The Great Escape - Saturday 11th May

Before going through the artists witnessed on the final day of The Great Escape, I'd just like to mention some of the artists that I would have liked to see, but couldn't due to various reasons. These include, but are not limited to, Ballet School, The Clameens, Wonder Villains, The Trouble With Templeton, Ballet School, Fat White Family & East India Youth. Hopefully Brighton will not have been the last opportunity to see these bands.

But back to what I did see in The Great Escape on Saturday, accompanied, as ever, by hastily taken photographs - 

Bridie Jackson & The Arbour

Location - Komedia

Spellbinding folk from the Newcastle band. With a stripped down sound and an unconventional approach to instrumentation (at one point, they used bells that looked like wallpaper strippers), they were in a class above the rest.

Sheppard

Location - Concorde 2

Australian sextet Sheppard were the most unashamedly commercial bands I saw at TGE, but also one of the best. They delivered catchy tune after catchy tune, from the chorus-tastic "Geronimo" (a song that the organisers of the showcase were keen to point out was a #1 hit for 5 weeks in their home country), to the jaunty "Let Me Down Easy", to a rather angry yet accessible song whose name I didn't get, but sounded as if it would be a monster hit if recorded by Miley Cyrus. They were a real class act, and if they can get a good push, they're going to be just as big here as they already are back home.

Buffalo Daughter

Venue - Queen's Hotel

I'd never heard of Buffalo Daughter before seeing them at TGE, but they've been going for over 20 years, and from the full room for their performance, it looks as if they've amassed a decent fan base. Their music could be best described as post-experimental rock, with the traditional rock setup supplemented by a turntable and sample operator, who is perhaps the weirdest band member I've ever seen live (at one point, he started flashing a small torch at the wall and into the audience for no clear reason). Quite a bizarre sound and performance, but rather decent. Might need to do a bit more digging into these guys.

Fickle Friends

Location - The Mesmerist 

The place was absolutely rammed for local group Fickle Friends, with lots of people standing outside the venue listening in. I didn't enjoy them as much as I would have liked to, but I was very much in the minority in that regard. There was much love for them.

Cheerleader

Venue - Corn Exchange

Caught the last 15 minutes of these guys after failing to get in to another band (Southern, for whom there was a massive queue for), and it was a very welcome substitute. Delicious indie-pop of the tastiest variety, and with a decent crowd for them despite being rather new, it looks like they'll be doing business for some time yet.

Years & Years

Venue - Corn Exchange

Probably the biggest disappointment for me. On record, they are very good, but their electronic-pop sound didn't work for me live, caused by a mixture of a lead singer whom I found very hard to warm to and a clunky choice of songs covered (including "Breathe" by Blu Cantrelle). I'll still be keeping an eye on them, but just not with the same rose-tinted spectacles.

Love Park

Location - Audio

The band looked bored during the set, and so was I. Landfill indie at its most seagull-attracting. 

Satellite Stories

Location - Audio

If Two Door Cinema Club aren't Scandinavian-y enough for you, you'll love Finland's Satellite Stories. They've got a few decent tunes under their belt, and you can't say fairer than that.

Trans

Location - Dome Studio.

It's Bernard Butler's new band. Of course I'm going to love this, major technical issues aside. 

The Great Escape - Friday 10th May

So day 2 of The Great Escape has concluded. Here's what was experienced on this day, completed with hastily-taken photos - 

Kaiser Chiefs

Location - Concorde 2

The 15-year-old version of myself was jumping with joy at being able to see Kaiser Chiefs in such a small venue, and current me was pretty chuffed as well. The band were near faultless, mixing classic hits like "Everyday I Love You Less and Less" and "Ruby" with newer songs like "Coming Home" and "Meanwhile Up In Heaven" very well. Ricky Wilson was an absolutely mad front man, at one point playing trapeze along the rafters of the venue. Definitely an inexpected highlight.

Ryan Vail

Location - The Prince Albert

Lovely, luscious intelligent dance music from the Derry duo. Audiences at their gigs tend to have a serious case of STFU-itis at their gigs, but I'm happy to report that today, the crowd was very well behaved.

UNKNWN

Location - The Prince Albert

The venue was rammed for UNKNWN, who duly delivered with their cranial, bass music. 

Prides

Location - Green Door Store

Prides had to cut their performance short by two songs due to their sound check running over (one of the pains of having a 15-minute turn around time at most venues), but in spite of this, the trio gave a blinding performance, impressing with their heavy synth-pop sound. The highlight of the set was their closing track, the anthem-in-waiting "Out of the Blue".

