(Review by Peter Greenfield)
GOODBYE + VAN ZON – ROSSI BAR, BRIGHTON 14.9.24
I had seen four of the five members of Goodbye (stylised as goodbye) in other Brighton bands. Alfie Beer (guitar, vocals) played trombone in Flip Top Head and fronted The Famous People, while Sarah Ryan (guitar, synth, vocals) formally fronted Gene Pool. Jake Smith (bass) is also in Jar Of Blind Flies while Elik Eddy (drums) is in Moon Idle. Goodbye is the very first project for vocalist Megan Wheeler. It was a simply spectacular vocal performance from Megan, and hard to believe it was her first live performance on that display.
Goodbye started their set with ‘MEAT’. Its sublime intro climbed after a few bars and built into an impressive wall of sound. It was soon apparent that Megan is a real find as a singer. Whether it was her dreamy ethereal side or her soaring vocals, she always matched the mood and music perfectly, and seemingly effortlessly. She also worked well sharing the vocals with other band members such as Alfie on the second song ‘Stoic Friend’ and later with Sarah. The influence of The Sundays came across in parts of ‘Stoic Friend’. Guitarist Sarah switched to synth for ‘Come Clean’ which rose and fell beautifully.
There was a sense of fun to the band as they were clearly enjoying themselves. Early on Alfie proclaimed “This is the best gig we’ve ever played”, to which Megan added “It’s the first gig we’ve ever played!”. The stage was draped in clear plastic sheeting, which seemed to intrude on drummer Elik at the back of the stage. He joked “They could dispose of me [in the plastic] without anybody knowing”. That fun element had already spread from the small stage into the audience.
Back to the music, ‘Benjis Collar’ had a gentle start with Megan singing to just an accompanying guitar, before the song exploded and increased in tempo and volume.
Before the next song ‘The Boy’, Sarah on synth turned to Alfie and declared “I’m ready”, to which he replied “Shit, I start this one, don’t I.” ‘The Boy’ cleverly switched between atmospheric dreamlike sounds to more up-tempo sections. Sarah’s synth added to the mood of that, and other songs. Alfie took more of a lead on the vocals with Megan’s voice adding a beautiful ethereal contrast.
Elik swapped drums for shakers on the more laid back ‘Take Time’, which like many of Goodbye’s songs built seamlessly and beautifully. For the start of their final song ‘Tolgus Wartha’, singer Megan left the stage to stand at the front of the audience, before returning as her vocals started and the stunning soundscape developed. Her voice comfortably soared to match the music. The crescendo dropped back to fittingly close the song and set.
As I said, I had seen most of the musicians previously in other bands. What was noticeable was how we saw other sides of their individual musical talents in Goodbye. Those styles combined impressively from their dreamy jangle through to a more raucous side.
It was a very special show from Goodbye, which was greeted by huge applause and cheers from the crowd. There was a noticeable buzz of excitement around the venue afterwards, the likes of which I have not seen for some time, especially for a debut. Their flyer showed just the back of the band member’s heads. I think we will be seeing a lot more from Goodbye, (as long as their drummer manages to untangle himself from the stage backdrop).
Wow, what an amazing first performance by Goodbye at The Rossi Bar on Saturday night. Their debut live show was certainly a special occasion.
If you missed the sold-out debut from Goodbye, it was more of an “au revoir” or “see you later” as they announced they are supporting Welly at Lewes Con Club on Thursday 26th September (Further details HERE and tickets HERE). You can also catch them on the second day of ‘234 Festival’ at the Green Door Store on Sunday 29th September (Further details HERE).
Goodbye:
Megan Wheeler – vocals
Sarah Ryan – guitar, synth, vocals
Alfie Beer – guitar, vocals
Jake Smith – bass
Elik Eddy – drums
Goodbye setlist:
‘MEAT’
‘Stoic Friend’
‘Come Clean’
‘Benjis Collar’
‘The Boy’
‘Take Time’
‘Tolgus Wartha’
Experimental post-rockers Van Zon opened the night’s entertainment at The Rossi Bar. Formed only just over a year ago, they are one of Brighton’s most inventive and thrilling newcomers. The enigmatic five-piece feature multiple lead vocalists, guitar, violin, keys, clarinet, bass and drums.
Van Zon are Mina Alexander (violin, vocals), Charlie West (guitar, vocals), Lottie Skala (bass, vocals) and Ewan Vellinga (drums). On Saturday Chris Luu stood in for their usual clarinetist Daniel Scott-Warren.
The band’s unique inventive style was evident from the opening number, ‘She Moves Through The Fair’ as Charlie played guitar with a violin bow. This gentler opening number was followed by the more up-tempo ‘O Messiah’ with Charlie taking over lead vocals from Mina. On the first of two untitled songs drummer Ewan swapped to acoustic guitar.
Charlie introduced ‘Roundwood’ as “an old song we’ve not played for a while”. This was Lottie’s turn on lead vocals. For parts of this song Mina played her violin by plucking and thus adding another variation to their sound. At other times Mina’s violin added a melancholy note to the songs.
Van Zon’s final song was introduced as “a new one, a more upbeat one to remember us by”. It closed a great opening set. I would add that Van Zon’s performance will be remembered by the variety, innovation and quality across all five songs, not just that last one.
You can catch Van Zon as part of ‘234 Festival’ at Green Door Store on Sunday 29th September (Further details HERE) and ‘Mutations’ on Saturday 9th November (Further details HERE and tickets HERE). They are also playing ‘Hidden Herd’ Presents at The Hope & Ruin on Wednesday 16th October (Further details HERE and tickets HERE).
Van Zon:
Mina Alexander – violin and vocals
Charlie West – guitar and vocals
Lottie Skala – bass and vocals
Ewan Vellinga – drums and acoustic guitar
Chris Luu – clarinet
Van Zon setlist:
‘She Moves Through The Fair’
‘O Messiah’
“untitled 1”
‘Roundwood’
“untitled 2”
