• Constant Noise
• Land Of The Tyrants
• The Victory Lap
• Lies And Fear
• Missiles
• Blame
• Divide
• Dancing On The Tables
• Relentless
• Everything Is Going To Be Alright
• Burnt Out Family Home
• Flag
• Warhorse
• Born Slippy

The critical success of the first album seems to have given them the time to develop the second album and explore different sounds. The first album also brought many famous admires, including Pete Doherty, who features on one of the tracks. I think the realisation that they cannot keep changing drummers, has forced them to strip back their sound even further to just Robbie and Kingsley. Instead of adding guitars, Robbie has taken the bold step of adding layers of violin feedback to some of the songs and to add layers of synth textures. I think the rotation of drummers may have helped them too. Each drummer brought different styles of drumming to their songs. Each drummer brought their own personality to the music. I felt the excellent Kat Myers especially, added an element of dance to some of their tracks and I wonder if these drummers have influenced Robbie and Kingsley when they wrote this album, encouraging them add more dancy drum patterns to many of the songs.

Billed by some, as Benefits dance album. I was unsure it would be my thing. While I am more open to dance music than I used to be. I was worried they had written an album that I would not go back to. Despite some of the early reviews suggesting this was a more dance-orientated album, ‘Constant Noise’ is not that. There are elements of ambiance, trance and dance. There are also some tracks that repeat their shock noise too. The surprise for me is that the album at times delicate and beautiful. It is full of shifting textures that site behind and compliment Kingsley’s poetry. Some of the pieces I have touches of post-classical. Imagine Phillip Glass wrote a Koyaanisqatsi-like piece about war from the perspective of a post-Brexit Teesside estate, that’s ‘Missiles’. ‘Everything is Going To Be Alright’ is a laid-back ‘New York Counterpoints being hummed by a slightly drunk contemplative Teessider’. This isn’t the album I expected. In fact on first list, I was blown aware by it. It is a strong contender for my album of the year. After my first listen, I was so impressed, I bought a second ticket for the album release show at Resident Records in Brighton.

Tonight, was the album release show at Rough Trade, ‘down in that London’. Kingsley and Robbie , sans drummer and Robbie’s brother, now a two piece, brought with them, Shakk, the Teesside rapper featured on ‘Divide’, who added a new dimension to their sound. The textures of the album worked beautifully live. Driving beats, shock noise, then textures. The shift between light and shade, works. While the album isn’t as visceral as Nails, the politics is still there. While Nails was the teacher shouting at you. This new set of songs, is the contemplative moment when you are standing on the naughty step, thinking about what you did wrong. Sometimes you have to stop shouting, to make people listen. I know from experience, the constant noise of the first album often alienated Benefits from unsuspecting audiences at festivals. I hope adding these news textures into the live set will bring in new audiences.

God knows what they will do for their third album. Maybe it will be a country album? I hate country music. Knowing them, this is exactly what they will do.

This was my first visit to the George Tavern. A weird affair. Throughout the evening, people were coming in and out to go to the back room which remained open to the locals. There appeared to be no idea who or who hadn’t paid and it seemed anyone could wander in to see the band simply by saying they were going to have a ‘local drink’. I walked in as the bands were sound checking. No one seemed to care. It felt a bit like an old fashioned local with a ‘turn on’ and locals who didn’t care for such things, would go through to the back room where there would be a meat raffle. I can see why people are fond of this place. Although the amount of ‘Shoreditch-types’ wandering in, I doubt any of them know what a meat raffle is. Throughout the evening, I was wondering what the locals down at Priory* would think of Benefits. (*Social club in Middlesbrough, that my parents used to go to when I was a kid)

Weirdly, despite all the bright young things wandering into the back room, the audience looked very much a 6Music audience. This constantly surprises me with Benefits. They are a political band, talking about the ills of the society. I expect them to resonate with the youth, who we hear are more politically motivated than we were at their age. Yet their audiences always seem to be filled with people from the generation before them. Maybe you have to have experienced both a Labour and Tory government and still seen a decline in society to understand hopelessness and anger that Benefits express?

With their new set up. There was a risk their music might have lost some of the dynamics to their anger. Surprisingly, I didn’t miss the drummer. Robbie seemed to have added a few pedal boards to give him more options to make noise, adding in a violin to drench the sound with squeals and feedback. Kingsley, ever engaging, channelling his anger towards the audience, although this time in flashes of movement, as the headache inducing lights, strobed and pulsated as if they were channelling Kingsley’s emotions. (very challenging to photograph without a flash). Thankfully, their live show remains an intense and visceral experience.

