The Great Escape - Thursday May 18th 2017

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

 Location: Sallis Benney Theatre

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.

The Great Escape 2017: Artists To Watch

From Thursday 18th May through to Saturday 21st May, Brighton will be playing host to The Great Escape, a music festival that for fans of new music offers a smorgasbord of great live acts.Over 30 venues across Brighton will play host to hundreds of acts over the three days from 12 in the afternoon to well after midnight, with even more venues opening their doors for free events as part of the Alternative Escape. We attended the festival for the first time in 2014, and again in 2016, and this year, your humble captain is once again heading over to soak up the sun, atmosphere, and most importantly, the bands, for those three days.

With so many bands playing, it can be hard to decide who to go to see. From experience, we love going to a venue at random without any forethought and discovering a new favourite band that we'd never heard of before. This happened with us with Alvvays when we saw them at our first festival in 2014, and has a surprising knack of happening whenever I'm queuing up to get the free hot-dog that the Australian showcase puts on every year - third time lucky this year? However, it's always worth picking out a few artists beforehand that we'd like to check out, either because it gives us an opportunity to see some new and emerging bands for the first time (especially given our location, as Belfast isn't usually a first port of call for artists at the start of their career), or to see some bands we've enjoyed in the past in a completely different environment. 

So to give you a taster of what to expect, here's a couple of artists that The Metaphorical Boat are intending to see at The Great Escape, and very much hope that you hope to see as well. We should also note that although Ten Fé, Anteros and INHEAVEN are playing this year and I hope to see again this year, they were included in last year's preview, so am not including them again.

All aboard for The Great Escape. and if you see me at the festival, please be sure to say hello. I am usually to be found wearing my captain's hat, and I promise you I'm friendly! - 

Beauty Sleep

Venue - (1) The Hope & Ruin

(2) Jubilee Square

Date/Time - (1) Friday, May 19th 2017 - 2:30pm

(2) Friday, May 19th 2017 - 10:30pm

Why do I care?

The Belfast dream-pop trio have given us such sumptuous gems like "The Dark" & "Living Right", so if you want some chilled-out guitar pop, then these are the guys for you.

Bokito

Venue - Queens Hotel

Date/Time - Saturday, May 20th 2017 - 1:30pm

Why do I care?

The 'tropical indie' band got us excited with their song "Better at Getting Worse", and if they've got a few other songs of that caliber in them, then we'll be in for a real treat.

CHILDCARE

Venue: Queens Hotel

Date/Time - Saturday, May 20th 2017 - 3:30pm

Why do I care?

They've given us one of the best songs of the year so far in "Kiss?", and having supported Bastille recently, the band are clearly being marked for big things, so it may be your last chance to see them in such a small venue. 

Confidence Man

Venue - (1) Komedia
(2) Sticky Mike's Frog Bar
(3) Horatio's

Date/Time - (1) Thursday, May 18th 2017 - 12:10pm
(2) Thursday, May 18th 2017 - 11:30pm
(3) Saturday, May 20th 2017 - 1:30pm

Why do I care?

The Australian band have been firmly on our radar since we fell head over heels with their earworm-y pop number "Bubblegum" a few months back. The videos of them performing live show a group that put on an amazing yet barmy performance, although how well it'll go down in the sort of venues we're used to at The Great Escape is anyone's guess. Might be an idea to see them at one of the larger venues they're playing at.

Drones Club

Venue - Green Door Store

Date/Time - Saturday, May 20th 2017 - 11:15pm

Why do I care?

Drones Club appear to be a mixture between an electronic music collective and a cult - their live performances are described as "devotions". With their visually arresting image, their choreographed dance moves, and irresistibly catchy tunes, Drones Club feel like an act that are going to be important, way beyond their music. 

Ibibio Sound Machine

Venue - Paganini Ballroom

Date/Time - Thursday, May 18th 2017 - 9:15pm 

Why do I care?

Fronted by Eno Williams, Ibibio Sound Machine fuse West-African funk with electronic elements to create something quite special. We've been an admirer of their unique sound for some time, so we're really relishing the prospect of seeing them live at last, particularly when they've got such great songs like "Give Me A Reason", which sounds like it could be the theme tune for a Ghostbusters remake set in Nigeria.

Isobel Anderson

Venue - (1) The Hope & Ruin
(2) Unitarian Church

Date/Time - (1) Friday, May 19th 2017 - 12:00pm 

(2) Friday, May 19th 2017 - 7:30pm

Why do I care?

The first time we saw Isobel Anderson, when she was playing alongside fellow blog favourites Lauren Bird & Ciara O'Neill, she had injured her hand, so was performed entirely acapella, yet completely captivated ourselves and everyone in the room. She's likely to have a bit more backing playing in Brighton, but with several critically acclaimed albums under her belt, as well recent attention for her most recent alt-folk single "Flint Shingle", then you'll be in for a real treat at the festival.

*Update 16/5/17 - Isobel Anderson has pulled out of  The Great Escape due to illness*

OUTLYA

Venue - The Hope & Ruin

Date/Time - Thursday, May 18th 2017 - 8:30pm 

Why do I care?

One of our favourite  performances at The Great Escape 2014 came from the band Port Isla. They've now gone their separate ways, but three members of the band are now going under the name Outlya. They've taking a poppier direction than their previous incarnation, but they've already delivered a few great songs, so will be worth a listen.

