The Great Escape (Day 2)
@ Venues throughout Brighton, UK 05/16/08
By Dany Sloan
Friday began much slower than I had intended, but the craziness of the past more than a week was starting to catch up to me. The first band of the day were locals Elle Milano, a band that I had been following for a few years, so I was glad that they were playing in the afternoon -- less distractions and smaller crowds.
When I arrived at the Prince Albert, Paris' Brooklyn were just finishing their set of raucous, Bloc Party-inspired indie rock. Didn't know about them previously, but I will have to give them a further listen.
As excited as I was for Elle Milano, it seemed as though my hopes of seeing a flawless set were dashed the closer it got to their set time. By the time they were to have started, they were still trying to figure things out, mostly because they didn't soundcheck. They opened with a song I didn't recognize and then segued right into "Laughing All The Way to the Plank." Things were going well during "Katsuki And The Stilettoed Stranger," until not one, but two guitar strings broke. By the end of the next tune, "Stepkids in Love," the venue's power went out. Fortunately this was not the only time I would see the band this weekend.
After the craziness of the afternoon, I was hoping for an easier night, and that's what I got. Although this was the weakest night of the weekend, it's not because the bands I saw were necessarily weak, but that every other night was just stacked with so many great bands. Bobby Cook & the Sleepers (pictured) kicked off the evening just after 7 and they did not disappoint, lacing beautiful Springsteen-inspired melodies through a wall of Arcade Fire bombast.
North London group Operahouse played to a mostly empty room, and that's unfortunate because the band is really fucking good. Their latest single "Diane" is a gem, but the new the new tunes they brought out live show a band that is about to take off. I was able to catch the last few songs in Johnny Foreigner's set (these guys are fantastic) before being completely underwhelmed by Lovvers.
Admittedly, I did not know much about Eugene McGuiness, but I heard a few good things, so I ran back to the Freebutt (where Bobby Cook played) and I was pleasantly surprised by his upbeat folk. The tunes had a life of their own and the crowd was even exciting -- a few guys upfront were loudly singing along to every word.
My night, like any good night, ended on Brighton Pier for Hot Club de Paris. Although I had seen them before, I was curious to see if they had changed at all as it had been some time since their debut. The good news was that, the new songs were great and the old favorites sounded absolutely fresh, showing why the band were so overhyped in the first place.
Check out: The Great Escape (Day 1)
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