Live Review: LIFE - Green Store Door, Brighton 17/06/2018

Hull quartet, Life stopped by The Green Store Door for the final night of their run of UK shows, and boy did they treat Brighton to a satisfyingly slick and highly charged set.

Let’s just say they did not disappoint. With their lyrics both anarchic and cheeky, they showcased an undeniable chemistry on stage, which is always a joy to witness in any band.

The Green Door Store has a real knack of putting on bold and energetic gigs, which is quite impressive considering the the size of the venue. Tucked under the train station’s arches, this venue is a little cosy- which on nights like to tonight is a truly great thing. With very little separating the artists from the crowd, bands can literally throw themselves into the room with no trouble at all. This is exactly what Life’s frontman Mez did just moments after arriving on stage. He then proceeded to sing with the crowd, which shattered any small-stage awkwardness almost instantly. His eye contact with so many people in the crowd was unlike anything I have seen before, it made you feel like he was singing those songs on your behalf, which was very powerful.

This was an intimate gig through and through, with frontman Mez casually asking of he could have a sip of the beer being held by the man in the front row. Mez continued to do so throughout Life’s set, and the guy was more cool about it, even offering to buy Mez his own pint. This set the gig up to be a really non-pretentious one. Chilled banter flowed in between songs, allowing the crowd to discover the band have day jobs in Yorkshire, as they rather bittersweetly admit, “there’s no money in music”. And here was a natural nod to “f*ck the Tories”, naturally.

There was a very clear Sunday evening vibe looming in the air, everyone clutching onto the last moments of their weekend with both hands- this meant no one was holding back having a good time. Many a beer were drunk and the crowds threw all of their energy into the strong support bill, Guru, treeboy & arc and Hotel Lux.

Words and Photography by Chloe Carla Zarha