Parekh & Singh

Venue - Patterns (Upstairs)

Date/Time - Saturday, May 20th 2017 - 9:45pm 

Why do I care?

The dapper duo from Kolkata have been creating a stir with their dreamy-pop numbers, so if you want a heap of pure georgeousness fed into your ears, these guys seem to be the ones to provide it.

PATHS

Venue - Hotel Pelirocco

Date/Time - Thursday, May 18th 2017 - 4:30pm (part of the Alternative Escape).

Why do I care?

Northern Irish musician Jules Shawe went solo this year after being involved in several local bands over the past few years with her new project PATHS, and after winning over blogs with her cool, electronic sound, she is now playing her first gig outside Northern Ireland at the Great Escape. She's got a heap of great songs in her arsenal, and with a pretty sweet live visual setup, it would be a shame to miss out on it. 

Swimming Tapes

Venue - Coalition

Date/Time - Thursday, May 18th 2017 - 7:00pm 

Why do I care?

Because I said so.

Plus, they've got some lovely jangle-pop songs like "Tides",  and members of the band used to be members of other much loved NI bands like Kowalski & CODA. 

The Rhythm Method

Venue - (1) Brighthelm Centre
(2) Komedia

Date/Time - (1) Thursday, May 18th 2017 - 1:30am 

(2) Saturday, May 20th 2017 - 2:45pm

Why do I care?

Whether you think of them as a disco-infused version of The Street, or the Sleaford Mods with some actual melodies in them, the cheekily-named duo have some really enjoyable tunes infused with pop-culture references.

Apache Darling - Go

Top tip - if you really want us to really, really like your song, you should call it "Go". At least this is the conclusion that we have reached in the past few years, when we've noticed that we've been dis-proportionally attracted to songs of said name within the past few years. In 2015 no more than THREE songs made our list of top songs of the year, from Chemical Brothers, Public Service Broadcasting and Pleasure Beach. Then in 2016, we added another song to our Go-tastic quiver when M83 blew our little cotton socks off with a similarly named song. And of course, there's been other older songs that we love that are called "Go" as well, such as ones by Delilah & Moby.

We're somewhat at a loss to explain why we're so drawn to songs that are called "Go", aside from the obvious fact that they are all rather awesome songs. If I were to put on my amateur cognitive scientist hat on, I may posit that as the word usually denotes a call to action, when our simple little brain sees the word, we are immediately triggered by our innate survival instinct into taking action. I know that whenever I hear the word 'go', I immediately feel the need to take action, regardless of where I am, and regardless of whether it is being directly addressed to me, and I'm sure it would be the same for you.

 In the example of songs called "Go", we are immediately drawn to pressing the play button of a song with this name more than songs with other, less active words attached to them, and by the balance of probabilities, I am more likely to listen to more songs with this word, ergo like more songs that are called "Go". But then again, what do I know? I'm a number-cruncher with a degree in Drama, maybe I'll leave the sciencing to actual scientists.

All that preamble leads us on nicely to the new single from Glasgow quartet Apache Darling. The band have certainly managed to pique our initial interest and trick my simple little brain into hitting play by cleverly titling their single "Go". What made us stick around however, is the fact that it is quite a wonderful song indeed. Written about a prior band break-up, it is a tender yet soaring synth-pop song in the mold of Chvrches or Goldfrapp. A great introduction to a band whom we expect to hear much more from.

"Go" is out now, and will feature on the band's debut E.P, which will be released in the summer.

Emmét McGonigle - No One Likes The Good Guys Anymore

Well, we definitely didn't expect to be writing about more than one musician from Limavady in the space of a week - after all, how much musical talent can a town with approximately 12,000 residents contain?

Well, it seems like it's definitely punching about its weight - first we had Glass Wings earlier in the week, and now comes the turn of singer/songwriter Emmét McGonigle.  Self-described as 'just like Damien Rice... if Damien Rice was a twenty year old curly-headed hipster', he has recently released his debut E.P, from which the single "No One Likes The Good Guys These Days" is taken from. You can definitely hear the influence of Damien Rice on the track, as well as a little bit of Villagers in there as well.

The biggest touchstone in our humble opinion however would be Radiohead, with its acoustic-meets alternate production, with all its atmospheric bells & whistles positioning it somewhere between the band's "The Bends" & "OK Computer". His vocal as a touch of the Thom Yorke in places as well, albeit a 'twenty year old curly-headed hipster' version of Thom Yorke.

"No One Likes The Good Guys These Days" is released on May 8th, and is taken from "The Blame E.P", which is out now.

Sam Fender - Play God

It was inevitable after the success in 2017 of Rag n Bone Man that we'd see quite a few people coming up to make their claim for his throne. So step forward Mr Sam Fender.

The Tynesider has already started to make some waves with his debut single, "Play God". The song has garnered nearly 200k streams on Spotify, been playlisted on Virgin Radio, topped the iTunes singer/songwriter charts, and has been touted by Elton John. It's a song very much in the mold of Hozier & the aforementioned Rag n Bone Man, with its mixture of indie-rock instrumentation and Fender's husky voice. It's a song that we think will have some legs to it, and we predict that before the end of the year, "Play God" is going to be an official top 40 hit in a European country.

"Play God" is out now.