The Great Escape 2023: Friday review
With varying degrees of hangover, punters shuffled back onto the streets of Brighton for the second day of Great Escape festivities, and learned that there is no better way to shake off the cobwebs than a walk along a rainy seafront for free vegan hotdogs at the German music showcase.
With stomachs full and the late morning soft drinks and beers going down a treat, festival-goers were treated to the soulful sounds of Becky Sikassa and the double denim delight of Moon Mates and their catchy folk rock tunes.
After saying Auf Wiedersehen to the Deutsch showcase, it was time to head to the Brighthelm Centre for Scottish artist and Fred Again collaborator Terra Kin and her hard-to-pigeonhole sound which is influenced by jazz and folk.
Then, it was back to the seafront to join an EPICALLY long queue for the day’s hot ticket, Personal Trainer. With the festival set across lots of different sized venues around the city, queuing is to be expected but if you are well organised, you can usually squeeze in to see what you want. The Personal Trainer queue was a timely reminder, however, that if you want to are desperate to see an act at TGE, get there EARLY – like, two or three bands beforehand – and then just remain until the act you want to see.
We were pretty much the last in the queue to make it into the tiny, cavernous 200-ish capacity seafront venue, leaving hundreds outside. And, boy, did we feel lucky to be there. The Amsterdam collective delivered songs that were in equal parts impressive in their structure and simple enough that even the uninitiated were singing along before a song’s first chorus had even finished.
Frontman Willem Smit was an engaging presence on the packed, tiny stage, as the band ripped through tunes from their excellent 2022 album, Big Love Blanket. By the time set-closer The Lazer caused a joyous singalong, everyone in the venue had a new favourite band.
Later, Aussie band (and SYS interviewees) Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers made their Great Escape debut, which was only their second ever UK gig. Their brand of punk-pop-rock was tight, power-packed and catchy as hell, and their onstage demeanour illustrated that the four-piece are clearly having the time of their lives. Final song Girl Sports was a brilliant “fuck off” to misogynists, and one of the standout moments of the festival so far. Brilliant stuff.
There were more Australian acts up next, with Mia Wray showcasing a massive, magnificent voice and a seriously commanding stage presence over at The Hope and Ruin, and Phoebe Go sharing heartfelt, beautiful and open stories at the Brighthelm Centre.
As the sun finally set on Friday, Sad Night Dynamite brought the party to seafront venue The Arch. Opening with fan favourite Demon, the duo of likely lads from Glastonbury whipped the crowd into a frenzy with their energetic glitch-hop electro set.
At one point, Josh climbed the barrier and told the crowd to form a circle around him, before cordially inviting them to “fuck him up”. A mass moshpit ensued, with the artist returning to the stage triumphant with a bloody nose. This didn’t stop Archie also climbing in and getting involved later. Pure chaos. Brilliant chaos.
Following the pleasing punk-alt rock and histrionics of Yonaka at Chalk, it was time for day two to draw to a close.
We’ve covered almost every day of The Great Escape since the festival started over a decade-and-a-half ago, and we can say with total confidence that this grey Friday was one of its all-time best. Bravo.
Review, photos and videos by Bobby Townsend and Jayne Cheeseman. Read our day one review.
