The Easter Weekender Part 2 - The Great Escape

The Great Escape is a three day festival out by the Olympic Park. They sold day tickets for those of us who didn't fancy going for all three days so H, Will and Katie and I went on Sunday. It was completely different from the other festivals I have been too in Australia. This one reminded me of the Ashton Court festival back in Brizzle, except it was much smaller. It had a ferris wheel and dodgems!

It was also the first time that I've turned up to a festival for the last day. The only other three day event I have been to was Glastonbury back in 2003 and I was there for the entirety.

I wasn't particularly fussed by any of the music on offer. I'd seen Gomez before, and I've never been into The Lemonheads, but they were the biggest bands of the day (as well as The Roots). Will and H were very excited about seeing The Lemonheads and as they came on stage we made our way to the front of the rather peculiar Riverside Stage setting (lots of people sat round at tables watching the band – very chilled!). Now, the girls seem to love Evan Dando – hence the reason I took a few decent shots of him. I can't see what all the fuss is about – but H is a big, big fan. I asked Katie what she thought. She said "He’d be good for a Featherlite". Brilliant, and the quote of the day.

The gig was cool. I got into it the more it went on even though I only recognised one of their tunes. H and Will really enjoyed it. Here's a few videos;

Great Big No
Into Your Arms
Rudderless

From there it was off to The Village Green to catch the end of Fat Freddy’s Drop, a Kiwi dub band which Andy Simpson would love. They were perfect for the setting as the sun began to go down.

Next up.....Gomez! As I mentioned above, I saw them last year, at a tiny venue in the city. I didn't know much about them then but liked what I saw, although I wasn't blown away. H and Will were always banging on about them and Chris Cook, and old flatmate is a big fan. Anyway, the gig on Sunday was brilliant. The stage was at the bottom of a hill so everyone could get a great view and the organisers had put down loads of hay to soak up the rain that had fallen over the weekend - this ended up being thrown around by the crowd, closely followed by thongs and a pair of sunglasses. It was funny to watch and the atmosphere was quality. Gomez seemed to really enjoy the occasion as well and they played a great set. The lead singer has the most incredible voice.

Check out the vids;

Here Comes the Breeze (here and here) and Whippin’ Picadilly

H, Will, Simo and I are going to see them again on Saturday, at a venue in the city, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them again. I'm now a fan.

Once the gig had finished it was time to hit the fairground rides, in particular the dodgems. Great fun. H and Katie went on this ride which was comedy to watch (especially the end). Apparently Katie's got bruises! The evening finished with a go on the Ferris wheel. It’s nice being able to see the festival from up high – even though it didn’t feel very safe.

We left the venue at about 8pm, so we missed The Roots – but we had a two hour mission ahead of us getting home. And H and Katie were in a bit of a mess!