The Great Escape 2019 was the best yet
There are few better places to be in the world that Brighton on Great Escape weekend. It’s a hive of noise, colour and activity. Every nook and cranny becomes a venue, with established acts performing at the bigger stages and up-and-comers making names for themselves in corners of pubs.
It is impossible to attend The Great Escape and not come away with at least a handful of new favourite acts. The question on our minds as we stepped off the train on Wednesday evening, breathed in the fresh coastal air and marched down the hill towards the seafront was, who would be the bands we’d be in love with by the time we traipsed back up the same hill to the train station on Sunday?
With our wristbands, lanyards, ears and hearts at the ready, on Thursday morning we made our way to The Komedia for the Sounds Australia showcase and we were lucky enough to be immediately blown away by what would be of the best acts of the entire weekend. Melbourne’s Alex Lahey delivered well crafted rock with choruses that we’d be singing in our sleep for weeks. We saw Courtney Barnett on this very stage a few years ago before she went stratospheric and, based on this showing, we wouldn’t bet against Lahey’s star ascending in a similar way.
Later in the afternoon, Brisbane’s Nice Biscuit (pictured, above) would take the title of best dressed band at TGE19. Fronted by two ice-cold fembots, they purveyed psych-folk soundscapes with a b-movie feel. Very atmospheric, effortlessly cool.
As the sun began to set on the first night of the festival, over on the Fender Stage, scouser Zuzu offered an appealing brand of guitar pop before Marika Hackman played a set in which her second album, I’m Not Your Man, was well represented, with the honesty and power of her lyrics on display in her ruminations of life and love.
Announced on Thursday morning was the news that the surprise headliners of the Fender Stage on the same evening were Shame. This made an already impressive line-up even more appealing. In Songs of Praise, the Brixton lads released Something You Said’s album of the year in 2018 and the live shows we’d seen at Australia’s Laneway Festival, All Points East in London and at their mega headline show at the Kentish Town Forum, were all jaw-dropping. Suffice to say, their set on the south coast did not disappoint. Fronted by the engaging Charlie Steen (pictured, below and top), the band ripped though tracks from Songs of Praise, as Steen crowd-surfed, handed the mic out and whipped everyone into a frenzy. Their live set – a thrilling combination of indie and punk with gothic edges and touches of The Fall – was raw and insanely loud. The bass buzzed through bodies and Steen’s vocals thumped into chests, as Gold Hole, One Rizla and The Lick prompted mass singalongs. As their triumphant set drew to a close, with a glint in his eye, his shirt long since abandoned, Steen reminded the crowd to enjoy themselves and not take it all too seriously. Judging by the wide smiles and the sweaty brows in the front few rows, he was preaching to the converted.
With ringing ears, we headed to The Queens Hotel – the unofficial nighttime hub where delegates drink the night away – for the Mexican Summer x Bella Union party, with killer tunes seeing us well into the small hours.
One of the most amazing things about The Great Escape is that it offers a sister festival, The Alternative Escape, running alongside the main event. This is a completely free programme of shows that non-ticket-holders can attend, and this year there were some impressive names on the bill. After a typically enthusiastic performance from My Life Story on Friday afternoon, indie legends Sleeper played the big hits, including Sale of the Century and Inbetweener to an outdoor crowd in Shipwright’s Yard. These classics sounded as good as they did back in the 90s, as did the Charlatans smashers delivered by Tim Burgess at the same venue.
For the second year running, The Great Escape offered a site on the beach, with one outdoor stage, two tented spaces and booze and food outlets. After an afternoon spent Alternative Escaping, we hurried along the promenade to this site to catch whenyoung. The Irish alt-rockers (pictured, below) belted out tunes which soared through the tent, most notably their latest single The Others. Created in the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy, it has a chorus that is anthemic and insistent, making one of the songs of the year so far.
