Crayola Lectern @ The Coach House, Brighton 03/09/11

Brighton still shows it has its secret corners and hidden places, free from corporate advertisements, drinks promotions, banging soundz coming from ear-splittingly conversation-defying speaker systems which we now expect to experience amongst the wreckage of this post-X-Factor age; where having a night out must involve the active pretence of having a good time, as yet another Tequila slips down towards yet another messy end to yet another predictably crass night out.
Brighton's The Coach House exists away from all that worldly clutter. It's not a pub as the name suggests, so there's no sign up displaying any desire to fill itself with anyone looking for the 'good time' as outlined above. Instead, here is a space that supports creative living with wide-ranging workshops including beekeeping, basket making and a lot more, as well as providing a charming place to experience live music. The wood-burning stove, candles, the old church harmonium (which we used on the track below), the bare plaster walls, wood-beamed ceiling and oak floor all conspire together to create a rather magical little spot off the main road, up a hill and down an alley in the Kemp Town environs.
Submarine - Crayola Lectern by Crayola Lectern
The evening started with the improvised sounds of 9, namely Will from ViV and Jarv (sometimes drummer with Crayola Lectern), two great talents in the town coming together to redefine our expectations in sonic alchemy, followed by Sun Sets Over Whitehawk, woozily and bloozily improvised experiments with clarinets, bass, effects and voice, followed by Embla Quickbeam's resonance and drone pieces whose harmonics blend in the blissful noisemurk to create their own organically melodic lines, followed by Crayola Lectern, who overcame a major bout of tremens in the first song to settle into a happily lengthy set with just Al Strachan and I, Lectern, together giving it our best with my very own Technics PX7 electric piano, purchased off papa Strachan Snr, himself. We played three completely new songs and Jarv joined us for the last couple of numbers on them drums.
Great to see so many friends and acquaintances there - even one or two self-professed fans. Quite extraordinary and one beautiful warm-hearted evening.
Setlist:
Babs' Persecution Complex
Billennia
Submarine
Untitled
Slow Down
Combobulatory Explorations
I Will Never Hurt
Tumbling From Stretchers
Wholetoner
"Fireworks"
Awesomne View