Seagull Recommends 24/03

Hello and welcome back to Seagull Recommends! This week we've got so many gig recommendations, a March pantomime, and the best place for a vat of chai latte.

If you come across anything coming up in the city that you think we should know about, let us know!

🎶Gigs: Grandmas House are at The Hope and Ruin tonight—this post punk three-piece with 'too much energy' has been making waves in the UK music scene with their high energy performances and blend of grunge, punk, and indie rock, very reminiscent of 90s punk and grunge (tickets); can anyone else hardly believe Death Cab For Cutie formed in 1997? Wild news—they'll be at Brighton Dome on Monday for an intimate performance. Expect a dreamy atmosphere, blending thoughtful lyrics with catchy melodies and intricate instrumentation (tickets); indie rockers The Orielles are at Concorde 2 on Thursday; combining indie rock, post-punk, and dream pop, they're full of catchy guitar riffs, driving basslines and dreamy, melancholic lead vocals, impossible to compare to another band, their sound is entirely their own (tickets).

🎶Bonus gigs: A few bands you'll want to get tickets for in the next week: Black Honey will be at Concorde 2 Friday 31st—their sound is a unique blend of old-school rock and modern indie pop, very riffy, very catchy melodies, very powerful vocals, exploring themes of love, loss, and self-discovery (tickets); dynamic, high-energy, Brighton-based band The Go! Team are at Chalk Saturday 1st—the genre-bending band is known for their infectious mix of indie rock, hip-hop, and funk and they put on an excellent live show (tickets).

🎵The Great Escape: Legendary rock band The Pretenders will headline The Independent Stage at The Great Escape festival on May 12th. Led by iconic vocalist Chrissie Hynde, the band's exclusive set is not to be missed. The Pretenders are known for their high-energy performances and Chrissie Hynde's powerful vocals, showcasing a mix of classic hits and newer material. Festival wristbands grant access to the show, subject to capacity (tickets).

🎪Cabaret: Brighton's newest monthly family entertainment show, Cabaret Famalamb, is launching at the Actors Pub & Theatre on the last Sunday of every month. The show features TV stars and professional comedians from the comedy, magic and music circuits, and is hosted by award-winning comedian Silly Sonja. The show is divided into two age groups (4+ and 8+) though everyone is welcome. The show is not a 'sit down, sit still' kind of show; young hecklers are welcome, and there's a break-out area with tables, chairs and room to relax (tickets).

🚂Trains: The Brighton Toy Museum is hosting a Train Running Day on March 25th. This is the perfect opportunity to get up close with models and experience the magic of trains. The screens will be down so you can experience the layout with all the effects—a rare opportunity! The museum is a wonderful place to visit with its extensive collection of toys, games and dolls from the Victorian period to the present day (tickets).

🚶Walk: Little Amal, a 3.5m puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee girl, is visiting Brighton on Thursday 30th to lead a walk along Brighton beach. Amal has has travelled over 9,000km from the Syrian border to 13 countries in support of refugees and displaced people everywhere. Everyone who wants to walk alongside Amal should meet at the Golden Spiral opposite the West Pier at 6pm.

🌱Plants: Looking for an opportunity to swap plants, meet new people, and support a local charity? Look no further than the Plant Swap event in Hove! With a complimentary drink on arrival, a raffle, and plenty of opportunities to socialise with fellow plant enthusiasts, if you've got a green thumb this is the place to be on Tuesday. Buying a ticket also enters you automatically into the raffle (tickets)!

💉Vaccinations: If you're in need of an Mpox (previously called Monkeypox) vaccination, Community Base will be offering walk-in vaccinations on Monday 27th. Mpox, though rare, does have high rates in the city. It is important to get vaccinated against Mpox if you're at risk—find out more here.

⚽️Sports: Whitehawk FC face Cray Valley PM at The Enclosed Ground this Saturday—incidentally, we published an article about the club this week. Go Hawks (tickets)!

✈️i360: Have you ever wondered what it would be to see the city while naked? Well, Nothing On Events are doing a 'clothing optional' flight on the i360 (find out more about the history of the i360 here): 45 minutes in the air instead of 25, and the ticket price gets you a free drink (two if you want a soft drink). Nudity is only allowed once the pod is at roof height, and they ask anyone going nude brings a towel to sit on (tickets).

🍱Food: Team Seagull had some vegan chicken from The Bok Shop the other day—goku style (homemade sweet and tangy Japanese style sauce with sesame, spring onion and Super Saiyan Sauce) with seasoned fries. Our editor said:

Really a big fan of this chicken. The thing is, right, Brighton lost the best vegan food in the city when Really Happy Chicken closed down. Their vegan chicken was tofu, but it used to be seitan. I'm pretty sure The Bok Shop uses seitan, and it's very similar to how the old Really Happy Chicken recipe was. Very chewy, very filling, not too heavy on the stomach. A nice flavour profile.

☕️Drink: If you're looking for a fantastic coffee in Brighton, try Pelicano. They do great cake, and friend of The Seagull, who went to the Sydney Street cafe, said:

What I like about Pelicano is they give you things in a vat, like a jug. Like a chai latte.

🚋Volks update: 8 days to go! Single digits, baby!!

That's all for this week's Seagull Recommends! We hope you enjoy the weekend and the week ahead.