Jay Arner

Location - Queen's Hotel

The Canadians put on a reasonable, if unspectacular set at the Queen's Hotel. Their in-between song antics however were quite notable - at one point their lead singer forgot their own setlist, despite being the one wrote it in the first place. At another, their lead singer got frustrated trying to switch over his guitar pedals and just sat down on the stage, at which point their keyboardist implored the audience not to blog about the performance.

Best Friends

Location - Queen's Hotel

The garage-rock band put on a very noisy, but rather decent set - "Nosebleeds" being the highlight of the set.

We Were Evergreen

Location - Brighthelm Centre

What a wonderful way to conclude the evening's musical activities. The French trio put on a blinding performance of tropical indie-pop, with the trio switching instruments in between songs, culminating in a 3 person drum performance. Just fantastic.

The Great Escape - Thursday 9th May

So day 1 of The Great Escape in Brighton has concluded. Here's a round-up of what we saw on Thursday at the festival, and whether they were any good or not, complete with hastily taken photos - 

Alvvays

Location - Blind Tiger.

Canadian band Alvvays were the first band seen on the day, and the first band I fell in love with. The five-piece won me over with their jangly indie-pop sound. Some of their songs were a bit like The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, some went into Beach House territory, and they were all fantastic. I might have just found a new favourite band.

Location tip - the Coca-Cola in Blind Tiger tastes a little bit like banana, if that's your thing.

Doomsquad

Location - Blind Tiger.

White noise and pan pipes. I'm sure it may be someone's cup of tea, but not me. 5 minutes was all I could endure.

Hollie Cook

Location - Bermuda Triangle

Definitely the classiest act seen at TGE on Thursday. Hollie Cook makes gorgeous electronic-inflected reggae, and went down a treat with the crowd in the rather cramped venue. "Sugar Water" was the highlight of the set.

Claire

Location - Green Door Store

Great German electro-pop, a bit like M83 with a female lead singer and a more danceable vibe.

The Night VI

Location - Brighthelm Centre

The Night VI were a lot rockier live than one might have expected from their recordings, but still had all the hypnotic qualities that made the band such a wonderful prospect. I was a bit distracted by their singer's trousers, given that they looked as if they had been made from papier maché.

Location tip - at 70p for a tin of 7 Up, Brighhelm Centre is one of the most affordable places to buy soft drinks at the festival.

Port Isla

Location - Sticky Mike's Frog Bar

These guys absolutely blew me away. They looked good on stage, musically they were near faultless, and their songs are of a ridiculously high standard. They've definitely got Coldplay vibes, but in a very good way. Highlights of the set were "Sinking Ship" (although it's changed from the recorded version, presumably to avoid a copyright suit from KT Tunstall) and "1953". If the band don't get snapped up sharpish after this performance, I will be very surprised indeed.

Little Matador

Location - The East Wing

An absolute blinder of a set from the NI supergroup, made up of no-frills rock tunes from their debut album. "Stitch Yourself Up" sounds as wonderful as ever (although it feels more like a set closer than an opener in my opinion), and "Liar Liar" is so fast and frantic that Nathan needs a moment to catch his breath when it's over.

Beaty Heart

Location - Above Audio

The band were hit by a power-cut before their last song, so they weren't able to play their best song, "Seafood", but up until that point, they gave a great, energetic performance of their alt-tropicalia tunes, full of strange rhythms, percussive elements, and band members switching between instruments at a drop of a hat. 

Rhodes

Location - Unitarian Church

During his performance, I remarked on Twitter that my goosebumps had goosebumps listening to him. With just his voice and a clean electric guitar, he made music so beautiful that it took everything in my being to hold back the tears. There is something incredibly special about this fellow.

A Plastic Rose

Location - Blind Tiger

The stage banter of A Plastic Rose has never been better or more inappropriately hilarious, and their songs aren't too bad either. It was nice to hear old favourites like "Boy Racer" and "Kids Don't Behave Like This" sounding good alongside newer tracks like "Metal Man" and the wonderful "This Side of Winter". They got a pretty good crowd for the gig, and it looks as if they won over quite a few of them as the gig went on.

The Great Escape 2014 - Northern Irish Contingent

The Great Escape is an annual new music festival based in Brighton. From 8th-10th May, over 400 bands and artists from all over the world will be playing in over 30 venues to the thousands of people who will be descending on the seaside city. 