Despite flooding in the South, the journey to Bognor was straightforward with no delays. Given I had suffered a really poor night’s sleep – I think due to food poisoning, the train gave me a chance to recuperate. On the way down, it is fun spotting the Rockaway crowd amongst the commuters and travellers heading to Gatwick. We are really easy to spot, basically a tribe of middle-aged indie kids who have never grown up and that is part of what makes Rockaway so great. Lots of like-minded people, out to enjoy new music.

As is usual, the rooms were ready before the advertised arrival time and I was able to unpack and have a rest before hitting Reds. The start time in Reds was later this year. I think this was a change for the better, as it meant the room was busy from the start.

Starting our weekend of music and new discoveries were Ghost Car, a new band for me. The majority of songs came in around the three minute mark. Short, sharp 60s inspired garage punk, with but with a pop edge. I recognised Ceci Corapi from her other band Qlowski, a band I’m fond of, so I was already disposed to liking them. While they have disposable fun songs like Sushi Addict, most of their songs do have a message, but they try to make them fun. Sadly, the vocals were too low in the mix. Something repeated throughout the day.

Driving down from my native Teesside, Benefits brought their political industrial noise poetry to Butlins. I’ve covered my love for this band multiple times and their focus on how the working-class get shafted but also continuously shaft themselves, through inappropriate patriotism and fear ‘of the other’. The Britain they hold an uncomfortable mirror up to is living on faded false glories. You could say Butlins is the perfect place for them to play. It is a faded working-class institution. Sadly, few parks are now left and while they’re doing a great job of trying to make the place compete against overseas holiday destinations, it is a struggle. Kind of Post-Brexit Britain in a nutshell.

Sadly, much to my disappointment, Kingsley didn’t turn up as a Red Coat.

I have to admit, I love Benefits. I’m a Teessider. I like their attitude. I have found Kingsley to be completely respectful in all his interactions with me. So I wave a flag for them. But I’m also a realist about their music. The music isn’t to everyone’s taste. I joked with Robbie before hand that they might clear the room. They are well aware of their challenging sound and I think this helps keep them humble. They seem to appreciate those who stay and engage with them. I’ve had friends who didn’t survived two songs at other festivals. Here at Butlins, there were a lot of people who wanted to catch them, stayed and then raved about them later in the weekend. They’ve worked so hard to get their music out. It isn’t easy for a band from Teesside to get heard, especially a band ploughing their own furrow. But they are making a good fist of it and people seem to be open to listening to them.

Sadly, M(h)aol, who were up next, were a slight disappointment. I had seen them play the Moth Club supporting Bodega. I thought they were great. Their singer Róisín had so much presence and Zoe, the bass player, used a violin bow to create a great sound from her bass guitar with an expressive performance. The album they released in 2023 was also one of my most listened to of the year. I hadn’t realised that Róisín had left.

This change has forced a shift in responsibilities. With other members of the band taking vocals. But it has also caused a shift in the dynamics of the band, both sonically and from a performance perspective. Zoe especially is less exuberant, now that she shared vocals duties and drummer, Constance, who shares vocal duties is hidden at the back of the stage, which doesn’t help engagement. Sadly, some of the edge Róisín brought to the band has been dulled.

Many of the songs were new, I guess reflecting the shift in dynamics. I enjoyed the new songs, which seemed more layered and textured. It is brave not to replace the singer with like for like and to allow your sound to drift naturally to new moorings. I would be lying if I didn’t say I preferred the shouty nature of their previous sound. It will be interested to see where their sound heads. I will keep one eye on them. There was still something interesting about what they are doing.

Polish band, Trupa Trupa have played Rockaway. Much of their appeal is singer Grzegorz Kwiatkowski, who appears like an overhyped toddler who can’t contain his own fun, conducting the rest of the band as he plays. Some of their English language songs lack any complexity. But they’re so infectious, it doesn’t matter.

At this point in the evening, options opened up. The bigger Centre Stage opened ready for tonight’s headliner, Selector. Without a photo pass it becomes difficult to photograph the bands, as it is challenging to move between the two rooms and get to the front without pushing – which I try not to do. So I mapped out which bands I wanted to photograph the most and planned mye evening around them.

