Diary of a Great Escape - Day 3
Another day of the Great Escape; another day filled with sonic dilemmas. Where to go? Who to see? I set off in the afternoon, enjoying the sunshine after what I’d managed to convince myself were Arctic conditions on the Friday. The M for Montreal Showcase at Arc looked promising, as did the Phase Five NZ Showcase at Horatios. Clearly in the mood for some kind of showcase, I decided last minute to head for the Artrocker Matinee Show at The Hope.
I arrived just before The Chapman Family began their chaotic set. The name perhaps suggests they’re a gentle folk band, but nothing could be further from the truth. They may utilise some of the lyrical traits of folk, but their hardcore punk antics saw them almost strangling themselves with microphone leads while bashing out one energetic song after another. Oh, and in the spirit of punk, they didn’t treat their instruments very well.
The Chapman Family left me hungry, but on the way to seek out some food I came across the King and Queen pub – yet another Great Escape venue - which was emanating some pleasant folk noises. Stepping inside, I was met with the surreal sight of oversized chess pieces, playing cards and life-size models of monarchs surrounding the crowd. Felix Fables were on stage, playing a magical folk/pop set reminiscent of Roddy Woomble’s solo stuff.
After finally munching down some dinner, I decided to make the trek to The Old Market in Hove to see Sophie Hunger, who has received an unprecedented amount of media attention in her native Switzerland. She more than lived up to the hype.
Next up were Ohbijou, Canadian indie folk pop band on the fantastic Bella Union label, who had the crowd in sit-down picnic mode. They played touching, bittersweet songs characterised by towering strings and exquisite vocals.
I then bore witness to the unusual brother/sister two-piece that is Joe Gideon & The Shark. The tiny blonde girl next to me continually reprimanded her boyfriend for gawking at The Shark (impressively gymnastic drummer draped in leopard print).
VV Brown has been taking up some column inches lately with her 21st century brand of vintage soul. Her old school stage presence went down a treat, and she sweetly asked the crowd if she could bang her new Chinese gong ‘just once’, for no reason other than that she’d forgotten to play it at the end of a song.
The crowds certainly turned out for radical post-punk band Gang of Four, who caused a far more lunatic moshpit than any I’d seen at the festival. They did their usual ‘smashing up a microwave with a baseball bat’ trick, much to the delight of the tumbling audience. As evidenced by various eavesdropped conversations on the way out, this was the perfect end to three days by the seaside.