Live Review :: Kid Kapichi + The Cosmics + Beach Riot :: The Hope & Ruin, Brighton - Oct 7 2017

Live

Kid Kapichi + The Cosmics + Beach Riot

The Hope & Ruin, Brighton

October 7 2017

Words/Pictures: Steve Willcox

A Saturday night in Brighton sees the town livening up, and those with any sense are probably heading down to The Hope & Ruin for another This Feeling show of bright young talent.

First on stage tonight are London/Brighton band Beach Riot, formed in January and first championed by Little Indie in March. Unfortunately, guitarist and co-vocalist Cami Menditeguy is still for some reason ensconced in Argentina, so the four-piece are a member down, leaving Rory O’Connor to carry the Riot's testosterone assault. Launching manically into their debut track ‘B.A.D’, of fuzzy noise and wiry guitars, O’Connor looks great with his Kurt Cobain straggly blond hair and red striped tshirt, as his voice punched a hole into the speakers.

The rocky ‘Mr Fixer’ and ‘Serial Scruff’ both sounded great and as the band signed off on ‘She’s A Hurricane’, they received a warm round of applause from the small, but appreciative audience.

Next, The Cosmics arrive with frontwoman Erin Curran a cross between Chrissie Hynde’s attitude and Posh Spice’s posturing, which may sound awful but looked great on stage. Starting their set with ‘Waste of Time', she showed too her true vocal ability. Alongside her are her twin brother cousins, Conor and Danny Boyle on guitar and drums respectively. Conor has a natural flair with the guitar and produced some great riffs with a rocky edge during the set that he made to look effortless, but which quite astounded me. The drumming of Danny was on point throughout and I loved the tempo during ‘I Quit’. This is a band that has longevity - all they need is that lucky break to see them through and with songs like ‘Moonstruck’ and ‘Inishfree’ I can see that happening for this Brummie trio.

Last up are Hastings-based Kid Kapichi, with the dual vocal, Libs-esquecomponent of Ben Beetham and Jack Wilson who set the stage for a vocal competition of Fightclub (sshhhh). These two are perfect for the differing styles of their songs  so one is never quite sure who the main vocalist is - it’s a draw for me. Ben struts the stage with confidence of a rooster, whilst Jack is the more laid-back fox, so it’s becomes an entertaining show to watch these two spar.

Songs ‘Take It On The Chin’ soon gets this four-piece moving, and gets the room starting to finally fill. Both George Macdonald on drums  and new boy Eddie Lewis on bass keep the guys in check, and ensured a great combo of rhythm during tracks ‘Ice Cream’ and ‘Lion Tamer’. Closing the set on a high with the powerful ‘Waster’, you can certainly say these Kids put on a show .