Belfast band Chalk, were first up on the Main Stage. If I’m honest, I don’t think the big stage was right for them. They seemed very small on such a large stage. With repeating angular, guitars and part-spoken, part-sung vocals, they reminded me of Gilla Band. That’s not a bad thing. I want to see them in a small dark room with strong strobing light where their intensity I think will pay off. They looked a bit lost on the big stage. But they did enough to ensure I will catch them again.

I had intended to watch HiFi Sean but got tied up with something and so headed to see Bob Vylan. It was clear a lot of people wanted to catch them as Centre stage was packed. However, because I wanted to also catch Patrick Wolf, I decided I was only staying for half the set. What I saw was one of the highlights of the festival. Comparisons (and arguments) have been drawn to Sleaford Mods. But musically they draw more from a poppier version of the Rage Against the Machine sound, with punk mixed with rap. Vylan also add in grime and Jamaican influences which means each song has an underlying danceable grove.

My previous reviews of Sleaford Mods and Billy Nomates, have suggested that their dynamics and stage presence could be improved by having live musicians and Bob Vylan vindicates this for me. While, much of the sound is sequenced from a laptop. There was a real dynamic between the two Bobs. Bob the drummer reacting to the performance to give everything a proper live feel. It didn’t really matter that the rest of the music was sequenced.

It also helps that singer Bob has real stage presence. He was comfortable talking to the audience. Joking from the off. Impressively, it never felt he was talking at the audience. At times his performance was visceral. Other times funny. Some have complained that Bob talked too much and they found his views towards the police, uncomfortable. But they’re two young black guys and their experience of the police is probably not what the majority of the middle-age white audience experienced growing up. They’re doing exactly what musicians should do. Challenge us by holding up a mirror to the world as they see it. I felt more connected to them and their music, than I’ve ever done with the Mods.

Heading down to Reds for Pale Blue Eyes, many had stayed downstairs and it was several deep at the barrier. I headed to the side for a few shots, accepting that I had photographed them numerous times, and feeling recovered after the previous night’s nausea, I finally took the opportunity to grab a few beers. Even from the back, it is clear that PBE are a really tight band.

Sadly, at this point, Reds fell behind. I’m sure the guys managing the stage would be the first to admit, they got things wrong during the first day. After all, it was their first festival back after New Year. We all make mistakes on our first day back after Christmas. While the sound was too bass heavy and setup at times slow. So far it hadn’t led to any delays. This finally caught up with them and timings slipped by 15 minutes while setting up PBE. But as festival go, that’s not a really big issue and it’s nothing that couldn’t have been made up.

PBE’s set was great as usual. I’ve said it before. They are so comfortable with each other and they own their sound. They make music seem effortless and convincing. They sounded great while I drank my first beers of the festival.

We were now hitting the big clash in the programme. Patrick Wolf was due to start at the same time as Selector. He was a late addition after a band pulled out. However, he was going to finish first. My thinking was to watch half of Patrick’s set and then head up and catch the second half of the Selector’s set.

It’s probably 18 years since I saw Patrick Wolf. At the time, I really didn’t like him. However, I know a lot of people who do like him and in 18 years both my musical tastes and Patrick have developed. Out of all the bill, I was most interested to see what he sounded like and for me to reflect on my own changing tastes.

Given the short notice, Patrick said he was playing without his full band and he had to devise a new set over Christmas. Clearly he hadn’t worked out how to change over in the 20ish minute gap he would have between bands to set up. Because he single handedly knocked the festival back another 45 minutes. He was like the runner in a 4×100 relay race who drops the baton. He seemed so out of practice setting up for a festival turnaround.

He turned up with numerous instruments, repeat pedals and bags of cables. After PBE finished, the stage was 15 minutes late. By the time he had plugged in his keyboards, guitars, autoharp and violin in correctly, then sound checked everything, he went on 50 minutes late at 2335 and the Selector’s set was nearly finished. He seemed to lack any urgency. If you are the headliner, fine. When you are not top of the bill, you are eating into somebody else’s time.

