The Alternative Saturday Escape Weekend #TGE15
Our voices are for real.
Possibly one of the most lo fi DIY promoters at The Great Escape Festival, The Zine collective were feeling dreamily chilled and defiantly creative on Saturday 16th May.
We had a whole day to take in the vibes and make new futures, before our stage at Latest Music Bar rounded off an amazing weekend of mini-SXSW at the Brighton seaside.
First things first, though. After our Friday adventures, Saturday needed to begin with a fry up, then a walk round The Lanes. Our Fashion Director, Ben, had fallen in love with this pyschadelic shirt from Rio clothes shop (67 Trafalgar Street, BN1 4EB).
There is a lot of love for Bad For Lazarus playing later, and Pink Cigar's off the hook appearance the night before, in such a #StageStyle soaked shop!
Jimmy Gilder of Mourning Birds, Rio, Brighton, May 2015
Brighton Fringe Festival was on the same weekend as The Great Escape Festival events, which, that Saturday and Sunday, also coincided with the first weekend of summer that actually FELT like summer
Walking through the park by Brighton Pavillion, in the sun shine with a gang of (underground music scene) friends felt like we were in some kind of hippy garden paradise where we put the world to rights. ArtBeat style. (ArtBeatniks?).
Kudos to Luke from the jerk chicken shack in Trafalgar Market under Brighton Train station. An MC in his own right, he was fully on our wavelength and kindly let us use the gear we heard Bob Marley coming out of the previous evening. We were drawn like moths to a skankin' flame. Loved the food. Loved the vibe. One of the best Alternative Escape sets of the festival weekend was an impromptu Word session there by new hip hip outfit, Firm Cult. Perfect for this pop up stage because when they are on top form, they are really cooking.
Their appearance is powerful enough for a crowd to start gathering, drawn in by their beats and words. Just as this positivity is really pulsing out, a boss man for the market we are in, arrives and he shuts everything down. Not wanting Luke (fabulous human) to lose his livelihood, we all say "respect" to that so its a short appearance that makes enough of a mark for more than one observer to remark positively on a crew putting themselves on the music world map already.
Firm Cult at The Zine TGE HQ being interviewed by Jean Genie's Massive Hugs. Listen out for Zine Radio in the near future.
A crew of the under radar music movers and shakers photographed by Dizzy Spell at The Great Escape Festival 2015.
Hanging out and conversing, exchanging ideas and moments together is a recourceful necessity for the UK arts underground. The anti-Robin-Hood thieving bollocks that is "austerity" is decreasing the opportunities for new talent not blessed with rich parents. This lessens the future potential of boosts to the entertainment industry. Beyond politics to common sense. We need all the greatness we can get! The Zine may be on the skint end of things, but we are able to scout, promote and connect what we believe in, so really appreciated our official stage and the bands that kindly agreed to come and play for us. Speaking of which, it was nearly time to get out gigging again...
That afternoon @DandieMs retweeted "D.I.Y. Rules in our house @thezineuk "Keeping it #DIY "I'm just off to poundland to get our backdrop" - Music Editor @MissDizzySpell
(above) The rock music powerstation of deux furieuses (playing #TGE15 at the Royal Albion Hotel) perfectly demonstrate that a respectable amount of the artists in the small venues are worthy of a Reading/Leeds/Download festival slot in 2016. deux furieuses prove that you can be poetically political without using gigs as a mememe soap box, and without sacrificing a massive tune and edgy dynamics to do so. Star turns in this vein were a highlight of the Alternative Escape weekend and also how The Zine Sessions bill came together.
Around the corner to Latest Music Bar. Love this venue. Our lunch time show case debut at TGE14 had won an invitation back to round off the 10th anniversary festivities with a late night rock n roll aural fireworks SHOW!
First things first (i.e. popping into the car park next to the venue to spray the back of some wrapping paper from poundland to make a back drop) and get some beers in...
Punk music and word legend, Bruno Wizard, of The Homosexuals/The Rejects is one of our extended party posse here with us for a night out at The Zine Sessions.
We are starting something tonight. Freaking LOVE every body that had travelled to town, to be part of this. Before the bands hit the stage, Bruno is photographed by Lava TV for their visual report on the event. Stay tuned to The Zine for more on that in the near future.
From the first riff on Saturday night to the last one on Sunday morning the bands deliver a three hour moment in new music that leaves Bruno frothing with excitement, plus praise and love from the (rock fan) venue manager because all four bands deliver a newer wave, home grown spectacle that keeps Latest Music Bar busy with fans/industry all night.
Saint Agnes play The Great Escape's finale night as if they are made of crackling electricity. Bluesy and dramatic, they live up to the "cinematic" comparison which keeps cropping up - and then some. Loud pop sensibilities in their hard rocking songs would make an impression on any size stage. We wanted some of the best new raw and dirty classics on one bill. We got them.
Sound can be too raw and dirty, sometimes, but Mourning Birds turn tense technical gremlins at the start of their set into an intense garage punk smack in the face for the second half. The ambition of their debut album, recently released in Japan (which they preview live tonight), wins respect and cool feedback from new ears.
Savage Nomads live up to their name - travelling a nomadic journey from a charity football match (with Jake Bugg, The View, The Enemy etc) in Nottingham to grace the stage in Brighton with savage noise pop.
Pictured, Cole Salewicz, like a suave punky James Bond, licensed to thrill.
The south London quintet bring a confident musical and vocal performance.
Drawing the crowd in with this, and reaching out again between songs, gels their fusion of genres into a charismatic magnetism which is accessable without losing their alternative bite.
Like the entire bill tonight, they are in possession of grand tunes and driven passions.
It works. Not only do they all win new friends and gig offers, but The Zine team are requested to stage this kind of line up in both London and Manchester. Also thanks to these artists, we will get to promote more shows here. Any excuse to be by the Brighton sea! Another great one being Bad For Lazarus who make this The Alternative Escape's big saturday night finale with their motown hell punk rock that shakes more than a few tail feathers in their home town.
Now thats what you call Sunday service. Bad For Lazarus bring a gargantuan swathe of wild life energy and instinctive surreality to the stage. Their presence on various radars has grown rapidly since they unleashed the album 'Life's A Carnival - Bang! Bang! Bang!'. They will follow The Great Escape Festival with a headline set on The Hell Stage (of course) at Glastonbury and are also confirmed for London's massive 'On Blackheath' festival in autumn. They are so good that yes, we have run over the very strict curfew a bit but no, the plug isn't being pulled because '7 Minute Itch' is a cabaret punk smash hit and we're experiencing it live and LOVING it.
Like rabbits in headlines as the lights come up and the magic spell is broken, we've all experienced something special. Thank you @AltEscape Latest Music Bar/Lava TV and most of all so much appreciation for the artists and audience that came and shared this moment with The Zine. We've love to take you home with us...
3am, Sunday 17th May 2015, Latest Music Bar - http://thelatest.co.uk/musicbar/ 14-17 Manchester Street, Nr Central Pier, Brighton BN2 - 1TF 01273 687171