X Factor Fridays: Craig Colton @ Revenge

20NOV2011

So I'm going to say this straight away: if you aren't a fan of, or even watch, the X Factor, you may think that this review is rather obsolete to you. But the experience of Revenge on a Friday stretches far beyond the fleeting appearance of whatever singing contest cast-off is 'performing' that night. For me, this just so happened to be Craig Colton - you know, that guy who seems to only sing Adele songs every week. An advance warning: DO NOT turn up early if you are going for the sole purpose of seeing the act on that week. I rocked up at 10.30 - when the doors open - thinking that because it was a special event doors would open earlier and more people would be arriving early as well. Boy, was I mistaken. Including the group of 4 I was with, there were a total of 9 people in there to start with - little bit awkward, I'm not going to lie. But as the night went on and more people showed up, the atmosphere completely changed. Everyone was friendly, welcoming, warm and, most importantly for me, completely unpretentious. This is a place where you can go and not feel judged for whatever you look like or are wearing, because everyone is so accepting of everyone else - for me, a world away from places like Oceana, which can feel more like an elitist fashion show than a club at times. Revenge doesn't pretend to be anything else than what it is, which totally adds to its merits as far as I, as a Revenge virgin before this, am concerned. The music played is also brilliant - superfans of indie rock should look away now. It completely appealed to my inner gay dancer with it's dance-pop central theme, with artists like Kylie, Gaga, Ke$ha and Beyonce regularly making an appearance. Also an enjoyable feature are the guys (obviously regulars) who look like pseudo-professional dancers with their amazing recall of the dance routines of the Pussycat Dolls and space-demanding high kicks. But if you plan on getting drunk in the club you can forget it: at £3.60 for a single spirit-mixer it would break anyone's bank balance to get plastered there, especially a students. Revenge is however the type of place that would your experience of it would benefit from many alcohol blankets, so my tip is to pre-drink and turn up drunk. I am ever the sensible student drinking advisor. Now, on to the main attraction: rejected reality show stars. It was with a tinge of sadness that I watched Craig Colton try and re-create his X Factor high in front of 100 drunken club-goers, but this is the way it goes nowadays. His half-hearted attempts at talking to the audience were quickly stifled with inebriated calls for his 'hits' from the show, with a proposed new song quickly being replaced with his version of Lady Gaga's 'Paparazzi' at the request of the inebriated crowd. Another piece of advice: don't try to get to the front, the crushed lungs, other people's sweat and trampled feet are definitely not worth it. After his allotted 4 songs he was ushered off-stage, with an announcement that he would be signing autographs at the bar. Wanting to avoid the rush we left pretty sharpish after that. All in all, it really isn't worth the £6 ticket to see a mediocre karaoke singer try and regain some credibility, but Revenge as a club in itself needs no justification or promotion from the X Factor - it is a brilliant experience that every self-respecting Brightonian should try at least once.

Review by Caitlin Bartholomew