The Messthetics Lewes

The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis live in Brighton at Lewes Con Club on Saturday 15th February!
Get tickets with with only a £1 booking fee above, or from Seetickets.

Joe Lally was onstage, playing at full throttle, when he realized that his band had found a true kindred spirit. It was the fall of 2021 and the Messthetics — the instrumental trio of Lally on
bass, his former Fugazi bandmate Brendan Canty on drums and guitarist Anthony Pirog —were at Brooklyn venue the Bell House, digging into their uptempo riff workout “Serpent
Tongue.” Joining them for the piece was a special guest, acclaimed jazz saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, making only his second cameo with the group after a drop-in at another New
York show back in 2019. That first meeting had been a success, but this time, Lewis’ presence sparked something new. “It pushed the song like crazy,” Lally recalls of a passage when Lewis and Pirog began trading fiery solos. As the intensity kept building, the bassist felt simultaneously challenged and
exhilarated. “You’re just holding on and going, ‘It sounds great,’” he remembers telling himself. “‘Just keep going.’”

That imperative — the sense that there was more to explore within what began as an ad hoc union among the four musicians — lingered after the performance ended. Now, Lewis, Pirog,
Lally and Canty are ready to unveil their first full-length album as a quartet. Recorded in just two days in December 2022 at Takoma Park, Maryland, studio Tonal Park, with engineer Don
Godwin, The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis features nine tracks that capture the combustive chemistry Lally originally sensed onstage while expanding the collaboration in all
directions.

Though the configuration heard on The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis is relatively new, it builds on long-standing musical relationships. Lewis and Pirog first met around a decade ago at a session led by free-jazz drummer William Hooker and instantly hit it off, going on to work together extensively in Lewis’ own groups.

Plus Support

30112024 – Porridge Radio. Chalk
02122024 – Victory Lap. The Hope & Ruin
05122024 – Blood Wizard. Green Door Store
05122024 – Die Twice. The Hope & Ruin
07122024 – John Otway & his band. Lewes Constitutional Club
08122024 – Stick in the Wheel. Lewes Constitutional Club
11122024 – Hollow Hand. The Hope & Ruin
12122024 – Hard Skin. The Prince Albert
12122024 – Predeceased. The Hope & Ruin (bar)
12122024 – Francis Pig. Daltons
13122024 – Dub Pistols. Concorde 2
15122024 – Yenkee. Folklore Rooms
15012025 – John Craigie. Komedia
15012025 – Langkamer. The Prince Albert
21012025 – The Bel Air Lip Bombs. The Prince Albert
22012025 – Jim Moray. Komedia Studio
23012025 – Belako. The Hope & Ruin
02022025 – The John Martyn Project. The Old Market
14022025 – Jake Xerxes Fussell. St Luke’s Church
20022025 – BABii. Green Door Store
21022025 – Rats on Rafts. The Prince Albert
21022025 – MAQUINA. The Hope & Ruin
22022025 – She Drew The Gun. Revenge
01032025 – Personal Trainer. Chalk.
09032025 – Sean Rowe. Lewes Constitutional Club
10032025 – Carter Sampson. Prince Albert
12032025 – Helen Ganya. Alphabet
12032025 – Pom Poko. Chalk
21032025 – Pure Adult + Cassels. Daltons
29032025 – The Tubs. Brighton
03042025 – Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs. Chalk
08042025 – Divorce. Chalk
20042025 – Chat Pile. Chalk
02052025 – Henge. Concorde 2
06052025 – Soccer Mommy. Chalk
13052025 – Snapped Ankles. The Old Market
22052025 – Lunar Vacation. The Hope & Ruin
29052025 – Throwing Muses. Chalk
30052025 – MJ Lenderman. Chalk
01062025 – Shonen Knife. Concorde 2

Accessibility: We operate the Buddy Scheme at our gigs. The Club is accessible for wheelchairs with management. It’s all on one level apart from a small threshold at the front door for which we have a portable ramp. The toilets are not Building Regulations Part M compliant, but one of the WC’s is reasonably accessible. Visiting outside gig times should present no problems, but please email music@lewesconclub.com ahead on gig nights so we can meet and greet and reserve a space with a view of the stage. If you require a carer at the venue, please contact us at info@lovethyneighbourmusic.co.uk for guestlist, with evidence such as a blue badge or access card.

The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis Lewes 

The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis Lewes