Of course, at this point, I had to stay to see him. I don’t know if I was in a bad mood at this point. But he didn’t win me over. It was pleasant, but uninspiring. Others said he was boring and shouldn’t have been on the bill. I don’t agree with them. I think he was a good booking. Adding some light to the shade of the rest of the bill and this year’s bill, despite being pretty perfect to me, was all dark. However, he needs to get into rehearsal studio and assemble his kit and work out what is realistic in the 15 minute festival turnaround time and let that dictate which songs he plays. I’ve seen stages at SXSW tell an artist they can’t play when they started to make the stage times slip. What he did was unfair to Hinds as it pushed them back from 12pm to 1am. And despite my earlier criticism of the stage guys. This had nothing to do with them. This was mostly Patrick’s fault.

Giving Patrick enough time to win me over, after four songs, I wasn’t finding any love for his music. Sadly, by the time I headed up to the Selector, they were playing the end of their set. Brilliant, as you would expect. But given my lack of sleep, I had basically been up for nearly 24, I decided to grab some food to give me the energy to survive Hinds set.

While the dual stage isn’t good for me grabbing evening photos without a pass. I do like the second stage and I think the Rockaway team have made effective use of this stage to give headline slots to bands who have the potential to headline the bigger stage. Hinds are a case in point. They are headliners in waiting. Every time I’ve seen them, they are bundles of energy. It is impossible not to to like them. However, I’m not sure their name is a big enough draw for a main stage headliner. Though after tonight I have no doubt, they will make a great headliner. Maybe next year?

Despite having been up since 5am to travel to the festival from Madrid and Patrick delaying their set until 1am, long after they should have finished. Many who wanted to catch them decided to head to their rooms. There was still a reasonable size and warm crowd for them. It is a few years since I’ve seen them and two of the original members recently left and I was worried their energy might have gone. I needn’t have worried, even during sound check Carlotta Cosials was beaming with her infectious smile, joking with the sound guys and trying to warm up the audience. What followed was a customary Hinds set of joyous music. Everyone who stayed went to bed happy.

I thought I would head back to edit photos, but it was nearly 2.30 and I was knackered. They would have to wait. Not a bad first day and I knew better was still to come.

The great thing about Rockaway Beach is that Butlins offers other things to do around the music, like bowling, playing arcades, pool, swimming and go carting. Obviously, Down at the Front headed down to catch Trout in Reds, which started the day with significantly improved sound. Well done the sound engineers for listening to our complaints.

Trout were first. They weren’t for me. They were bit shoegazey. All standing still looking serious. Little to photograph and I tend to find that type of music a bit boring. Although, I admit it was clever sequencing by the organisers. They were the perfect band for dealing with the first hangover of the weekend and they eased us into Saturday.

While Trout were the appetiser. Frozemode were the fiery chilly dish. Anyone not yet awake were soon woken up by Frozemode, three rappers who mix in a bit of noise rock. They jumped around the stage with an energy level that was unhealthy at this time of day. If I’m honest, I didn’t really follow anything they said. But it didn’t matter, they filled the stage with their performance.

Genn, the Brighton via-Malta band, offered a mix of post-punk and a bit of psych, but there were other influences that made them stand out from the crowd. Genn weave Middle Eastern and North African textures into their songs that made them sound fresh and new. Interest was helped by a captivating performance of singer, Leona Farrugia, who had a fantastic voice and danced around the stage, engaging us with their performance. One to watch and my favourite new discovery of the weekend.

Another late addition to lineup was Lonely Tourist. I had considered jumping out to get some food because I didn’t want to miss any of the bands playing the rest of the afternoon. Staying for one song, the Scottish duo won me over with their relaxed engaging style and great songwriting. Lovely little vignettes of the little things in life.

If I’m honest, this time last year, I wasn’t convinced about the ‘one to watch’ hype Heartworms were generating. I had seen them on a full bill, though good, I felt there were better bands on the bill who weren’t generating the hype. But they are as good as the hype. I’ve seen them a few times since and become convinced that those hyping them were right. Jojo Orme is a brilliant songwriter with great stage presence. Her dark gothic post-punk sound feels fresh. The addition of the theremin adds a different dimension to the songs and her performance. Hopefully a debut album is coming soon.

Big Special are one of my current favourites. I think 2024 will bring big things for them. They kind of sit alongside bands like Benefits, Sleaford Mods and Bob Vylan. They have written songs that reflect on modern society. Songs are part spoken with a tongue firmly placed in cheek. Singer Joe Hicklin, has a wry sense of humour and for somebody who talks for most of the songs, a really brilliant voice. I think that’s what makes them different. They have his voice available to add in a different dynamic.

