DANIEL JOHNSTON Concorde 2 Sun 1stMany apocryphal tales surround Daniel Johnston, the bipolar, idiot savant US songwriter who makes Brian Wilson’s madness seem like a mild bummer in the summer. In between the psychosis and Kurt Cobain’s infamous patronage, documentary movie The Devil And Daniel Johnston details his dumfounding escape from a 1990 plane crash, when he pulled the keys from the ignition, tossed them out the window and invited the pilot (his dad) to prevent them from ploughing headfirst into Earth. His music is just the first miracle. (BG)
THE DRONES Prince Albert Mon 2ndThe Australian noise rockers make a welcome trip to Brighton as part of the long overdue leg of their UK tour, in support of latest album Havilah. Their crazed sound is something akin to the Bad Seeds kicking the shit out of Crazy Horse while Tom Waits watches, so expect some pretty dark stuff. They sure know how to turn up the volume and bring the noise, which is always a good thing in our book. (IC)
BLURT Freebutt Tues 3rd
Ted Milton’s guttural sax trio have been on and off the circuit for around thirty years, never really getting close to popular recognition. Their mid 90s second-hand sales spike, when unscrupulous Record & Tape Exchange staff fleeced poorly informed Britpop kids by placing their characteristically large price stickers over the ‘t’ on Blurt’s LPs, doesn’t count. Meanwhile, Milton hasn’t compromised one inch. An absolute, genuine, unmissable performer. (SH)
PEGGY SUE Freebutt Weds 4th
Known to be friends of Kate Nash and most definitely of SOURCE, these former cover stars are playing this headline slot following a series of October supports for Maccabees. Drenched in rebellious folk and dipped in rockabilly, they share a magical, tender quality with The Half Sisters. This duo is best of friends and it comes across in their music, producing a sound that’s larger than their individual parts. The support should also be interesting coming from another Brighton band Plat Du Jour. (TR)
ANTI POP CONSORTIUM Audio Weds 4th
Warp Records’ alternative hip hop outfit have reformed and returned to the righteous blaze of old school quality rapping they’ve been trailing since 1997. If ever there’s been a good time to be anti pop it’s 2009, with the chart suffocating itself with an abortion of generic corporate faceless washouts. But anyway, yes they’re back and Warp don’t sign just any experimental John Doe worth his salts, they’ve usually got a few more exciting tricks up their sleeve than most. (AS)
BETH JEANS HOUGHTON Communion Sun 8th
One sunny afternoon this spring, Mr SOURCE went to visit a friend of Mrs SOURCE for Sunday lunch. Now who should we find sat amid the vegan extravaganza but one Beth Jeans Houghton, then about to take her first Bambi steps on pop’n’roll’s quicksand. Six months on and her sublime psyche-folk – sometimes galloping, sometimes dizzy with love, like Sandy Denney fronting Pentangle – has everyone from NME to Grazia falling at her feet. Expect big hair, bigger charm and, with luck, a Mercury nomination. (BG)
JAMES YORKSTON & THE BIG EYED FAMILY PLAYERS Hanbury Club Sun 8th
An integral part of Scotland’s Fence Collective, this time round James Yorkston has enlisted the help of the Big Eyed Family Players, giving his own personal touch to an album of traditional folk songs drawn from the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland. With an already impressive back catalogue to pick from, this promises to be a special show in the lush surroundings of the Hanbury – and if you weren’t already convinced then support comes from local folk songstress Mary Hampton. (IC)
FIONN REGAN Jam Fri 13th
The Mercury Prize has a clever knack of ferreting out some special artists to whom you can safely offer up your ears. Since his nomination in 2007 Fionn Regan has toured the world and is now back on home shores to present his new album The Shadow Of An Empire. Expect pianos, circus drums, and a collection of songs that are peopled with characters and witty vignettes. Catch this preview of the new material here before the album’s release next year. (LK)
WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS Freebutt Fri 13th
No wonder they’re disappointed not to have received jetpacks, as this band’s powerful energy must use up a ton of rocket fuel when they play it live. They arrive in Brighton following their label’s showcase tour of America and another six dates around the UK, so let’s hope they’ve some fuel left! Is this the most promising band yet to sign for our local label, Fat Cat Records? Their debut album is one of 2009’s best and experiencing their amazing live show will surely only confirm this. (TR)
FRIGHTENED RABBIT Corn Exchange Mon 16th
Being signed to the Brighton-based label Fat Cat Records tells you a fair bit about a band before you’ve even heard them. Their tastes regularly snap up guitar-based gems, often from Scotland (!), that play magical, earnest indie music. Refreshingly, it’s often sung with pride in their distinct home accents. (See label mates We Were Promised Jetpacks and The Twilight Sad for other examples). Although lacking the raw energy of WWPJ, it’s fair to point out that Frightened Rabbit perhaps provide more delicate melodies. (TR)
GOMEZ Corn Exchange Mon 16th
You can’t talk about this band without mentioning their massively successful 1998 Mercury Prize winning album, Bring It On. It provided the soundtrack to the lives of almost every university student that year, as its blues-infused gravel indie bounced around their halls. Sadly, it’s precisely that same audience still hanging on, now in their twenties and thirties, because Gomez never quite repeated the magic of that first album, instead following it with weaker versions. However, their live show is worth it, if anything just to catch Ben Ottewell’s amazing vocals. (TR)
GOMEZ Corn Exchange Mon 16th
Despite being criminally ignored by a lot of the music press over the past few years, Gomez continue to release albums of great quality while selling out venues some bands could only dream of. Back on tour and with a show here in their adopted hometown of Brighton, expect tracks from their highly impressive back catalogue plus a handful from their latest album A New Tide released earlier this year. Support comes from FatCat favourites Frightened Rabbit. (IC)