Aoife Power delivered vocals with no fanfare, no histrionics, no showing off, just a strong and interesting voice which hit the spot. Their debut album is out this week and, if this live performance is anything to go by, we’ll be hearing plenty more from whenyoung in the future. Seriously impressive stuff.
Following whenyoung were the excellently and painfully named Snapped Ankles. Looking like the Super Furry Animals’ yetis gone feral, they brought a primal, post-punk dance party to TGE, using homemade log synths, electrified guitars and all manner of woozy sounds. If the crowd began the set bemused, they ended it well and truly ensconced in this weird party.
Back up the seafront towards the town centre, at Coalition, Rebecca Taylor’s Self Esteem were about to bring a delicious slice of soulful pop to the festival. Earlier in the day Taylor had spoken with Greg Cochrane for Loud and Quiet’s Midnight Chats Live podcast, which was recorded in front of a live audience of Great Escape delegates. The hour-long chat was candid, funny and interesting, as Taylor spoke about Slow Club, going solo, Sunday Brunch and her upcoming Florence & The Machine support dates. Across the three days, there were all manner of similar events taking place for anyone with delegate passes to attend, such as networking sessions, panel discussions and no small amount of parties (including the legendary annual Scottish networking party with whisky tasting and deep fried Mars Bars).
As is now tradition, Saturday brought the Aussie BBQ to TGE, taking place down on the beach. Our ears had just about stopped ringing from Shame’s Thursday night aural attack when Tropical Fuck Storm took to the stage and bullied them into submission again. Fronted by the always exceptional Gareth Lilliard of The Drones, the band’s set was a brilliant onslaught of dirty psychedelic noise. Anyone who wasn’t already a fan of this quartet certainly was by the time they had witnessed their awesome half-hour on The Deep End Stage.
After TFS woke blew away any remaining cobwebs from the night before, it was time to get the party properly started. Brisbane’s Confidence Man have been a staple on the festival circuit in their home country for a couple of years, and are currently causing a stir in Europe with their feel-good pop-dance magnificence. And at 3.05pm on Saturday 11th May, they took The Great Escape party to the next level on Brighton’s pebbled beach.
The sheer relentless energy of the two vocalists, Janet Planet (pictured, below) and Sugar Bones was infectious, and their control of the crowd was impressive, as they delivered tunes from their debut album, Confident Music for Confident People, including Better Sit Down Boy and Cool Party.
Did any other bands manage a costume change during their 30-minute sets at TGE19? Probably not, but Planet and Bones did, returning to the stage wearing masks of themselves before spraying the audience with champagne and closing the shindig with their breakthrough hit, Boyfriend (Repeat).
Confidence Man have proved to be quite divisive amongst music fans in Australia, but as they demanded that every single person in a packed tent on the other side of the world ducked down and then jumped up and went fucking mad as the beat dropped back in, it was clear that everyone in attendance was having an ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT TIME. And, make no mistake, this kind of throwaway fun is just as important and just as real as anything else that live music has to offer. Simply, there ain’t no party like a Confidence Man party, and those festival goers who were elsewhere on this Saturday afternoon were in the wrong place. This was one of the most enjoyable sets at this, or any other Great Escape over the years.
After Confidence Man, a frazzled crowd stepped back out into the overcast Brighton afternoon to hear Jeffe‘s mesmerising, nuanced vocal. Fittingly, on this Australian-themed afternoon, the sun fought its way through the clouds as the Sydney artist performed songs from her dazzling EP, One Hundred Percent.
I don’t know what number Great Escape this year was for Something You Said. We’ve been to at least eight, and had some truly unforgettable experiences in that time, but we can say with confidence that this year was the best yet. So many up-and-coming acts creating exciting new music and pushing boundaries, more that it was possible to see in a month of weekends, let alone just one. Next year’s 15th anniversary is going to have to go some to top this. But, do you know what, we think they might just manage it.
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Review and all photos by Bobby Townsend.
