We woke up to the hustle and bustle of this wonderful city of Brighton for day two of The Great Escape Festival. We had an early start to divide and conquer the day as I went to see Nadia Sheikh open up the day for The Alternative Escape at Fiddlers Elbow. And it was a pleasure to share the room with her after all the reels that have been teasing her music on my Instagram since seeing her headline London show earlier in the year. A indie pop-rock artist that not only performs in the UK but takes over stages in Spain she delivers meaningful songs that connect with your spirit. And unfortunately also end up sticking with you as the choruses are incredibly catchy with their upbeat tones even amidst the most serious songs. The one still stuck in my head is from a song called “Just A Shadow”, but I am sure with new music being teased it wont be long till this changes.
“Pick me up I’m just a shadow
Let’s not leave it till tomorrow
Pick me up, I’m falling slow
Catching me now before you’ve got to go” – chorus of Just a Shadow by Nadia Sheikh
And our wonderful photographer Julia went to capture Glaswegian Alice Faye at Horatios. She brought gentle acoustic sound to kick start the Scotland at TGE showcase, with cutting lyrics juxtaposing the upbeat, sweet melodies. Still basking in her deserved win for BBC Introducing Scottish Act of the Year, her songs are delivered with a softness that transforms the edgy and hilarious stories behind her music making them in to easy to listen to pieces. Utterly charming with her self deprecating humour, personable songwriting, and charm, Alice Faye is a welcome balm amidst the heavy music.
Luckily we weren’t separated for long and met right back up to capture Vera Ellen at Patterns. And woow they truly do look apart! This indie rock artist from New Zealand not only bought style but changed my perspective on songs about love. What you usually expect from love rock songs is heart ache and disappointment and whilst there definitely was some of that in her music it also felt very hopeful with songs like “Gayfever” from the new album Heaven Knows What Time. But what stood out to me the most is how her red hair glistened in the stage lights and perfectly reflected her spicy energy. And with the way all band members interacted with each other through out, you could truly tell that they enjoyed the music they were making and performing.
With a quick caffeination break it was time to see EMNW at Revenge. And I was truly glad we managed to get some caffeine in us as this performance was full of energy. Flying kicks, hair whips, jumping and interacting with everyone by leaning in from the edge of the stage. Their performance was so electrifying that the audience could not help themselves and quickly started a moshpit that only grew through out their set. With influences from the early 2000s rock and rap artists like Limp Bizkit the girl duo Emma and Menu left everyone wanting more. For this being their first UK tour I am sure the demand for them to come back will be huge!
Unfortunately we did not get the chance to see Angine De Potrine as their popularity meant that even the unexpected extra performance reached capacity quicker than we could get there. But that meant we could get to Twat Union in time to still get good spots to see the full performance. Trust me! Its important! This punk band has absolutely nailed their performance making it in to a full act, props and everything. Starting with a pink mini drill, moving on to playing the base with a vibrator because I mean they are both necessary tools to have. To getting the audience involved by waving red flags, and singing about UTIs whilst wearing undies that give a visual representation of what one feels like. And well the rest you truly have to experience live to understand or go read one of our other reviews as they have appeared on loud women radar before!
After some very needed sustenance we headed over to see Lime Garden who played Beach – The Deep End stage. It was a treat to get to see them on such a big stage. The British band who describe their music as wonk pop got the crowd moving almost instinctively thanks to the great charisma that radiates through the room. With sounds from punk, rock and indie genres they have managed to make their music perfect for a dance night. That is until you listen a little deeper to their lyrics. What you will find is insecurity, vulnerability and emotional honesty.
The night ended just as calmly as the last one as we entered the basement of Komedia to be part of the dreamscape world created by Theatre. As they prepared to enter the stage the lights created a scene lost in silhouettes, it felt mysterious and allowed you to truly listen and not be over stimulated by the often colourful stage lighting that we had seen through out the day. The genre of their music is somewhere between shoegaze and grunge and the lyrical structure of a lot of the songs tell an unmissable story. All of this combined and the unmissable chemistry that they have on stage created a pleasant space to be in before leaving to spend the night editing and reviewing in preparation for the next day.