The Great Escape is a festival that I have been following for many years, and I am absolutely delighted that for the first time, I will be crossing the Irish Sea to attend the festival. After all, it's not often that you get the opportunity to literally drown in sound. 

With so many new and emerging artists due to play, it will be a struggle deciding exactly who to go and see. With this in mind, and keeping in mind one of this blog's musical loves, I have put together this quick guide to every single artist from Northern Ireland (or with an NI connection) who will be performing at the festival this year. Many of them will be playing at more than once, so if you're interested in hearing as many of the most exciting emerging artists from here, then you have no excuse not to take them all in.

Or you could ignore this entire post and go to see Wild Beasts & Kaiser Chiefs instead. The choice is up to you, which is why TGE is so wonderful.

A Plastic Rose

Venue - (a) Blind Tiger
(b) Festival Hub Stage (Spiegelpub)

Date/Time - (a) Thursday 8th May - 11:00pm
(b) Friday 9th May - 5:30pm

Why do I care?
Since relocating from NI to Nottingham, the alt-rock band have gone from strength to strength with singles such as "This Side Of Winter" and "Someone's Daughter", both of which have enjoyed extensive play on Radio 1. With album #2 a few months away, it's the perfect time to see the band before they become ubiquitous.

Ballet School 

Venue - (a) Brighton Coalition

(b) Green Door Store

(c) Green Door Store

Date/Time - (a) Thursday 8th May - 8:15pm
(b) Thursday 8th May 2014 - 12:30pm
(c) Friday 9th May 2014 - 3:30pm

Why do I care?

The Berlin-based trio are led by Belfast lass Rosie Blair, and their dreamy-pop creations led to them being picked up for release by Bella Union, home of Fleet Foxes and Cashier No.9 amongst others. Their E.P "Boys Again" has some great tracks, and it feels like they are on the verge of becoming alternate favourites.

The Clameens

Venue - Sticky Mike's Frog Bar

Date/Time - Saturday 10th May - 12.45am

Why do I care?
The Derry band have won over many people with their spunky, youthful take on indie-rock, and as they continue to grow in stature and confidence, they are only going to get better.

Go Wolf

Venue - Festival Hub Stage (Spiegelpub)

Date/Time - Friday 9th May - 1:15pm

Why do I care?
The band have started to build up quite a bit of blog love for their dance-friendly indie-rock music, and with them still riding the waves of a prominent feature in a Kitsuné compilation album, expect them to be a pretty popular draw.

Little Matador

Venue - The East Wing

Date/Time - Thursday 8th May - 8:30pm

Why do I care?
This supergroup, led by Nathan Connolly, have just released their fantastic debut album, so expect to see the crowds singing along to every single one of the band's rocking tunes on Thursday evening.

Ryan Vail

Venue - Queen's Hotel

Date/Time - Saturday 10th May - 9:15pm

Why do I care?
This electronic duo (for Ryan Vail is a duo, although confusingly enough 1/2 of the duo is called Ryan Vail) make highly intricate, intelligent dance music, the sort of music that should make your head move just as much as your body. Well, they do say that the brain is a muscle.

Southern

Venue - Blind Tiger

Date/Time - Thursday 8th May - 7:15pm

Why do I care?

The country-cum-folk rock siblings have taken a real leap forward since the release of "World Don't Shine" and "Where The Wild Are" in the past few months, and with a punchy new sound at their disposal, you would be a fool to miss out on them.

UNKNWN

Venue - Green Door Store

Date/Time - Saturday 10th May - 11:30pm

Why do I care?
Until recently, UNKNWN was known as UNKNWN because he was, indeed, unknown. This has now changed, due of a) UNKNWN revealing his true identity to be Chris Hanna, and b) the addition of Gemma Dunleavy as a member of the project. But that's just superfluous background, what is important is their music, which is dark but melodic dub-based music, which has seen them win worldwide attention.

The Wonder Villains

Venue - Blind Tiger

Date/Time - Sunday 11th May - 12:00am

Why do I care?

Because they are fun and awesome. Don't think I can elaborate any more than that.

Northern Irish Showcase - In association with Generator NI

Venue - Prince Albert

Date - Friday 9th May

Artists/Stage Times -

The Clameens - 12:30pm
Go Wolf - 1:15pm
The Wonder Villains - 2:00pm
Ryan Vail - 2:45pm
UNKNWN - 3:30pm

Why do I care?
Because you can enjoy five of Northern Ireland's finest musical prospects, one after another, without having to leave the bar. How could you not enjoy that?