Reef at Corcorde 2 in Brighton Review
Reef
Corcorde 2, Brighton
4 March 2015
Reviewed by Meresa Bergin
When asked to review Reef I must admit I had no idea who they were, my husband soon informed they were one of the best bands of the 90’s and one of his favourite bands of all time. He and his friends were very impressed I was going along to see them. I realised when my husband played “Place Your Hands” I had heard the song before so was keen to see the band live on the Brighton leg of their UK tour.
Arriving at Concorde 2 in Brighton I did note it was very busy but there was space to move around, the bar and toilets were not overly busy. There was also seating which is a must for me as I suffer bad hips if I stand for too long. In the main bar there is a screen so you can see the stage without being in the main hall. The main hall is like a really cool disco hall, I loved the lightening and the walls. We arrived just as Reef were coming onto the stage so we timed it well. It did get a lot busier then and most people moved into the main hall to get closer to the stage, including my husband. I stay back in the bar as not overly keen on crowds and it was much more laidback and chilled out but my husband loved getting to the front at seeing them up close.
Reef were very impressive, amazing with the crowd, getting everyone on their feet and in a great mood. I liked their sound, I expected it to be very rock heavy as this is what my husband generally listens to but I found I could hear the words even though it was loud and wasn’t at all “screamy”, they had some very calming and chilled out tracks which give a bit of time to just sit back and relax if you chose to. We loved all the tracks, I had managed to listen to some of their music beforehand so knew some of the songs and lyrics, which seemed to impress my husband! And they played Place Your Hands which is my favourite song so I was happy as were the rest of the crowd as we all sang along! And I loved Consideration which was a much more chilled out song. My husband said they sounded amazing live which you sometimes don’t get with bands singing live.
They played a good range of all their tracks, my husband also felt Jesse Woods was great as he is new to the band and not a part of the original line up, he fitted in well and wasn’t noticeable.
Overall I was impressed with the band, how interactive they were with their crowd, given they haven’t toured for so long. I was very impressed with venue which hosts of live bands and regular nights of music, it is cosy and not too big, plenty of room in the bar, staff are friendly.
Reef are: Jack Bessant (bass guitar), Dominic Greensmith (drums), Gary Stringer (vocals) and Jesse James Wood (guitar).
Rating: 5/5 
Reef are currently on a 13 intimate gig tour plus 3 dates as the main support act for Thunder throughout March and April, for more information or to book tickets visit www.reefband.com.
Tickets can also be booked through www.ticketmster.co.uk and www.livenation.co.uk.
