The Great Escape Festival, Brighton

Brighton is a bright and lively seaside town, renowned for its party scene and memorable nights out. But today, Friday, things are not looking so bright. We arrive to find rain bucketing down from the sky and gale force winds sweeping across the sea front. Is this really a great place to escape to? We stuck around to find out…

The concept of The Great Escape is much the same as The Camden Crawl. A hell of a lot of venues, check. A packed out list of bands, check. A significant amount of alcohol branded endorsements, check.  But at Brighton you can actually get into the venues! Minimal queuing and no over-selling of the number of tickets, joyous! Where The Camden Crawl should have succeeded, being at the epi-centre of alternative music and such it failed, but arguably The Great Escape has picked up where The Camden Crawl left off.

Our first destination this evening is a venue called Audio, a Barfly-esque venue, the stage sponsored by Levis 501s. To The Bones have already kicked off their set, a name that has been cropping up more and more frequently of late. With a heavy and impactful sound they have drawn quite a crowd this evening, a sound that gets the crowd moving. And considering it is only early evening they do a pretty good job of getting the crowd enthused. No sign of mosh pits yet, but maybe a little early, give them time…

Next up on our agenda for tonight are electro beauties Chew Lips, a Goldfrapp style band with a lead singer so sparkly she would give Girls Aloud a run for their money. The sound is interesting and intriguing, but not particularly original. They put on a good show, but for us it lacks a little something. You can dazzle the crowd with sparkles and confidence, but is this just distracting a little too much from the music itself?  Nonetheless the room is packed out and people clamber to get a better view. Alison Goldfrapp need not be worried though, it could be some time before Chew Lips step anywhere near her shoes.

The crowds pile in tonight for recently hot tipped and hyped rockers Dinosaur Pile-Up; we arrive to see what all the fuss is about. The verdict? The hype is well deserved. This Brit three-piece rock the room to its foundations with a genuine and credible performance that is all about the music. There are no frills to this band; it is good solid rock music, catchy and statement making.  The room is packed and the band thrive off the crowd’s enthusiasm.  It is just a matter of time before this band become, well, about as sizeable as their name suggests.

Next stop on our whistle stop venue tour of Brighton is the Pavilion Tavern, or ‘Pav Tav’ as it is known around these parts! We are here to see an unannounced set from Xcerts, in the upstairs room of this small venue.  Unsurprisingly this means that the crowd is a little more sparse than we have experienced so far today, but fear not as there is no negative impact made on their set. In a word, this band are loud! With catchy beats and rocking riffs that could make waves, the Xcerts could well be on their way to great things. The truly Scottish three-piece treat us to new single ‘Just Go Home’ with catchy “ooh ooh ooh”s and head nodding tracks are a-plenty.

Saturday is a warm afternoon and Brighton is in full weekend swing.

First up we pay a visit back to the ‘Pav Tav’ for a set from Young Guns, who treat us to rocking anthems such as ‘Weight Of The World’ and ‘In The Night’.  Their sound is huge with catchy choruses and all out rocking riffs. It’s commercially catchy but not in a way that it loses its heavier roots in an attempt to become radio friendly. These are certainly ones to watch in the coming months, particularly having been given a significant amount of coverage lately, and having been added to the line-up for Download Festival amongst others. Check them out, you will not be disappointed.

Fight Like Apes have had their name in lights for the last few months and are attracting quite a following. This is their second performance today at The Great Escape and it is packed out once again. As soon as we enter the venue we can hear why. Their point of difference is having a female vocalist, not the rarest of sights these days but there aren’t that many. And no it is not acceptable to make any even vague comparisons to the Ting Tings! Fight Like Apes are fresh and their sound is inviting. The Irish four-piece ooze a sense of originality and interest, something that the music scene really needs at the moment. ‘Tie Me Up With Jackets’ is a musical gem, vocalist MayKay has a certain sweetness to her voice, with lyrics that are quite bizarre but leave a lasting impression “same goes for you/I like my meatballs in a dish/and I like other people too”.  ‘Jake Summers’ is another highlight of the set with trademark bizarre lyrics inter-mingled with thoughtful words.

Esser treats to a set at the Sallis Benney Theatre. Having interviewed and reviewed his album, we’re keen to see just what this guy had to offer from a live set. We were not disappointed. He draws a significantly sized crowd with numbers such as ‘I Love You’ and ‘I’m Leaving Town’, songs that onlookers can really join in with, and giving a prime demonstration of just what the Esser vibe is all about. Aside from a slip up on stage (which he dealt with well and continued his performance, be it on the floor or not!) the set’s spot on, his tour with the Kaiser Chiefs clearly providing him with the confidence and charisma to command a large audience. Highlight of the set for us is last single ‘Work It Out’ which got the crowd movin’ and groovin’, leaving them on a high.

The Boxer Rebellion are a successful American unit that have recently experienced a significant amount of success. They headline Brighton Coalition tonight with a packed out crowd in tow. Although slightly melancholic at times, particularly in contrast to the other acts we have seen today,  this band are melodic with a textured and heart warming  sound that brings the night to a calm close. The audience are clearly captured by the sound, happy to stand still and watch their performance.

Each year that The Great Escape happens, it is seemingly the fact that the year before’s line-up is truly appreciated twelve months later when these up and coming bands experience success. We predict that some of these gems we have seen will be making waves themselves next year and may be climbing their way up some of the big festival bills. Only time will tell…