THE GREAT ESCAPE – REVIEW – DAY TWO
It’s just impossible to catch each and every band that’s on the lengthy schedule. Sadly, there are plenty of great acts that have times that clash and even working out the logistics of getting between all the venues is a task in itself. Still, yet another mind-numbingly exciting day was had by us all for day two…
Experience- And so we begin again at The Honey Club for today and immediately the phrase “start as you mean to go on” comes to mind, but frankly it would be nigh on impossible for us to maintain the standards we witnessed with this band’s performance! This Scottish 4-piece blew away any cobwebs gathered by the previous nights partying. My expectations were high having heard the handful of tracks available from them, but they surpassed them with ease. The raw energy that chimes out from their outstanding power-Indie is exceptional. Particularly impressive was the voice of frontman, Adam Thompson , especially on Ships With Holes Will Sink. Stunning.
BEST TRACK – SHIPS WITH HOLES WILL SINK (ysi)
2.) TEMPER TRAP
Experience- Possibly having travelled the farthest of all the acts on show this weekend, the Melbourne 4-piece were deserving of our attention. Playing straight after the energetic We Were Promised Jetpacks at the same venue, they had a task on their hands, but they burst straight into it. Playing live they had a thunderous beat and a louder sound than expected, particularly from what we’ve previously heard on their Myspace. The trademark sailing, whirlwind of echoing guitars soared high and the confident vocals from frontman Dougy tied up an entertaining set. The clear highlight was their best track to date, Sweet Disposition, as it’s U2-like riffs had us all hypnotized.
BEST TRACK – SWEET DISPOSITION (ysi)
3.) CHEW LIPS
Experience - Having missed them at The Hope the previous evening our appetite for this Camden 3-piece was even greater. We braved the pouring rain and driving coastal winds to race over to the Audio venue to catch them. We were to witness two examples of true star quality in the bands tonight and frontwoman, Tiggs, was the first of these. Climbing the amps, posing for the cameras and bouncing around the stage, in way not seen since Lovefoxxx, she stole the show. Closing on the excellent tune, Solo, this was a performance that left everyone in the venue with a positive, broad smile on their faces. Contagiously brilliant.
4.) MASTER SHORTIE
Experience- Lesson number two in star quality was immediately upon us around the corner as this South London MC launched himself onstage. What a talent this fella proved to be. He’s got the image, the energy, bags of confidence and perhaps most importantly true crossover appeal. Indie kids will love the guitars and hooks and singalong chorus’ and fans of Hip Hop will enjoy the rapid-fire lyrical assault that he spits out so well. His energy and enthusiasm was infectious. There was plenty of engaging the audience between songs, showing us a young man truly at ease on stage. He even got warm up act, RIZ MC, back on stage to improvise some lyrics, providing us with a genuinely special touch. Electric.
5.) METRONOMY
Experience- We’ve never caught the Brighton adoptees live before. There’s always been something that’s got in the way, so it was with relief and marked delight that we finally had a chance to see their famous show tonight. In the weekend’s biggest venue so far, at the Corn Exchange, we witnessed them blast out their inventive pop to a packed house. Following the recent departure of bassist Gabriel Stebbing to the band Your Twenties, we met with with the new bassist and female drummer. The dance moves they’re famous for were absent, so perhaps they need to rehearse some more before they work new ones out. Otherwise, the songs still stood tall and the crowd’s love affair was still very much in evidence.
BEST TRACK – A THING FOR ME (ysi)
We watched the second half of Metronomy, alongside Neil from the band Club Smith, who explained how he once supported them way back when they were brand new. It brought into perspective how bands can grow from the tiny beginnings we are witnessing all over town this weekend to the heavy hitters that we saw in Metronomy tonight. On our way home we bumped into Tim, lead singer for the Brighton band Maths Class, who informed us that they’re playing a secret gig at The Hope pub at 1pm Saturday and so we depart from tonight in the knowledge that the next day already guarantees more exciting entertainment.
Mike
