Excited about the intimate setting of Digital, this rescheduled gig definitely ignited a lot of hype. The dark, cave-like setting had water dripping down the walls from the leaky pipes overhead; not your average greeting when entering a venue, but for some reason felt fittingly appropriate for the style and genre of artist’s that were to grace the stage.

Support act Breton were to put it simply, one of the most talented bands I personally have witnessed in ages. Surging evocative sounds of Foals with those classic twinkling guitar riffs and impressive bass, the only thing slightly different was the fact that they were very heavy on the synth front. The Synth sound has made a huge come-back into the scene and is that popular, trendy sound that seems to have been embroidered into much of the electro-pop scene of late. Strong vocals and garish yellow high-tops made their lead singer imprint on the memories of many.

Totally amped for Ghostpoet, the crowd glistened with sweaty blemishes after the pleasing performance from Breton. As the timid trio grouped on stage, the audience watched as they locked arms and heads for some kind of pre-show prayer or ritual? Despite their quiet entrance, their stage presence was the complete opposite. Lead singer Obaro’s smile glistened through the purpley, blue atmospheric lighting as he preached about how he had “come to play a few little ditties by the seaside”. The addition of a smoke machine added the suitable notion of foggy dankness and those damn drips from the ceiling just seemed to make it feel even more like a dungeon.

Frustratingly, the vocals to begin with were massively distorted, disallowing Obaro’s delicate words to be clearly emitted through his mic. The bass was brain shatteringly heavy, with collective looks of concern for our eardrums’ safety and wellbeing. With a sigh of relief, this had fortunately all been adjusted by the time ‘Cash and Carry Me Home’ was played. Other strengths lay in the performance of latest track ‘Liiines’ and ‘Survive it’ which had even the coolest kids nodding with appreciation.

Overall, very ‘scene’, very cool and totally lives up to their band name. Imagine a ghost writing poetry and yeah… you’ve got Ghostpoet.

Ghostpoet
Brighton Digital, Saturday 12th November
Words by Thea Wise