CSS and Amy

Boring obvious Mercury Prize! Oh well.

We saw CSS at Audio on Saturday. It's a very weird (and perhaps rubbish) venue for a gig like that, but it's better than nothing. There was a mix up with the license and lots of under 18's with tickets were given a refund at the door, so it wasn't full even though it *had* sold out.

We arrived at about 7.30pm and they came on about an hour later (after a moustache-wielding support act) and it could have done with being a late night gig once everyone was a bit more drunk. However... any energy initially lacking from the crowd was more than made up for by the lead singer. She's a tiny ball of Asian/Brazilian energy and she loooooved it! She was quite literally crazy and repeatedly said things like "this song is about the seagulls eating the eyes of the humans in Brighton" and even crowd-surfed!!

This is a fairly arty photo taken with my mobile phone. Notice how no-one has a face! The guy on the right with the moustache seemed like he was in charge of the 5 girls and took over the guitar playing when it got more complicated. I assume he's their musical pimp - he certainly looked like it.

The music was great but it was worth the money just to see the lead singer.



Then on Monday it was Amy Winehouse at the Concorde. Supporting her was a guy called Ben Earle - a 17yr old singer/songwriter with an acoustic guitar and keyboard. He was impressive and the crowd reacted in a way I've not really seen before. There was lots of friendly banter which kinda came out of nowhere. He'd obviously never had a crowd like it and wasn't sure how to take the praise.

After a short break, on came 6 band members in pyjamas, 2 backing singers in white Tuxedo tails and then Amy in a scandalous outfit - hotpants, bra and open jacket. The backing singers were superb: they didn't get much to sing, but they sure did dance!

She has a new album coming out and it has a massive Motown feel to it. It was great seeing it performed with a big band.

And what do singers and band members do after a gig in Brighton? Play pool in a local bar apparently!