Ditz are a great live band. They know how to work the room. Cal, unhappy the lead on the mic was really short and that bands aren’t allowed to bring drinks on to the stage, paced around the stage looking like he was being wound up like a coil ready to spring. This was going to be good. A radio mic was procured and as soon as they started, he was off into the crowd to see how far he could get. Complaining that he wanted the music louder. I think Cal was converted to using radio mics. He had a new toy for the rest of the set he made good use of it. I half expected to see him singing from behind the bar.

(In fairness to the sound engineer, if loudness was what caused yesterday’s sound issues. They had the levels right and when I was further back, I thought the sound levels were fine)

As with any DITZ performance. Cal moves around the stage unable to stand in any one position, pacing as if he’s planning mischief. Much to the annoyance of the stage crew, this involved climbing the rigging, and like a parent who knows there is no way their kids will do what they are asking. The sound engineer dejectedly walked across the stage knowing he wouldn’t be listened to. Upturning and standing on a monitor probably didn’t endear Cal any further with the stage crew. But the audience loved it. I think Ditz made a lot of new fans today.

Finally, I’ve seen JOHN! I had tickets to see them twice and missed them. The last one, due to a train strike. The risk was that they wouldn’t live up to my anticipation. We were worried before their set that John (drummer) wouldn’t be seen at the back of the stage. Thankfully, they moved the drums to the side so that we could see him (well mostly, there was a lot of smoke). They were everything I wanted them to be. The two Johns produced a loud and imposing sound that hits you in the stomach. Music you turn up to 11.

Unfortunately, given 8 hours standing in the same spot, my feet were killing me and my stomach was telling me I needed to feed it. I headed up to catch the end of the Skids set. While they sounded okay, I decided it was better to get some food. The feedback about their set was really positive, but I think I made the right decision. I’m not really bothered about discovering a band from the 1970s. There’s so many new bands to discover.

I have been hearing excited whispers about amazing Fat Dog performances coming out of South London. They have created a small but strong London following. I did have a ticket to see them earlier in the year and based on tonight, I can see why they would be great in a small London venue. First, there seemed to be loads of people on stage. We all love seeing a chaotic stage. Then there’s a mix of instruments that makes them look like they are a band of whoever turned up with a musical instrument that evening. Then when they play, it’s pure dance music. At the end of the evening, after a few pints, they would be brilliant. I hadn’t drunk anything and they made me feel like I needed to have a drink. I could see what I was missing. Hearing that the bars were running out of beer, after watching half their set, I headed to get some beer.

This is one of the problems with Butlins, beer, or rather the lack of it. I’ve mentioned it in previous years. Their beer options are limited. They seem to focus on offering lager and Guinness. This year they had improved their offering with a small micro-pub provided by Sharps. Sadly, they started to run out on Saturday night and by the end of Sunday, even the Guinness had run out. This isn’t a fault of the festival organisers and Butlins do seem to be listening to our feedback and trying to offer new options, sadly, they didn’t get it right this year. I’m sure next year they will.

Still relatively sober, I headed up to catch Sleaford Mods. I saw them play a local venue around the time of their first album. While, I liked the album. I was unimpressed by their live presence. However, I wanted to give them a chance. They’ve been playing big stages for years. Surely must be more than a bloke shouting into a microphone and a guy pressing play on the computer? Yes, Andrew now dances. If anything, they were worse than in the small club. At that performance Jason was in touching distance. The performance was in your face. Here there was no intimacy. It was like watching a pissed angry guy ranting away in the corner of a pub and like that situation, I opted to move on.

The decision was an easy one. Dream Wife were playing Reds. I first saw them play the Touting Tram and Social to a few of us there for the music, in a pub full of people out to have a drink. Even back then, they were fully formed. Since then they’ve released three albums and gained a strong following, especially amongst young women, due to them creating a welcoming space for women at their gigs. In fairness, it’s less welcoming to ‘down at the front’ men who queued to be at the front and then are kicked to the back. However, there’s loads of bands we can go and see and feel safe and welcome. That’s not the same for women.

Their festival set was fun, but their message was still there. Interestingly, their lyric from Somebody off their first album, ‘I am not my body, I’m somebody’ seemed to have hit home with a number of men who I heard quoting it over the weekend. The way Rakel sings, it has become their anthem. It’s damn catchy.

