And so the time has finally come for Instrumentality to leave the Fortune of War in search of pastures new. Its been a great three years in the venue, and we're proud to have transformed the place from an aimless seafront drinking hole into Brighton's vibrating hub of creative electronic activity. Sadly, the future of the Fortune looks bleak once again.
R.I.P the Fortune of War...
...viva INSTRUMENTALITY!
A few words from Instrumentality founder Sam Voltek:
I heard this news today from Mike; I knew it was coming sooner or later. Since Arun (the Fortune's long-serving Manager) was forced to move last week to run the Easy Bar at Churchill Square, and replaced not by legendary dude, barman and long-serving assistant Manager Matt Rivers but by a pair of slack-knobbed pound-perverts who's idea of culture ventures no further than Stereophonics and Oasis, I'd been getting suspicious.
But why all the musical chairs? Well, a few months ago the slowly dying spirit of diversity in Brighton suffered a terrible blow - The city's two biggest bar owning corporations, C-Side and Zel, decided to merge their ugly bodies into one raging cash-beast, effectively creating a monopoly that covers half the bar and club trade in Brighton, of which sadly the Fortune is included.
In fact it has long been owned by the same people as the Beach, Funky Buddha, Sumo, the old Polar Bars, and many other now dead pubs and venues, driven into the ground by bad management, overpricing, shortsighted values, whimsical money-making schemes, underhand dealings and a general mean spirited view of 'The Entertainment Industry' as some kind of Paul McKenna cattle-herding stunt.
The Fortune did not suffer the same dreary fate over the last half decade... not by accident but through the determintation and hard work of an awesome crew of devoted instigators, supporters and collaborators (I should mention some of these unsung heroes: At the Fortune - Matt Rivers, Carolyn and Arun, and the hard working Instrumentality crew - Mike Jefford, Tomo Kimura, Tom Wong, Lee Hutcheon, Tom Weller, Jim Fussell ... And the support of such luminary organisations as Spirit of Gravity, Wrong Music, Net-Lab, Litmus, Bottletop... and not forgetting Tessa for all her support and donation inducing smiles on the door ... Coco, Ollie and Cameron for bringing the TV's, positivity and inspiration ... Petrusco for his photo's and projector loan and general costume madness ... all the great artists who have played for little more than a taxi fare and a few beers... and of course you for coming down, come rain or shine ... and I'm sure I've still missed people...)
I suppose you take the best from every situation, and for me its the memories of all the crazy things that came in, set up and happened. I'd vouch that almost everyone that attended can remember seeing something completely extraordinary happen in that pub, and I'm glad to have been there for so many of them.
But the honeymoon is over! Yes indeed, these muppets are about to drag the Fortune back into the mainstream, to get swept out to the sea on the cold currents of mediocrity, never again to feel the warm embrace of creativity and self expression it once received. Nearly 200 different acts in three years had the unique experience of playing at the Fortune, reinstating a live music legacy that once upon a time had a young Jools Holland tinker the ivories in the upturned hull...
There has always been a stylistic aversion to having Instrumentality at the Fortune at the "head office"; its not called "We Love 90's", "We Love 80's", "Mo Money" or some such title, and in fact I think six syllable words trouble them somewhat too. And of course, we don't put on Mike Pantelli (catch him playing all the funk greats, 3 times a week at various seafront venues, for the last decade and forever more!) which I'm sure really pisses them off as they must get pretty good bulk-buy wholesale discounts. Hoho! I'm going off on one. Back to the point...
Its clear that Instrumentality does not fit into the plans the new managers have for the Fortune. Quite what those plans are, its a mystery even to themselves, but first things first, get those offensive noises off our seafront!
What is likely to happen in this order is; they cancel all the nights and do nothing, they invite some other nights (I heard the classic "All Time Top 100" mentioned), slam a load of money into promotion, realise nobody leaves the house on a rainy week night without good reason, (especially not for £3.20 a pint) and give up, perhaps wondering how the fuck we managed to have such a lively event, perhaps not.
Of course, it takes just a bit of abacus work and common sense to realise that Instrumentality has been the busiest midweek night for several years, but friends, if there is one thing these people hate more than diversity, its subversion. Subversion is a known cause of terrorism, cancer, and AIDS, and should be kept at a distance.
So! Back to the point again.
I'm sure for many of you a change to a more central location would be welcome... not to mention better value and variety of beverages.
So the question is: WHERE NEXT?!
This is no easy question to answer, as suitable venues in Brighton are thin on the ground, and getting thinner. But there are several good ideas floating about, and we are opening up the discussion in a new forum and blog being set up as we speak. Please come back and join this essential debate on the future of Instrumentality and, more importantly, Brighton's rich and indomitable underground music scene!
See you very soon
Mike Sam Tom Tom Tomo Leeeeee