Day 2 began with French For Cartridge and an army of mods driving past the venue on their vespas and lambrettas. I really appreciated the way At The Edge Of The Sea had been organised so the audience can move seamlessly between artists playing in the main auditorium and a special stage set up opposite the entrance bar. The sound worked surprisingly well in this smaller space and the first act here were charming if a little bonkers. Opening with 'We Humans' the title track from their latest album, released last year, it was a strange piece to walk into. Primarily accapella vocals sung through megaphones and accompanied only by a droning tone – the three piece band were also, for no apparent reason, wearing masks that vaguely resembled the teenage mutant ninja turtles. Mostly performed on guitar, Fender Rhodes and drum kit their songs seem to alternate between these more surreal, experimental numbers and some more conventionally melodic numbers although there is an ever present quirkiness. Highlights include a song inspired by church bells in Belgium which keyboard player Catherine Kontz plays primarily on a childs set of bells; another drone oriented song, written to help save our libraries, for which the audience were handed whistling instruments to provide the backing (I swear my whistle was broken before I got it); and a jerky song that almost sounds like softer math-rock about Batman sung by guitarist Henri Växby which really showcased the skill of drummer Akinori Fujimoto.

 

Next I walked through to the main stage to watch Cinerama. I was impressed by The Wedding Present's headline set the night before but I hadn't seen Cinerama before so, although I knew this was a David Gedge fronted act, I was surprised that Cinerama has the same musicians as The Wedding Present except for the addition of a second keyboard! Obviously nobody else around me was phased, so I'll assume this is, by now, standard At The Edge Of The Sea practice. I was one of the few uninitiated members of this large afternoon audience treated today to the 'even' songs from the This Is Cinerama compilation album. This selection allowed them to welcome to the stage guest singer Emma Pollock, who was playing a set of her own later in the day, for a couple of songs which she duetted on the original recordings. Cinerama is more gently rendered than The Wedding Present, songs are layered with 'romance strings' and the lyrics seem to linger on subjects of love and carnal desire. Gedge also uses this opportunity to talk through the business of the day, discussing prizes for the raffle, the musical bingo game coming later in the day and his pleasure in being able to present 'international' entertainment at this years event. It's all good fun, the lighter Cinerama material seems appropriate for this time of day, particularly coming to light on the duets with Pollack and it lends the whole festival an air of old friends getting together for a party and a reminisce.

 

Cinerama were followed by Lutine, a Brighton based folk duo. Emma Morton and Heather Minor performed on piano and a collection of slightly unusual instruments, some of which I could not tell you the name of. They created an other worldly atmosphere, forcing all but the most inconsiderate audience members to stop their chatter and focus on the unexpectedly beautiful sound we were suddenly being treated too. Their music sounded quite traditional, almost medieval at times with the ethereal, high pitched lead vocal sounded like it came from another age. They were quite pleased to announce their debut album is almost complete and their first single 'Sallow Tree' was available to buy on the day. The melancholic beauty of their performance was only slightly marred by the sound of a much larger, noisier band line-checking in the room next door – but then I spied David Gedge holding the door closed and controlling the flow of people between the two spaces in an attempt to mitigate as much unwanted spill as he could. It was touching to see how hands on and involved he gets in the running of the festival and also very moving to hear such amazing music coming from these shy, beguiling women. I'll certainly be making an effort to see them again, although I suspect their music is best heard in a more intimate setting, there's an almost spiritual quality to what they do and I imagine it would sound perfect in one of the many churchs that Brighton has co-opted into musical performance spaces lately.

 

BIRD are a band from Manchester with a very 90's Manchester sound, I'm sure they don't mind the comparison, they did cover 'I want to be adored' and they pull it off really well. Solid driving rhythms with a lovely rolling bass overlaid with dreamy guitars and keyboards. The equally dreamy vocals come from the female guitarists and bassist, though the lead vocalists Adele (and bass player) puts down the guitar for some songs and frees herself up to bounce around stage letting rip on the vocals. As this is not a dreamy pop band, when they let rip the intensity of the songs skyrocket!

 

Emma Pollock had already won the crowd over during the Cinerama set and attracted the biggest crowd in the bar area. The only solo act on the bill and a breath of fresh air to listen to her gentle songs in the sun drenched bar with the sea in the background. Emma has not been to Brighton for a while and talked about when she played at The Green Door Store a few years ago saying that her new album would be out next year…. Which is still due next year, or I guess when it's done. Later in the set Emma was joined by one of the Cinerama keyboard players on a few songs which added some nice extra texture. The crowd were totally hooked and listened in quiet adoration as she played for them leaving everyone wanting more when Emma finally had to stop.

 

Some (English speaking) people don't always get on well with songs sung in a foreign language but Umut Adan had no problem with this crowd. The band are from Turkey and have that Eastern European twang to their folky rocky tunes. They describe themselves as 'Phsycadelic Folk From Istanbul' which paints a pretty good picture of their sound. It felt as if they were quite honoured to be on the stage as they are not exactly a band that regularly tours England and quite possibly the first time they have played here. It was a real treat to see something new and refreshing.

 

The Cravats are one of those bands it's hard to ignore. You have the larger than life frontman prancing around the stage like he owns it with his dark suit and hat but then again he has been doing that since 1977 when the band formed. The music is a bit rockabilly, bit scar and a lot of punk. Along with plenty of onstage theatre, like playing one song intro from a Dictaphone into the microphone and making full use of everything on stage, even dancing with the microphone and cable! One of the most entertaining and visually hypnotic sets on the bill.

 

One of my friends said they would be interested to hear what I though about Art Brut calling them a Marmite band… "You either love them or hate them". Well they charmed the socks off me. The frontman Eddie Argos is overflowing with charisma and knows how to play a crowd. While the two guitarist played off each other always keeping an eye on what the other was doing. They have to be on their toes as Eddie can be spontaneous sometimes. This is not music played as on 'the record' but  music played for the most fun. Also the perfect warm-up band for the final act of the festival.

 

Next up was a bit of 'festival fun' with the 2nd raffle winners announced, todays star prize the test pressing of Brassneck. This was followed by the experimental Wedding Present Bingo, for one night only. As you expect this is a bingo card full of Wedding Present track titles. They then proceeded to play the first 20 secs of different tracks until someone got a full house. Which took a while but you got to hear a lot of little snippets of dozens of Wedding Present tracks….

 

By the time The Wedding Present took to the stage everyone was nicely warmed up and rearing to go. It felt like a slightly heavier set tonight and gave the crowd something to really rock out to. Tonight's featured album was their mini album 'Mini' which gave them plenty of spare time to add in a few favourites and even treat us to a preview of a new song called 'Secretary'. At one point David Gedge joked about his songs being pop songs….with an edge. It's taken me most of my life to realise it but I actually really like The Wedding Present and can't wait to come back next year, after sitting down and giving their catalogue a good listen.

 

So, after not being quite sure what to expect over the two days and not overly excited about spending two days at the Concorde2. In the end it was a blast from beginning to end. I have come away with a long list of bands I'd never heard of but I now like. The whole event really did feel like a festival, even with the luxury of my own bed at night and the music was so well choreographed bouncing between the bar and main stage that it brought out the best of the Concorde2 venue. David Gedge is the mastermind behind the whole festival and it's much more than a "Let's put on a festival so The Wedding Present can play". The quality and diversity of music I saw over the two days rivals what I saw at The Great Escape festival over a similar timescale and I did a lot less walking!

 

Jonski Mason + Adam Kidd