It was great to see how far the band has come. When blokes say there are no female bands who can headline stages. Well Rockaway showed that’s not true. In fact Dream Wife and Hinds would have been a better headliner than Sleaford.

Hopefully, Rockaway will go the full distance next year and include a female headliner on the main stage. Both Hinds and Dream Wife are good candidates.

Like previous years, I decided to take Sunday more easily. It is hard work being ‘Down At the Front’. As I had previously photographed pretty much everyone on Sunday’s Red bill. I decided to take less gear and head for a late breakfast, rather than being first into Reds.

First up was a brilliant festival band, Enjoyable Listens. Let’s say they are a less-then-serious band. Singer, Luke Duffett, creates a well observed caricature of a crooner. There’s a lot of similarity with Jesse Hughes’ rockstar caricature. Taking all the sterotypes of a crooner working a room, the secret of Enjoyable Listens isn’t the music, which is fun, but the stories, explaining the songs. And like every great star, by the end of the set, he had everyone eating out of his hands.

For the rest of the afternoon, I dipped in and out. I had seen all the acts before and while I like most of them, this was my day off. Japanese Television play laid back surf-rock with a Japanese influence. Very chilled and tight. I’ve listen to Joyeria a lot since seeing him in 2022. Firmly rooted in early 90s US alt-rock. I think he deserves to be listened to more and after this set, he definitely has a few extra fans. I can see the appeal of Shelf Lives, with their fun, danceable, electric punk. They just don’t work for me, but the audience were lapping them up. I think TRAAMS surprised everyone. I saw them in 2013(ish) and then I didn’t hear about them for years, picking them up again last year. Using the Krautrock formula to build up momentum to monumental performances. They were the pick of many who went to Rockaway and I could see why.

At this point, I decided to jump back onto the barrier for a few songs of Snayx. I have seen them quite a few times and they have a strong, enthusiastic following that seems to has spawned out of IDLES AF gang. I’m going to be honest, I am not fully convinced by them. But they are good to photograph and fun to watch.

They are a trio. Vocals (Charlie), bass (Ollie) and drums (Laney). Ollie’s bass is heavily altered by effects pedals, so it creates a sound more reminiscent of dance music. I think why they have so many fans is the way Charlie and Ollie bounce around the stage and continually engage with the crowd. It is all good on surface, but I’m always left feeling wanting more musically. While their music has a political edge, it just feels blunted by the dance sound coming out of the bass. I like my post-punk angular. But there is no denying they are good fun and do more than most bands do to keep you entertained. I moved further back and let the real fans enjoy my place.

I was waiting the whole festival for Deadletter. I think they are one of the best bands around at the moment. I saw them at one of these ‘one to watch’ nights in early 2022. I’ve seen them grow and gain some influential backers like Steve Lamacq. I am surprised they have yet to release an album. I’m hoping early 2024 will see the release of the album and they hit the streets and capitalise on their momentum.

I have a feeling the post-punk revival is nearing its end. I think Deadletter are the culmination of all that’s gone before. They manage to be as vital as anyone before them, have tongues in cheek when needed and write finely crafted songs that Talking Heads would be happy to have written. All driven by supremely confident front person, Zac, who knows how to work the crowd while also keeping a detached persona when he needs to. He performs in his space. He performs in the space the songs need, sometime we are in it, sometimes not. Tonight, was a classic Deadletter set. The crowd loved them.

My final band of the festival were Desperate Journalist. They played Rockaway before. I saw them just before Christmas. A good choice for the main stage and a fine way to end my festival.

Sadly, I meant to catch the Cribs and Vaselines, but after Deadletter, I ended up talking to various people and the rest of the night disappeared. I even ended up in the silent disco. But I don’t come to Rockaway for the legacy bands. I come for the interesting undercard. The festival organisers have a very good track record of gauging the pulse of the indie scene and this year they out did themselves. Many of these bands will have much higher profiles by Rockaway 2025.

2025 is the 10th anniversary of Rockaway Beach. I started out thinking it didn’t provide enough music. Each year, my love of it has grown. It will be interesting to see what they have planned. Hopefully, next year they will have some element of ‘Rockaway Greats’ to celebrate the anniversary. If they do, they could do worse than having a female headliner who has played the festival before. There were two good candidates this year, but my pick would Nadine Shah.

