone know each other in the venue and this could be the resident noise band

I was in two minds about even coming out to this gig as a couple of issues of Razorcake and paul masons book on how we can mould our future was waiting for me. I decided to hold off on the reading in favour of the screamed word and was wondering if I’d made a big mistake.

I had only heard dark thoughts through band camp so their ramones esque tunes took on a completely different life tonight. Like dublins 101s it’s breakneck ramones with buzzing guitars but real tunes below them. By the end of their short set any concerns about coming out were gone and any thoughts on age difference had faded. Tunes for everyone. It wasn’t quite against me in the hobgoblin but a similar atmosphere prevailed and this gig will stay in my memory for a while yet

Niallhope