The Great Escape Festival- Day 1 (Thursday). A review.

The Great Escape Festival is Europe's leading festival for new music. And it takes place throughout Brighton. So of course, I'm all over that.
Now, some of you may be thinking "What gives you the right to judge musical talent?". And to that I have two simple responses. 1) I've played music before and I listen to many genres. I understand and respect talent, even if it a song isn't my specific preference. And I have no problem admitting that a song has no talent to it, even though I enjoy it. I think that puts me at about level with anyone else who writes basic music reviews. 2) This is my blog and I'll say as I please.
Now let's get on with the review!

Echo & The Empress-

Oh Darling
These guys really kicked off the festival well! I knew already that I really wanted to hear Echo, but I'm always impressed when bands sounds great live. An easy listening band with beautiful female vocals and your normal ensemble of acoustic, bass, drums, as well as keys thrown into the mix. But its the vocals that make this band really great. The lead singer has a great tone and the back up vocalist harmonizes beautifully. I'd happily see them again for another one of their sets. If you haven't seen then yet, you should definitely catch them before the end of the festival.

The Upskirts-


Unfortunately, The Upskirts had technical issues for between 5-10 minutes in their 30 minute set. And once that was fixed, their amps were way too high, so the sound was off. However, their music still sounded decent, despite all of the issues. A good rock band with an EXTREMELY skilled drummer. He is back up vocals as well and took lead on one of the performed songs. I would dare to say that the drummer carries the band; although, the guitarists are extremely talented and so it really doesn't give them the credit deserved.

iAM1-

Power
What a happy discovery! We were waiting for Blaudzun to start and had some time before they began and iAM1 is one of the two bands that were at the venue before. I am so happy we saw them! Surprisingly good mix of indie rock/ acoustic with rap. And this is coming from someone who doesn't enjoy rap. Someone who thinks that most rap holds very little talent. However, this rapper actually raps about interesting topics, instead of just girls, drugs, money, and cars (which tends to be the typical rappers subjects). His British accent also helps with the rap, making it distinguishable from all the other garbage I've heard. The raps are intelligent and that is enough to deserve applause. But they also bring together such different sounds- which only works so well because each member is an expert in their musical field.

Velvet Two Stripes-
This was the second band we saw while waiting for Blaudzun's set to begin. A trio of rocking ladies with a nice and completely unique sound, but no variety. Every song sounded the same to me, so I got bored  quickly. But, there were free sandwiches at the venue and that was pretty epic. I think if they weren't in a line up with such other amazing bands, I probably would've liked them a lot more. But sadly, they best thing about that set was the free food.

Blaudzun-

Elephants
Blaudzun blew the others out of the water. A large band full of an orchestra's worth of instruments. The shear magnitude of instrumental talent is enough to be impressed. Put that together with music that is great to listen to and epic to be a part of, and you've got yourself a truly amazing band. Even if you don't like their style a true music fan, someone who appreciates talent, will enjoy them.

Pictorial Candi-
Terrible. I honestly am having a hard time finding something nice to say about this band. The lead singer/guitarist was okay, but the whole time we were there, it sounded like a sound check. In fact, they were over half way into the first song before I realized that they were playing for real. I honestly don't know what was wrong. I'm half-way hoping that they were on drugs because I have a hard time believing a band is THAT bad and allowed to play festival gigs.

Kimberly Anne-

Lala She was the first of our three solo acoustic acts to end the night on. And she impressed. Unique voice with a great tone and songs that you could relate to. I especially loved how friendly she was with the crowd and her welcoming stage presence. I seriously want her to be my friend.

Ryan Keen-

 See Me Now
I was excited to see Ryan before he even began, but then watching him play was an unexpected surprise. He is an absolutely amazing guitarist. Probably the most talented of the entire festival thus far. Absolutely loved the performance. He had a great stage presence as well and seemed like a genuinely friendly guy.

Lewis Watson-

Even IfLewis was yet another that I was really excited to see. Since I only knew his music (and not what he looked like), I didn't realize until he was about to go on that I was sitting right next to him during the other performances.... Kicking myself a little bit about that! He was so amazingly good with lyrics that pull you in. I wish I could hear it again and again; I plan on listening again and again via his EPs. He also had great stage presence and was super adorable. He was really sheepish when applauded; didn't expect applause and seemed almost surprised to receive the positive feedback. I guess at this early in their careers, the artists don't realize how truly talented they are.

Great end to the first night!

x

Its been a good long time since I've written an actual post...

I've got a few months to cover with this post. And as per usual, I'll be keeping the words down and the photo montage up! Because I'm assuming that is what everyone prefers.

March flowers:

March is the month full of wildflowers. Blues and purples pop up first, followed by whites and yellows. Beautiful!

Also in March, I went to the Alzheimer's Research UK conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland. But we were there for such a short amount of time, that this is all I got to see of Belfast. They make a mean sticky toffee pudding.

April flowers:

The wildflowers are still around and the daffodils start to come out! As you can see, it was snowing into April. Which means it was officially the longest winter of my life. Le boo.

For Ben's birthday (which is actually in the end of March), we went to London to see the Science Museum. And we also took a walking tour around the area. Below is Royal Albert Hall and beneath that is my favorite part of the Science Museum- the household textiles model.

Ben and I had a weekend away at Easter, where we first went to Leeds Castle.

It was really cool. There were wild birds everywhere, including peacocks and black swans! They also had some medieval games set up (like archery) and had an awesome maze. I'll grab those pictures from Ben and post them later.
After Leeds Castle, we visited a little seaside town called Whitstable. The area is known for its oysters.

The next day, we were off to Canterbury Cathedral. And luckily for us, we went during the yearly pilgrimage which made for an even better experience.

Mid/end of April I moved. And I couldn't be happier to get out of that flat. We had non stop problems and it was 100% because the letting agency that we were renting through was TERRIBLE. Lies, fraudulent meter readings, anti-American behavior, and bullying are just a few of the ridiculous issues we had to go through for 8 months. And while moving is a pain, I'm SO happy to be away from that letting agency. If anyone is ever thinking of living in Brighton never ever EVER consider letting with Parsons Son and Basley. They are horrible and love to walk a fine line of what's legal and what's illegal. Just avoid them at all costs.

May flowers:

May is the month of tulips! These were planted, but wild tulips bloom all over and many many homes have tulips in their yards. May is also the month of bluebells and once I walk around in the South Downs (which I need to get out of the city to do), I'll take pictures and post them. Its amazing- you walk through a forested area and you are just surrounded by blue.

One of our new locals had a pork and cider festival, which I took part in. I had elderflower cider and blackcurrant cider. Needless to say, I was a happy camper :)

Its been fun exploring the new area and I have to say, I like the surrounding area a lot more than where I lived before.
Finally, throughout all of May, the Brighton Festival, Fringe Festival, and Artist Open House are going on. Ben and I have enjoyed listening to free comedy shows, looking at the diverse local artists, and will continue enjoying the art that fills the city as the month progresses. We have a three day concert festival coming up, our year anniversary, and my birthday! Oh, and an epic trip to Italy :)

Until next time

x