Is it worth going? It’s January. Can you think of anything better than this to do? Give it a try. Butlins staff are friendly. There’s loads to do on site. Decent food options. You head back to a room every night. And you get to listen to great new music. Can you see why it has got its claws into me? I know I will be back next year. I have already bought my ticket. See you in 2025.

Full gallery available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/pahudson/albums/72177720313910407

After checked-in, I headed off to grab my badge. Last year I was off the pace, with issues with my calf muscles reducing my mobility. They have mainly held up since then. My only concern this year was the perennial size of the queues. Would 2023 continue the trend of turning paying music fans into second-class citizens, while the ‘off on a jolly to the seaside on work’s expenses’ crowd get preferential treatment?

Heading up to the Green Door Store for a few of the sets at one of the alt-Escape opening parties, for some reason. I found the venue unbearably hot and decided to head off for a beer and a quiet night. Before leaving I managed to catch three acts. The highlight, Porchlight. With that kind of anarchic Squid sound, popular at the moment. They put on an excellent show. But I decided to bail and save my energy for the full festival.

This year I spent more time planning who I was going to see. But as is usual, the plan didn’t hold up in reality. The day started off at the Prince Albert for Katie Phelan playing the Irish showcase. The curse of being on first. Katie Phelan suffered from sound issues. Though in fairness, I don’t think it was the sound engineer’s fault. I think Katie forgot to change her battery in her acoustic guitar and the sound engineer had to quickly mic up the guitar. But this is what festivals are for. They help artists deal with the logistics. Musically, it was a fairly standard singer-songwriter fair. Lots of little reflective vignettes. Pleasant, but focused on young concerns.

Reb Fountain at the North Lane Brewery was my first discovery. Her music blended elements of folk, blues, rock, pop, even a bit goth at times. Reb’s vocals are rich, bluesy and at times sultry. I was really impressed by her and caught her playing the Lexington on the way home.

Up at the Hope and Ruin, Cowboyy continued to impress with their intricate math rock. More intricate music and dare I say it, prog, appears to be rearing its head again as kids bore of the post-punk sound that has dominated the last few years. Cowboyy intricate math rock is definitely worth catching. 

But the post-punk revival hasn’t yet died. Surfing on the tail end of the revival and one of the best bands of the revival, Deadletter played the inappropriate Music Venue Trust Airstream stage down at the beach. I always photograph them in black and white and their music suits the dark. Seeing them in daylight somehow feels wrong. Luckily, they were still as good as always. Zac, as usual, went out into the crowd midway through the set. Being a festival set, they concentrated on all their most crowd-friendly songs.

The sound on the MVT stage was pretty poor all weekend. It is the nature of outdoor venues. However, it is unforgivable for the sound engineer to make things worse. Sadly Coach Party experienced an unacceptably bad sound. For some unknown reason, the sound engineer failed to notice the first song and part of the second song had no vocals. It probably won’t affect Coach Party, they already have a pretty dedicated fan base. But please TGE don’t let this happen again. This is a showcase for many artists. As you would expect, Coach Party’s infectious indie pop registered strongly with the afternoon crowd and the perfect breezy accompaniment to a sunny day on the beach

The evening was dominated by queues. But I did manage to see two great acts, the visceral Benefits I have covered numerous times. Playing the One Church. Kingsley’s sermon was received by a willing congregation. It was great to see such a positive reaction to what could be a hard festival sell.

Second standout of the evening was Lael Neale. I had tickets to see her at the Lexington the following week. I hoped I would catch her here, find her average and have an evening off to regain post-festival sleep. No chance. The album has been on heavy rotation and live, was just as beautiful. Many of the delicately crafted songs were played on an old omnichord and Lael’s swilling of her fingers around its pad, weirdly mesmeric.

For the rest of the evening, it was a case of finding any venue I could get into. In the end I decided to grab a few beers. While Brighton is more open than last year, many of my favourite pubs were still closing relatively early on week nights. Sad to see things are still catching up to pre-COVID times.

Friday started off with something different with Annie Taylor rocking out at Komedia Studio. Good old fashioned unreformed blues rock with lots of blue denim on show. Annie and band put on an energetic fun set. Not really my thing anymore. But still fun.

