Well, that was good, wasn’t it? In fact, The Great Escape 2017 was greater than ever. Those angry blokes Slaves threw a Brighton pier party in the rain with a performance in the Haunted House, Kano and friends were backed up by an orchestra at The Dome, and we threw our own party at Brighthelm with our Class of 2017 mates and a few other favourites playing.
Swedish cool kid ShitKid kicked things off with her lo-fi grungy pop. It was as if we’d walked in on her garage band practise, spying on Åsa and her mate Linda having fun as they smashed out their cooler than cool tunes before climbing on speakers and getting the audience to help out with a shot they need for their next music video. Shouting out the guy who let them crash as his place for the weekend, they requested a local tour guide — sorry, boys only!
Next up, lovely Nilufer Yanya and her band mellowed things out with the gentlest of vocals and incredible sax accompaniment from Jazzi with the good hair. She played new one Golden Cage, but it’s Small Crimes that still does it for us. Nilufer’s a petty thief alright, stealing our hearts with every song.
New Insanity signing Tom Grennan was apparently so lit that he set the fire alarm off and everyone went for a quick cigarette break. Back inside, it was time for Cosima and her heavenly pop tunes for girls to get ready to, hymns for him and the almost mournful To Build a House. Her voice makes us feel things we didn’t know we could, and if you were there then you probably felt it too. The audience — industry and fans alike — were swaying, totally enchanted.
Then Sälen came along, bringing both their new-found confidence and a party mood. Dressed in all white like proper popstars, singer Ellie danced about with black lipstick and crystal clear vocals about creepy touches, copper kisses and heartbreak diets. They’ve made zines and stickers too, which were passed through the crowd during their set.
Ending on a high before closing time, The Rhythm Method and Zoee had crowds gathered around the piano dancing and singing together about party politics and feeling lonely. Like the Guardian said, the boys “take the amusing and emotional new wave of Squeeze and Madness and repurpose it for a new generation.” Exactly what you need at the end of a rainy day in Brighton. Thanks lads! Thanks everyone! Thanks TGE for having us!
Credits
Text Frankie Dunn
Digital photography Rosie Matheson
Film photography Oli Chapman