Various locations, 14th-16th May 2009
It’s a good job the idea of the Great Escape is to discover new bands, as this happened almost immediately. In a last minute change to the schedule Leeds band Grammactics were replaced by the electronic infused flavours of Maps. Playing off a couple of synths and a laptop the trio put together a show that at times was more akin to a DJ set than a band. Opener ‘It Will Find You’ and the mournful church organ intro of the second song did nothing to belie the true heaviness of the band until the pounding drums kicked in. Maps clearly did a good job of showcasing themselves as one nearby attendee was heard to exclaim “I love this electronic shit”
After one of the biggest treks of the TGE a barefoot VV Brown took to a stage littered with instruments at the Old Market in Hove. Despite a vast amount of the crowd apparently showing up early in time for Gang of Four, VV won them over with her stunning voice. This was something she was clearly confident of doing as prior to the show when told to drop a song she instantly went for ‘Leave!’ easily her most famous tune. Engaging with the crowd throughout, the band finished the set with her debut single ‘Crying Blood’ reworking the ending into a well received reggae/dub skank.
While the majority of the vocals were handled by his cousin Dan, Kissy Sell Out danced and wielded his Keytar with abundant enthusiasm and struck an engaging figure onstage. The busy Concorde crowd greeted each tune enthusiastically despite little being released from his debut album. The keytar solo in ‘This Kiss’ showcased perfectly the “stupidly complicated synth parts” that Kissy talked about in a previous interview with XYZ, April issue. With a presence and sound much bigger than just the 3 onstage, the manic flashing lights complimented the end of, in a running theme at the Great Escape, an all too short set.
Playing acoustic hip hop with a full live band Speech deBelle made for a charismatic and amusing host, often explaining songs and bantering with the crowd. Opening with ‘The Key’ the band and Speech sounded much more accomplished than their few short months playing live together. ‘Go Then, Bye’ came with updates on the story, ‘Buddy Love’ allowed space for some nifty guitar work while the drum & bass ending of ‘Bad Boy’ was every bit as enjoyable live as on record. Right through to set closer ‘Speech Therapy’ deBelle’s words and delivery clearly showed why Big Dadda Records are so pleased to have her on their books. Catch Speech on the festival circuit this summer, she comes highly recommended.
Over in the school hall environs of the Sallis Benny theatre Hungary’s DJ Bootsie Quartet jammed their way through a jazz infused hip-hop show. National DJ champion Bootsie layered in samples and scratching over the guitar, drums and sax, all of which shared the lead in a meandering yet coherent instrumental set. A set that was unfortunately cut short inexplicably 15 minutes before the scheduled time.
Producing breaks and appearing as DJ’s since 2000 Evil Nine finally put together a live band in honour of their 2008 ‘They Live!’ album. Playing to a capacity Concorde crowd Pat and Tom started with ‘Set It Off’ which, although the vocals got lost at times, had a plenty loud enough chorus for people to shout along to. Personal favourite ‘Crooked’ unfortunately lacked enough bottom end to make it the stomp I had expected. This was however, made up for by the cover of ILS’s excellent ‘Music’. Originally dividing the breaks world upon release due to its rock crossover styling, it sat very nicely within the Evil’s set.
What Evil Nine’s set may have lacked in heaviness was quickly put right when their label boss Adam Freeland took to the stage with his band. Dropping the emphasis on vocals Freeland went for a tougher electro/breaks angle, the Marine Parade records owner himself only taking to the mic for any length of time during his final and most famous tune. ‘We Want Your Soul’ was beefed up for the stage and finished amongst the biggest reception of the evening, giving the signal that another manic Great Escape was over. Good job really, the body can only take a certain amount of fun before total exhaustion kicks in.
Words by Chris Leggett