WAVVES Audio Tues 17th
“Mixing ecstasy, Valium and Xanax before having to play in front of thousands of people was one of the more poor decisions I’ve made (duh)”, explained Wavves’ Nathan Williams this summer after a near complete meltdown at Primavera, Spain. Turning their lo-fi punk horrorshow noise into a farcical display of rocker gone mad, locals greeted this panto with beer bottles and a shoe. Now apparently on top of his numerous addictions, it would be cruel to demand an encore tonight, wouldn’t it? (BG)
GARY NUMAN Dome Tues 17th
King of synth pop, new wave freak or as Brain Eno once slated, ‘image-conscious neo-Trekkie’, either way he’s a pioneer and an institution. With a richly digital career spanning more years then most of you boozed up freshers could even imagine, the godfather of electro has again returned. If you uninitiated unfortunately only remember him by the robotic, nasal drone on Cars, then give yourself a little history lesson and then bow to Gary Numan. (AS)
GARY NUMAN Dome Tues 17th
Talk about déjà vu. As the decade tails off, and the Tories show signs of getting into Government, along comes Numan, touring The Pleasure Principle album (aka the one with Cars on it). Numan’s later-regretted support of Thatcher in the 80s took the shine off his futuristic pop star image, but so did some duff records. Whether the apolitical Numan will be tempted into a new state of the nation address could be interesting. Hopefully he’s gone Marxist. (SH)
SHRED YR FACE 3 : ESPERS / THE CAVE SINGERS / WOODS Freebutt Weds 18th
Up until now, the Shred Yr Face tours have been perfectly timed excuses to catch the hippest, and often loudest, bands of the season (Fucked Up, No Age, Rolo Tomassi et al) just as they crossed over from the extreme left-field to the, well, middle left field. This term we get three perfectly pleasant examples of comfortable, vaguely psychedelic, US folk rock. Fine bands indeed, but it all seems to have gone a bit Mojo. (SH)
SNOW PATROL Brighton Centre Weds 18th
“I could write a song a thousand miles long”, promised Coldplay’s Chris Martin a few years back. Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody reportedly took that line as a direct challenge and tonight unveils Marathon Run, a reworking of their international smash recently raped into global chart submission by Leona Lewis. So massive is this monolithic, impossibly anthemic indie moment that fans are advised to bring telescopes amid fears it will be impossible to fit it inside the venue and may only be visible from space. (BG)
ALESHA DIXON Dome Thurs 19th
A strange one, this. While few can have escaped the furore surrounding Alesha’s ascension to the top table of the BBC’s flagship Saturday night dancing monster, thus reigniting that perennial debate of age versus beauty, surely only Strictly die-hards/the mad would actually pay money to watch a very pretty girl quipping exotically while holding up bits of card? How will we see her epic legs from behind a desk?! Oh right, she’s a pop star as well! SOURCE must have missed that bit. (BG)
THE SPECIALS Brighton Centre Thurs 19th
The reunion bandwagon is now so rammed SOURCE wonders if Led Zeppelin might need their free bus passes to get on. Amid so many desperate comebacks, few have been worthwhile. These include The Specials, who returned this summer almost 30 years after dissolving. Unquestionably, their haunted, dystopian vision of Britain is as keenly felt now as for some time, thus garnering acclaim and delight in equal measure. Whether the exiled Jerry Dammers feels the same way is, for sure, a moot point. (BG)
CHRIS T-T Westhill Hall Sat 21st
After recently playing a live set on the infamous fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, Chris T-T hits the road again in support of The Broken Family Band, finishing off the tour with a headline solo show at Westhill Hall. Always a brilliant live performer, his songs range from the politically tinged to the lovelorn and just plain amusing, showcasing his gift as such a varied and talented songwriter. But whatever you do just don’t forget to bring your own booze as there’s no bar up at Westhill. (IC)
ALICE RUSSELL Komedia Weds 25th With new album Pot of Gold nicely maturing in the audience’s consciences, this is a good time to witness the triumphant homecoming of Brighton’s favourite soul dervish back in Brighton for a one-off show in the middle of her European tour. Having had Alice looming large on the local scene for a while now, we have to remind ourselves that it’s not the case everywhere else – we’re not sure why the rest of the nation is still playing catch-up but it’s fairly safe to assume it won’t be long before the penny drops. (NC)
THE GERMS Engine Room Weds 25th
Urgh, necro weirdness! First wave LA punk legends The Germs have been out of the picture since 1980, when frontman Darby Crash purposely OD’d. Aside from guitarist Pat Smear’s later dalliance with Nirvana (unfortunate example of history repeating there), The Germs’ reputation fermented quietly. Recent biopic What We Do Is Secret saw ER actor Shane West playing Crash, a role he now repeats on tour with the reunited band. Hollywood bizarro! (SH)
THE ANTLERS Hope Fri 27th
The Antlers’ Hospice has been occupying many of the best albums lists of 2009. Guided by a gnarled electronic line and flirting post-rock highs, the somewhat bleak concept of a failing romantic relationship within the context of caring for a terminally ill woman named Sylvia sounds like a bit of a downer. But if you’ve heard the album you’ll be queuing up for a piece of the tender atmospheric force that has been so rightly acclaimed. (AS)
THE BAYS Concorde 2 Tues 27th
Performance is the product with this improvised dance troupe, who in the past have blown the faces of many an audience member, including ours, with their impressively unrehearsed live shows at Playgroup and elsewhere. But being improvised, they feed from the atmosphere and mood so you really could get anything. With their talent to encompass and engross many genres it will more than likely be something spectacular. The only way to hear The Bays is to see them live. (AS)
WORDS BY IAN CHAMBERS, BEN GILBERT, STUART HUGGETT, LAURA KELLY, THE RECOMMENDER, ADAM STRANDT