by Matt Pinder

Tags: The Great Escape Festival

The Great Escape (day two) @ Brighton, 17/05/2013

Iggy Azalea stuns on the second day of this year's TGE

 

The Great Escape (day two) @ Brighton, 17/05/2013

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The second day of TGE reminded me of the struggles with inner-city festivals. However good your intentions are to catch band after band it is highly unlikely to materialise, in fact, you are best off not making any plans or you end up chasing gigs which you end up missing, leaving a frustrated taste in your mouth.

Luckily what I did see was worth it. Gunning For Tamar brought energetic instrumentals to the Alcopop Records hosted stage. They were loud and captivating with an ode to Battles as they blasted heavy riffs with precession. Then there was Straw Bear at Blind Tiger who appeared confident as they won over every festival goer with their powerful on stage charisma and humourous lyrics.

But the night belonged to Australian rapper Iggy Azalea who put on quite a show at The Warren. Arriving at the venue late with rollers in her hair but all was forgiven as soon as she bounced onstage like a kid on fizzy pop.

Her DJ hyped the crowd with Kanye West tunes, bringing party vibes to the venue that could have been packed out ten times over. Then it was her turn. Dressed in tracky bottoms and a sports bra she made gym get-up sexy as she worked the crowd into a frenzy with her slim figure like some kind of glammed-up work-out video. Her moves were nothing compared to her two dancers who vigorously shook their bums and booties throughout the set.

Tonight Iggy Azalea had a lot to prove. This was her first big outing since the breakthrough single, 'Work' became one of the songs of 2013, there was plenty of expectation riding on this set but she easily delivered. Her fierce raps were spat out super quickly whilst her crowd interaction was second to non.

When current single, 'Bounce' began to room almost exploded with joy but it was closing number Work that was the real show stopper. Iggy needent have been there as the crowd sang every word like it was their story, the rapper ended the song amongst her fans, taking selfies and showing her appreciation. Sometimes rap is boring live but this girl is a superstar in the making.

I might have spent more time walking venue to venue and hanging out in queues than actually seeing live music but that just highlights the popularity of the festival which has sold out for the very first time and the demand for catch new bands live.

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