Review: The Great Escape 2011 – Day 1

Day 1: Clashes

In which our hero shows off about his gold wristband, doesn't get in to see Dutch Uncles, but sorts himself out in time to catch Trophy Wife, Twin Shadow, and Warpaint.

One of Europe's biggest music industry showcases descended on Brighton last weekend as The Great Escape 2011 hit town, promising musical industry conferences, conventions and, of course, performances aplenty from some of the hottest young things poking head above parapet of the international music scene.

My day began by retrieving my soon-to-be controversial gold delegates pass from the Relentless hub, the centre-point of the weekend's fun next to the Royal Corn Exchange theatre. Leafing through the weekend's programme brought on that all-too-familiar music enthusiast's festival shudder, with the realisation that most of the bands I'd planned on seeing clashed - making for Sophie's Choice-style conundrums in the coming days.

Initial cursing of the festival organiser's lack of allowance for my own personal music taste was abated by cold hard logic: of course they put things on at the same time. With 15,000 wristband holders expected across 30 venues, they needed to spread the crowds.

The gold delegates’ wristband and lanyard necklaced press pass drew derisive comments from my red-wristbanded friends; mock curtseys from the commoners. The delegates pass promised priority entry and queue-jumping privileges – crucially, subject to capacity.

The commoners were to have the last laugh.

We arrived at the Prince Albert just in time for Dutch Uncles, but were quickly informed that the venue was at capacity. Onto the Komedia on Brighton's famous Laines then, just in time for the Dutch showcase spearheaded by Moss, my first band of TGE2011. The set began encouragingly enough with bright, reverb-laden guitars and a desperate vocal grasping for… well, something.

Unfortunately it seemed to be one good idea stretched out to fill the set, with rounds of applause diminishing after each passing offering from the group.

The festival adjourned every afternoon between - on average -  4.30 and 7, to afford more important delegates than I the opportunity to attend some of the industry talks on download culture, the considerations of organising international tours and the like. Meanwhile, I played a game of see-how-many-stones-you-can-throw-into-a-bin-positioned-10-yards-in-a-row with a selection of the red wrist-banded common-folk. The Duke was down from on high to mingle with his people.

The next performance we took in was a knee-jerk sojourn to The Jam to watch a band previously off our radars – all in the name of discovery. Canadian outfit Inflight Safety proved to be a surprise treat as they rattled through their solid blend of alt-indie; the air thick with what I thought to be a malfunctioning smoke machine as I stood just 10 metres from the band and could barely make out silhouettes. When the smoke cleared, I understood. Truly one of the least appealing looking bands of the weekend, and patrons of the old “don't judge a book by its cover” adage.

We didn't look back as we made for the seafront's Coalition for Fight Like Apes, an unholy marriage of Katy Perry lolz and Yeah Yeah Yeahs-lite posture. Truly, too rich for my taste, and we quickly made for the Corn Exchange for the evening's main event. We arrived half way through Oxford's Trophy Wife, y'know one of them “cool bands” – all electric drum kits, swept across fringes, turned up skinny jeans  and earnest vocal delivery  that hinted at a wisdom beyond the young troubadour's modest years.

The performance was technically accomplished with intricate counter-rhythms neatly offset against one another, but was spoiled by a sour-faced and largely characterless disposition, with nothing interesting enough to elevate them above other more intriguing Moshi Moshi artists. File under ‘not-for-me’, then, though they were largely well-received from the growing numbers in what is a fantastic live music venue.

America's Twin Shadow were up next and, despite George Lewis Jr’s peacock-like flourishes, were deliciously dreary as they gave immaculate recitals from 2010's critically-acclaimed Forget, an album that should be snapped up at your earliest convenience on this evidence. The band were on fine form, building to the stand-out song of the set, ’Slow’, which kicked the crowd into life ahead of the night's headline act.

From the snaking queue gathering outside noted during a particularly graceless stagger to the WC, you knew there must be something special on the way. I heard the doorman bark at a man that he wouldn't get back in if he were to depart for his pre-match gasper. The man wisely put the cigarette back in its packet and returned to the action in time for Warpaint, the all-girl slow-core four-piece, apparently tipped for big things by the late Heath Ledger.

From the moment the girls took to the stage the crowd were enraptured by the band's pitch-black post-rock that has drawn comparisons to acts as diverse as Mazzy Star and Siouxie and the Banshees. It was a wonderful conclusion to what had been for me a patchy first day, that proved the virtues of planning ahead and charting a course when festivaling.

More from me tomorrow with Day 2 of The Great Escape, featuring Yaaks, Dog is Dead, Tribes, Anna Calvi and yet another brush with the ever-cool Trophy Wife.

Words: Mark Booth

Find out more about The Great Escape in our Festivals Guide.