Day 1 of The Great Escape has come to its conclusion, and we begin to digest all the music that we consumed in our first day at the festival. Here are the artists that The Metaphorical Boat witnessed on the opening day, complete with our usual hazy, badly taken pictures -
Confidence Man
Location: Komedia
The first band of The Great Escape was definitely our favourite of the day - cool danceable pop tunes, complete with semi-improvised, semi-choreographed routines from the lead singers. A fun time was had be all by the end of the set. Not sure we get the significance of the costumes of the backing musicians though, who were dressed like gothic beekeepers.
The Lottery Winners
Location: Queen's Hotel
The in-between song banter from the Salford band had many people in the audience (metaphorically) rolling on the floor in fits of laughter, which as a result meant that it's possible that we liked The Lottery Winners more as people than we did as musicians. That's not to say they weren't good though - they've got some cracking little indie-rock songs in their set, somewhere between Feeder and The Pixies.
Dat Brass vs Brass Funkeys
Location: Jubilee Square
Jubilee Square played host to not one, but two brass bands with a twist in Thursday afternoon. Dat Brass took it in a hip-hop direction, with the band covering songs like "Clint Eastwood" and "Stronger" with a strong brass flavour, with the Brass Funkeys, as their name suggested, taking a more funk orientated approach to their music.
It all culminated in a "Brass Off", where the two bands alternated performances, throwing shade at each other between performances, with Dat Brass taking the proverbial out of Brass Funkeys being conservatory trained, and Brass Funkeys mocking Dat Brass for playing too many covers. Dat Brass just about won for us, but we did enjoy both bands' spin on the genre.
Anteros
Location: Bleach
We saw Anteros at the festival last year, and loved them so much we had to see them again. They've added some great songs to their set since last year, like "Drunk" & "Bunny", but it is the old favourites like "Breakfast" that seem to go down the best with the heaving crowd. Blondie still seems like the closest comparison in sound.
PATHS
Location: Hotel Pelirocco
Electronica act PATHS put in a good performance in Hotel Pelirocco, although unfortunately the size of the venue means that the light show doesn't have the same impact as it has in previous gigs from the act.
Howl
Location: Sallis Benney Theatre
Howl were one of the bands that we knew little about before seeing them, and came out incredibly impressed. The band remind us of a modern day Stone Roses, with their baggy influenced songs like "Lost" really winning us over.
Brian Deady
Cork fellow Brian Deady has a really strong, soulful voice, although sometimes during the set it felt like he didn't have the tunes that it deserved behind it. "Clap Both My Hands" is a genuine banger though, very O Brother, Where Art Thou.
Outlya
Location: The Hope & Ruin
For a band that's only been together a few months, Outlya feel incredibly polished already (although given that the members had been in a band together previously, it's not that unexpected). A really strong set of songs very much in the mold of Coldplay.
The Amazons
Location: The East Wing
Only caught the tail end of this hotly tipped band, but we can definitely say that they do indeed make music.
Flyte
Location: The East Wing
When a band starts their set with an acapella cover of "Archie, Marry Me" by Alvvays (a song we first discovered during our first visit to The Great Escape in 2014), then you know that you're going to enjoy their set. Great indie-rock songs with sumptuous 4-part harmonies are the order of the day for Flyte.
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