Type and hit ENTER

Commonly used tags...

Brighton Festival Brighton Fringe Brighton Pride British Sea Power Cinecity Lewes Psychedelic Festival Locally Sourced Lost & Found Love Supreme Festival Nick Cave Poets Vs MCs Politics Rag'n'Bone Man Record Store Day Save Our Venues Six Of The Best Source Virgins Streets Of Brighton Street Source Tattoos The Great Escape Tru Thoughts Unsung Heroes
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Advertise
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Advertise
Amanda Palmer @ Concorde - Brighton Source
Reviews

Amanda Palmer Review

Sep 12, 2011
-
Posted by Ben Bailey

Amanda Palmer by Mike Burnell in Brighton SOURCE at www.brightonsource.co.uk Brighton’s best listings, music and culture magazine

There were only six dates on Amanda Palmer’s European tour. That Brighton was in there alongside Amsterdam and Vienna should come as no surprise to those acquainted with the ‘Brechtian Cabaret Punk’ of her former band, The Dresden Dolls.

Such unlikely fusions thrive in these parts – plus Palmer’s music has a special appeal for exactly the sort of arty oddballs that wind up here. Needless to say, her shout-out to the city was lapped up by the tightly-packed crowd of indie kids, gypsy fans, burlesque scenesters and wayward goths. It was clear from the start it was a mutual thing.

Launching straight into the full-frontal piano rock of ‘Astronaut’, Palmer’s new band instantly banished any lingering worries about her ability to let rip. Albums full of novelty songs about Australia and ukulele Radiohead covers are all very well, but what Palmer does best is sing her heart out. What followed was a mix of Dresden Dolls favourites, solo ballads and some brand new stuff. Whereas her old band relied on the brute power of voice and drums, the latest line-up adds guitars and violin to the mix. Less vaudevillian perhaps, but it works.

However, as always, it’s the vocals that steal the show. Every song sees Palmer’s dark and mischievous lyrics delivered by a schizophrenic array of voices. The combination of irony, brutal honesty and humour culminates in the extraordinarily catchy ‘Oasis’ – a three minute ditty about abortion, teenage rape and the Gallagher brothers which also manages to segue in and out of ‘Twist And Shout’.

No stranger to audience participation, this twitter-addict and ‘ninja-gigger’ weaves a great deal of charmingly informal banter into the set, but ultimately it’s the grand, theatrical performances that make an Amanda Palmer gig so powerful. It’s a feeling that even an unexpected aerobics work-out and an INXS cover can’t blemish.

Concorde2, Thursday 1st September 2011
Words by Ben Bailey
Photo by Mike Burnell

Sep 12, 2011
Email
Ben Bailey
Ben Bailey is the editor of Brighton Source and a freelance writer. He also plays in a few bands and can sometimes be found giving talks on a variety of niche topics. He lives in Brighton and rather likes it.
← PREVIOUS POST
Review: Machinedrum
NEXT POST →
Review: Cannabis Corpse
Mailing List

Recent Posts
  • Two Decades Of Funk Fire With Jalapeno Records
    Jan 18, 2021

    A new compilation celebrates 20 years of funk and soul from world-renowned Brighton label Jalapeno Records.

  • Hansel and Gretel? | Brighton Source
    Hansel and Gretel? Review
    Dec 18, 2020

    A postmodern pantomime with an unrelaible narrator. Outdoors with comedy, dance, camp actors, plenty of fun. On two levels: laughs for kids and jokes for adults

  • Artists Open Houses 2020
    Dec 5, 2020

    After cancelling the May edition, Artists Open Houses tell us what it's like to be back with a December festival that is open to visitors in person for eight days.

  • Cinecity 2020 previewed by Brighton Source
    Cinecity 2020
    Nov 17, 2020

    From the North Laine to Mongolia, Cinecity's lineup is typically eclectic and original this year - catch it before the city's key film festival ends.

  • Macbeth Review
    Nov 2, 2020

    Macbeth in Brighton. One-act play with Scottish Gaelic sounds by This Is My Theatre. Power, ambition, murder, blood. The woods are moving.

  • Lost & Found: Poison Girls
    Nov 2, 2020

    As part of our retrospective series on local bands we look back at the hugely influential and ever-challenging anarcho-punk collective Poison Girls.

  • The Rose Hill | Brighton Source
    Save Our Venues – The Rose Hill
    Oct 26, 2020

    We spoke to the team at the Rose Hill to find out how a series of new creative projects is helping this unique Brighton venue to cope with the current crisis.

  • Spillage! Review
    Oct 19, 2020

    This one-person, one-act play is giddy, funny and seriously entertaining. An odyssey through the madness of corporate pressure on our mental health.

Website developed in Brighton by Infobo
Copyright © Brighton Source 2009-2020
Amanda Palmer Review - Brighton Source