Diary - The Great Escape, Brighton 2010 - Part 2

Previously published on mINtSOUTH.com in May 2010
Words - Suzy Sims
(c) mINtSOUTH.com

DIARY - THE GREAT ESCAPE, BIGHTON 2010 - PART 2

FRI 13th MAY

Good morning, Day Two. We ease ourselves into the day with some Coco Pops and a bit of Alternative Escape at The Latest Music Bar. Tim and Sam’s Tim and the Sam Band With Tim and Sam are first onstage, looking nervous beneath the lights in their matching blue shirts. It’s a gentle start to the day with delicately crafted, looping tunes.

Next on are The Momeraths, a band created from tea and gingham and possibly knitted by someone’s aunt. They’re jaunty and poppy and have some charming flags across the stage announcing who they are. The Momeraths are definitely one of the most cheerful-sounding bands of the weekend.

mINtSOUTH stops off for a quick chat with the two bands before legging it upstairs to the Fortune of War, where Everything Everything are playing a stripped down, three song surprise set. It’s not really a surprise judging from the number of people crammed upstairs, casting resentful looks at each other as the simmering tunes play on. I’m a fan of Everything Everything’s unexpected key changes, and everything has a nice beachy sound to it.

The evening starts with a few beers and a march along the pier, past the sweet smell of doughnuts and waffles hanging in the air, past the seagulls and the tarot readers, to join everyone piling into Horatio’s for the hotly anticipated NME night. Best Coast kick off first. My friend told me they are amazing. Tim and Sam’s tour manager told me they were rubbish. I kind of sided with him. The general sound was good but there wasn’t much variation in the songs they played – it could have been the same one over and over; sort of garage, surf rock. Best Coast are a little afraid of playing a show out on the end of the pier. “It’s pretty scary. It fucking moves!”

Meanwhile the young ‘uns in the crowd are obviously busy trying to be hip in case they end up with a vox pop in NME. “iPhone knows what’s up. I trust iPhone,” blathered someone as I passed.

Warpaint are cool, mysterious, memorable, with many instrumental breaks, with an arty, psychedelic swagger to boot. Although their recorded stuff sounds effortless, they are more strident live and create some sort of a sonic labyrinth. I also very much enjoyed the revitalising Egyptian Hip Hop, with their hot punchy basslines and plinky synths. On coming back from the toilet I suddenly realised I was in the Eighties, in a very stylish way, but in the Eighties nevertheless.

It’s then time to trek across the city with aching feet, but it’s worth it for a nice sit down and a bottled lemonade at the Duke of York’s Picturehouse. We time this well enough to catch Alessi’s Ark and Peggy Sue without having to cram into the aisles, like most of the watchers. Young Alessi has a beautifully rounded and quirky voice full of kindness but she looks absolutely petrified of being up on stage. Everyone loves Peggy Sue, though I think they’ve been hyped up a bit too much. Rose and Katy are cooler than cool, with their lipstick and tousled hair and funky hat. Both acts bring out the alt-folk love; delicately constructed tunes with real heart.

And so ends Day Two of the Great Escape for mINtSOUTH. The danger with putting on late night gigs in a cinema is that those people who didn’t go to sleep until 5am (us) tend to start nodding off in the chairs, so alas we had to leave slightly early. Plenty of time to refresh for Day Three...