Where: The Ranelagh Arms, 2-3 High Street, Brighton
I paid: £3.60 for a pint of Doom Bar, £3.00 for a Malibu & Coke (not mine!)
Although it's address is officially listed as High Street, the Ranelagh is situated right on the corner with St. James Street and the 'colourful' street life that comes with it. The area has been gentrifed in recent years but is still home to some of the edgier fringes of society and you can always expect to see a mix of unconvincing transvestites, street drinkers, students and the little old dears with their shopping trolleys determinedly battling through the throngs on their way to Morrisons. The street is quiet on this miserable Sunday afternoon though, as is the pub itself. In fact we are the only customers. I say 'we' as I have been joined by my mate Sara, who came along because "I've nothing better to do", which his hardly a ringing endorsement either for the pub or for my company. We are served by a monumentally bored looking barmaid who at least has the saving grace of having a monumentally impressive chest. The order for a malibu and coke is probably a more common occurence in other nearby establishments but any shame on my part is unfounded as she manages to show almost complete disinterest.
The pub is self proclaimed as Brighton's 'legendary' blues bar although maybe this is only true amongst the blues fraternity. A quick straw poll at work revealed that only a few people were aware of its existence, although as postmen they really can't be expected to know where anything is. It's decorated with posters and pictures for seminal American bluesmen such as BB King, Howlin Wolf and John Lee Hooker whilst the soundtrack being played behind the bar was heavily blues influenced. The barmaid didn't seem to notice (or more likely didn't care) that it was on a loop of the same five or six songs however and after being there for an hour or so we were starting to feel like were listening to a special blues version of Heart FM. During the brief lull in between songs we had the added bonus of being able to hear disco diva classics being belted out at the Sunday afternoon karaoke of the gay bar down the street. (review pending)
As well as the gig posters there are old guitars on show around the place, as well as the musical instruments that with a few beers and Sunday afternoon lethargy fogging our minds neither of us were able to come up with the name of and had to settle for 'them squeezie things' (this wasn't a reference to the barmaids chest). On closer inspection, one of the guitars had a small plaque next to it that stated it had been purchased from the estate of Robert Coleman upon his death in 1982. Impressive. If they'd purchased his corpse at the same time and were stashing it in the toilets I wouldn't be surprised, it might explain the smell.
After an hour or so the barmaid was replaced by an older guy who made up for what he lacked in the cleavage department by at least being friendlier and trying to get us interested in upcoming gigs. I like the blues, albeit the more up tempo numbers, the "I lost my job, my dog has just died" variety can become a bit dirge-like after a while. The miserable weather outside and our equally miserable reception didn't help our impressions but I will definitely give it another chance. On a live music night with a few more people in the place it's got potential, even if some of the staff have got the blues.
Dog Friendly: Welcome except when there's live music on Staff Friendly: No
Outside seating: Small patio area at the side where you can watch a couple of 'locals' brawl over the last can of Special Brew and listen to 'I will survive' being belted out by Lily Savage. Also there is no comfortable seating inside, maybe you have to suffer for the blues and it's just not the same lounging in a leather settee.
Quiz: Nah Food: Nah
Live Music: Most nights of the week. Blues, folk, rock and Americana predominantly. That's alright then.
Miscellaneous: It smelt like something had died in the toilets, maybe Robert Coleman? Sara thought the fireplace was impressive, I'll take her word for that.
OVERALL SCORE: 6/10.......................Got no place to go (da da da da dah), you should give it a go.
No comments:
Post a Comment