CMAT at Brighton Centre Review

Photo by Hannah Rudrum

Words by Hannah Rudrum

The ‘very sexy CMAT band’ are on the stage at 9 pm. The starting tune of “Janis Joplining” is playing out of the speakers. But there is no CMAT in sight. Suddenly, the first lyrics “I’m a writer” play out, and a spotlight lands on CMAT on the balcony – adorned in a fur coat, looking out at the crowd. She sings the rest of the song from the balcony, then the lights go down; when they come back up, CMAT has joined the rest of her band on stage. This was the perfect chaotic entrance to match her just as chaotic show.

I wish I had as much fun in my job as CMAT and ‘the very sexy CMAT band’ seem to have on stage. Some people were born creative and made to perform – CMAT is very clearly one of those people. The show can only be described as half singing, half stand-up comedy, with practically the whole of the Brighton Centre being in laughter.

There were many times in the night that the audience, including me, was left laughing. One example would be when it turned into a pantomime – with everyone shouting, “Behind you!” after CMAT ‘forgot’ to introduce a member of the very sexy CMAT band, Colm. Another time is when CMAT got two of her bandmates to do an interpretive dance of a shoe left in a wardrobe instead of being on stage, including her band member, Holly, who was chair bound after hurting her ankle (this just goes to show how determined they all are to put on a good show, that even not being able to walk didn’t deter them from the show carrying on as usual).

She also spent a considerable amount of time interacting with the audience. For instance, she sung a CMAT to many members of the audience who all seemed to have had a birthday recently – one person said it had been last week, which CMAT vehemently pronounced “Doesn’t count!”. She spotted a fan who had a sign saying, “No more September boys, no more Virgos, what about August girls?”, to which CMAT replied with, “like all women, you’ve never done anything wrong in your life”, and then said to her band “I’m going to do something really annoying now” and sung a shortened version of “No More Virgos” with her bandmate Colm, at the keyboards. Additionally, she talked a lot about the band T-Shirts people were wearing (including a Wolf Alice tee, and an oasis one!).

Just before singing “I wanna be a Cowboy, Baby!” CMAT claimed we were the “best Monday night crowd” she’s ever had. We did the Dunboyne Co Meath 2 Step in complete synchronicity, with minimal instruction from CMAT, herself – even those on the balcony had stood up and were participating. She ended the gig with her iconic run through the crowd after climbing over the barricade during “Stay for Something”. This was not before she shouted, “Fuck Reform”, and “Free Palestine” – after which a “Free Palestine” chant started.

Overall, this was an amazingly fun performance, well worth attending. If you go to see CMAT at one of her upcoming gigs, then you will not be disappointed with the show she puts on.

Photos by Hannah Rudrum