What's going on in Cambridge

The Great Escape

It was Itchy's first time at The Great Escape and our adventure was handsomely rewarded with bucketfuls of fun. Somehow the idea that people will pop down to lovely Brighton for the weekend, or even for the day, seemed to us a bit far-fetched, but having done we realised it was probably what we should be doing every weekend, whether there's music or not. Every crevice, ancient pub and square metre of pavement throughout the modestly proportioned seaside town was filled with live music and people drinking beer. Like a paved Glastonbury, but less overwhelming and with nicer toilets.

We started out down on the pier because sometimes it's OK to be a tourist, especially when Best Coast are playing on a landmark. They were the perfect choice for the sea view, although they were in dire need of either a higher stage or a growth spurt. The Californians have a knack for looking and sounding both very low-key and very sexy at the same time. Although it has to be said they do sound sexier than they looked on the day – someone had clearly told them it was dress-down Friday.

A ten-minute walk back into town got us to the Unitarian Church to see the enchanting Sophie Madeleine. No beer was served here, but it was no hardship to sober up to her effortless vocals as the sun set through the stained glass. She had accompaniment and the prettiest of harmonies from Hannah Rockcliffe, who we recognised from the girls' twee-but-delightful Rocky and Balls side-project.

Staying put in the cool of the little chapel meant taking a punt on Paper Aeroplanes, another lucky choice. Usually one half of a duo, Sarah Howells almost broke our hearts with her sorrowful melodies and explanation that her ex was too lazy to join her from Cardiff. They are clearly a talented pair though, so we're glad she's getting on with it. Otherwise we would have missed out.

Unfortunately for Stornoway our experience of their gig was brief and bad. Itchy thinks they're a severely underrated (and patient) member of the new-folk clan, and love them rather dearly, so we made sure to catch them at The Great Escape having missed them at so many things before. But their venue, downstairs at Jam, was an over-crowded, sweaty, muggy basement with a ceiling so low that Ronnie Corbett would stoop. There was no hope of even catching a glimpse of the boys as we peered on tiptoe from the back corner. And, so much worse, the sound quality was horrific. We gave it two songs and gave up, vowing to pretend it never happened, and to continue to love Stornoway.

Our daytrip was a resounding success. We made it back to London in the early hours of Saturday night after some inevitable train delays. We'll be doing it all again next year. The Great Escape is surely the best value of Britain's festival offerings, with massive names we missed such as Groove Armada, Ellie Goulding and Born Ruffians as well as plenty of lesser-known gems to discover. And we do like to be beside the seaside.

www.escapegreat.com

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