Gig Review: Have Hope in The Phoenix Foundation

The Phoenix Foundation, Brighton's The Hope, 9th February 2011

It was raining; raining hard. The impact formed little dents in my skull. Water fell out of the sky in a desperate rush to rejoin the sea. It hammered ferociously at everything in its path. That's Brighton rain for you. It can strip you bare.

I haven't seen the remake of Brighton Rock. I hear it's quite abysmal: influenced as much by Quadrophenia as by Graham Greene. The brilliance of the original story partly lies in its gritty portrayal of a time, an era, a generation. To undo that is to spit in Graham Greene's face and to irreparably damage the persona he invented in Pinky. Or so I imagine.

Rows of mopeds lined up outside the Duke of York's cinema. The Mods flocked to watch a film so slated that even the local residents couldn't be fucked to follow them. A six-piece band from Wellington, New Zealand, knew no better.

It would appear that The Phoenix Foundation whiled away a wet wintery day at the flicks. In Dolby Surround Sound, they learnt that people in Brighton get stabbed up. Later, they charmingly challenged an audience of ageing indie adults to do just that. "They’re gonna stab us up… We’re gonna get mightily stabbed up," they said, the Kiwi twang grafting gravitas to each statement. They took what they could from the film and turned it into surreal comedy. The audience demanded favoured tunes, threatening deep lacerations if the band didn't acquiesce. A small room of people united in gentle silliness and innocuous threats of stabbing.

If you have seen the film Eagle Vs Shark, you will have heard tracks from The Phoenix Foundation before. They will sit somewhere deep in your psyche. I encourage you to embrace them, bring them into your conscious and learn to love them with joy.

The Phoenix Foundation played a mixture of old and new material, and brilliantly showcased their latest album 'Buffalo'. Momentarily, older tunes stepped a little close to 'middle of the road' rock, but never for long. For the most part, The Phoenix Foundation could teach Mumford and Sons a thing or two. The Phoenix Foundation has been around too long to lace lyrics with glib sincerity.

Samuel Scott, Lukasz Buda, Conrad Wedde, Tom Callwood, Richie Singleton and Will Ricketts proved themselves as serious and talented musicians, offering warm and witty banter and an hour of beautiful entertainment. It's hard to imagine that this mob of cheery fellas has made music together for 14 years. They gel with a fresh and easy going outlook.

Their set ended. I stood in the stairwell, dressing for the night with an embarrassing number of layers, completed by high-vis jacket and cycle helmet adorned with antennae-like rear view mirror. Richie Singleton, the drummer, came from the concert room and stood next to me. He chatted easily. I felt honoured to hold court with a member of The Phoenix Foundation. He talked of promoters, touring and their return to Brighton. The sight of a cyclist dressed for fierce rain and dangerous roads seemingly passed him by.

I didn't catch The Phoenix Foundation at The Great Escape last month. I will always have The Hope and our cosy night in.

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Download MP3: The Phoenix Foundation – Buffalo (courtesy of theburningear.com)