MusicTank

BRIGHTON GREAT ESCAPE

So many bands, and such a good place to see them!  Sun sea and good music came together very well for The 2nd Great Escape.  Impressive performances included Ghosts, Art Brut, These New Puritans, Florence & the Machine, ZZZ, and Icelandic Benni Hemm.  The place was brimming with music - you could hardly hit the pier without tripping over some band's PA.

We missed most of the panels, though we heard that Barney Wragg’s Friday keynote was very good. The one we did attend, AIM'S UK/US Access To Radio discussion, was excellent and full of gems for labels keen to tighten up their plugging efforts.

The stories you may have heard about the queues were correct (though we're not sure whether much can be done on this front – it was the same for the Camden Crawl some weeks before), and they seemed to worsen on the Saturday night.

It was also a real shame that the much-touted Bonde Ro Role couldn't play their Komedia (yes it does sound like an STD) gig due to a technical fault. British Sea Power put in an awesome, emotional performance – though you had to get away from the rows of passive punters and into the front to really appreciate the show.

Brighton, which has its own burgeoning music scene, must be the perfect place for such a festival. After TGE ended, there were still plenty of Brighton's own music nights to enjoy, which if anything, was all the more impressive. We look forward to next year...