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'My sleeping bag is going in the bin' - round up of day two of The Great Escape

Yard Act at Chalk, Brighton, for The Great Escape festival
Yard Act at Chalk, Brighton, for The Great Escape festival

I WROTE before that the benefits of a festival based in the city became clear, due to easy access to a pint from one of Brighton’s many pubs. Today, I write that the city festival concept is the future. Largely as my bed is just a ten-minute bus ride away at the end of the night – I’ll never stay in a tent in a field again, the sleeping bag is going straight in the bin.

Moving on from my new-found need for a good night’s sleep though, The Great Escape returned for a second day on Friday - a glorious, sun-drenched afternoon and night of thrilling live music.

It’s hard to pick particular highlights to cover in this piece; every single act that played was totally unreal, and every person in attendance is a genuinely pleasure to be around – all crammed together in a tiny space, shoulder to shoulder, sharing sweat and a genuine passion for music. Lovely.

The Argus: Yard act played two shows for The Great Escape this weekend
The Argus: Yard act played two shows for The Great Escape this weekend

Yard act played two shows for The Great Escape this weekend

A notable performance, however, came courtesy of the highly anticipated Rebecca Black, who drew one of the biggest crowds of the evening at Revenge.

The internet star even brought out her infamous jewel-encrusted chainsaw, with her unwavering fans going crazy for a rendition of viral hit Friday. Very cool indeed.

Similarly to the day before again, I can’t stress the sheer electricity of our city over these few days. It is alive and kicking, a tangible feeling that we’re back, and so is live music.

So too, are the huge queues to see popular bands; the wait time outside of Chalk to see Yard Act (again) was horrendous, but a small price to pay to see the biggest new band in the country today.

Front man James Smith made it clear from the off that he wasn’t here for a day at the seaside. “We were here for Mutations festival before, and that crowd was way better than you lot,” he joked, before launching into a dizzying set list of post punk thumpers – treating the crowd to a blistering version of Human Sacrifice, a track not featured on their album and rarely played live.

The Argus: Yard Act
The Argus: Yard Act

Yard Act

It would also be sufficient to say, I’ve also never seen mosh pits as ballistic as the ones down the front – what a night.

Elsewhere, performances from indie-pop darling Alfie Templeman, country-pop star CMAT, and NOAHFINNCE had revellers eating out of their palms.

I’ll admit, I was sceptical of The Great Escape initially – being from the Westcountry, a city festival was not even on my radar. I can also admit when I’m wrong, and I’m happy to say here and now, that The Great Escape is a total dream, and as I wrote this on a sunny Saturday morning, I couldn’t wait to get stuck in for the final day.