Arthur Brown at Lewes Con Club

I have seen Arthur Brown live numerous times and in various locations, from a cafe in Soho to the Assembly Rooms in Leamington Spa, and with several different sets of musicians and  they have all been good or great. That is why I was keen to see him in his latest incarnation, even if that meant spending the night in Lewes afterwards.

I knew Lewes from regular visits to Glyndebourne and liked the look and position of the Premiere Inn there so a plan was formed. I had considered adding a second, maybe a third, night to my stay to make more of a break of it but the nights either side of Sunday were prohibitively expensive so that was dropped. I actually stayed in Eastbourne for a couple of days beforehand but that's another story.

I arrived in Lewes around lunchtime on Sunday but having had an all-day veggie breakfast only s couple of hours earlier I skipped lunch and went for an explore instead. Lewes was wet and hilly so this was a modest exploration with a break for a beer.

I had found the Con Club in the afternoon.(when I had a sneak peek of Arthur watching the sound check) and had confirmed the opening time for the evening's show. I arrived about that time and was the first in the queue, though several people had gone in before the official opening time and the staff were busy checking their tickets first.

Inside it was just a room with a stage and alongside that a long bar with just a few seats, all of which were taken. I headed in to the hall to claim a spot taking a pint of beer with me.

Arthur arrived on stage at the appointed time to an enthusiastic cheer.

Arthur had said in his newsletter that he was trying  to make these concerts more of a show and that was apparent from the start with the decoration of the stage; the arm on the far left is of a prop not a person. Arthur added to that with a series of exotic costumes and the light show added the final touch,

His backing band has changed many times over the years and I do not know if I have seen any of the current lineup before (apart from the recent gig supporting Hawkwind) but I liked their sound with a prominent keyboard, it reminded me of the happy days when he was backed by Instant Flight with Lucie Rejchrtova on keyboards.

The mood of the music was late sixties, think of the introduction to The Doors' Light My Fire.

The set was something of a change. For as long as I can remember he has played Devil's Grip, Kites, I put a Spell on You but none of these appeared this night. Fire was there with the introductory Fire Poem.

 

Also included was my all-time favourite Arthur Brown song, originally released on 1973's Journey album by his then band Kingdom Come. (There are lots of stories about my connection with that album, one day perhaps). There was a surprise here with some new lyrics after fifty years, e.g. "We hover at the speed of time".

The other familiar song that made the set was The Voice of Love from the 2007 album of the same name. I bought the album when it came out and have loved this song ever since.

There were a few songs that were new to me but the voice, the band, the sound and the staging were the same so they felt like old favourites.

I have seen Arthur Brown live numerous times and this is probably the best concert of the lot. I have booked to see him again next April.