Dirty Leaves & Michael A Grammar

The Prince Albert

Brighton

April 12^th

First time that a member of the reviews team had been to the Prince Albert for a gig, but the upstairs room has a lot to offer as a small venue. The sound was excellent at kudos to the sound man who didn't push the levels to the limit as is so often the case. The atmosphere was relaxed and civilised mostly due to everyone being sat at tables, but the 2 bands on showed a great way to spend an evening.

Michael A Grammar

First band on saw the return of old Brightonian Rockers to the scene who have since relocated to Nottingham. They sounded tight and definitive with the vocals coming out clearly through the monitors. 

Their sound predominantly featured delay heavy lead guitar with jangly rhythm beneath and wavered between psychedelia and the Alt. Rock of bands like The Smiths.

Frontman Joel Sayers might not have the greatest vocals but it really works in a similar way to Ian Curtis of Joy Division.

As their set carried on it became clear how wide their range of their influences was that has now been trailered into their own sound. At one point we were enjoying the wishy washy atmospherics that Radiohead do so well and then next song featuring either a full on semi-quaver funk down or a spaghetti western styled feature.

Like a pleasant day dream Michael A Grammar were very enjoyable and offerred a great introduction to headline band; Dirty Leaves.

Dirty Leaves

The last few months have seen Dirty Leaves forcibly having to take a break due to frontman Harry Smyth having broken his arm. But Dirty Leaves quickly begin making up for lost time by blasting through a setlist of their take on good old fashioned Rock N' Roll.

Like the previous act the sound system only added as a compliment, delivering a mix where it was easy to pick out each instrument and the vocals.

At a nice dynamic change the fourth track saw Harry gave up his duties on the guitar and instead focus more on the vocals and stage show, looking very confident as a frontman. 

Throughout the set you could see how Dirty Leaves have developed glittering their compositions with elements of Classic Rock bands such as Zeppelin, contemporary Punk, and at times the riffery and ethos of Metal.

Dirty Leaves proved themselves as a quality live act upon their return with a blend of old and new material. Their set even receiving the highest level of approval with people screaming for more. With an album in the works, 2011 could very much be a promising year for the band.

Underground


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