The second Benefits set was slightly more surreal than the previous evening in a church with Kingsley and co disturbing the beachgoers at the MVT stage. Sound continued to be an issue with vocals too low in the mix. It was good to see a significant number stayed to enjoy their set. You either love this band or you hate them. With this band there is no compromise.

The rest of the afternoon was particularly unsuccessful. Some of the bigger draws had long queues. I managed to squeeze into the Shipwright’s Yard to hear an excellent set from Pale Blue Eyes. Unless you are at the front you can’t see the band playing inside the garage. I have a fondness for this makeshift ‘venue’. TGE needs more of these pop-up venues.

My unsuccessful afternoon led to me deciding to grab a beer in the relatively empty Mesmerist and listen to what they had scheduled for the Alt-Escape. Listed on their board was ‘Sleeper’ playing in 30 minutes time. Could it be that Sleeper? Amazingly it was and the acoustic set they played was rather good. They all seemed so relaxed and at ease with each other. It was a joy to watch.

Given the difficulty of getting into venues, I decided to head for St Mary’s Church to catch FDR who I had heard good things about. JFDR didn’t do that much for me. But I caught the last 10 minutes of Penelope Trapes’s impressive dark brooding set accompanied by some excellent atmospheric lighting.

As the church is 15 minutes walk from the nearest venue. I decided to stay there for the next act. Once I left venue it was after 10pm and the rest of the evening was a bit of a miss. Everywhere I headed to was busy or I simply wasn’t interested in walking half the length of the town to find the queues.

Saturday was unlike any recent Great Escape. With a rail strike, there was a reduced train service to Brighton. The usual weekend hordes that descend on Brighton stayed away and many of the TGE audience who usually catch the late night Saturday trains back from Brighton (to avoid the ridiculously expensive Saturday night hotel prices) disappeared mid afternoon. Saturday was actually the most pleasant TGE for years. There were few queues to be seen and Brighton itself was relatively quiet. This is what TGE needs to be like all the time and closer to what it was like when I first started.

Saturday started well. Anna B Savage and band played a beautiful set upstairs at Patterns. It all seemed effortless from her and her band. I’m not completely sold on her distinctive vocals when she plays a full set. They start to become a bit wearing as I find her vocals after a certain point seems like an affectation. But these short festival sets have the opposite effect. Distinctive and rich, they add some spice to the day and Anna’s set really hit the mark.

The next band on my agenda wasn’t on for another hour. So I decided to head there via Volks for an interestingly named Rainbow Frog Biscuit. I think I walked into a parallel world of rainbows and unicorns and sugary candy floss pop. The kind of pop created by somebody who has grown up singing Frozen songs in front of the mirror. I’m not sure the 6Music audience is her target audience. But what a great voice she had. While very stagey, it suited her materials. Sadly, it was very much not my thing.

PABST at The Prince Albert offered up 90s inspired grunge rock. Energetically performed by the three piece band. A palette cleanser after Rainbow Frog Biscuit. Usually, The Prince Albert is rammed and unbearably hot on the Saturday afternoon. This year, it was pleasant making it easier to enjoy the band but a little bit more difficult for the band to get the audience participation they maybe hoped for when they asked us to form a circle and mosh.

At Chalk, Flossing, the project of Heather Elle, Bodega’s old bass player, reminded me a lot of Jenny Beth’s post-Savages work. Heather cutting a confident, strong, no-nonsense stage presence. The music is equally as confident and direct. The electro-industrial sound accompanied by strong lighting really worked well. One of my highlights of the festival

Over at a packed Revenge, Butch Kassidy had started their set. Unable to get anywhere near the stage I watched some heads bobbing up and down in the distance to a thunderous heavy psych rock soundtrack. These guys are good. This was probably my favourite set of the festival. I need to catch them in a smaller venue where I can see them too.

Unusually for a Saturday night at TGE. I didn’t decide to stick to one venue. The lack of queues at many venues meant I managed to catch a few more acts before calling it a day. Pencil, featuring a whole host of familiar faces were interesting and I will no doubt catch them again. Closing the evening at Brighthelm and my festival, Anna Wolf put on a great festival show that perfectly capped off my festival.

Was this a successful TGE? Not really. I was surprised by Reb Fountain and I managed to catch a few artists who’ve been on my list for a while such as Flossing and Butch Kassidy. But the buzz bands were the buzz bands last year and I didn’t get anywhere near seeing them due to the queues. I think we are still seeing the effects of the pandemic. Most bands weathered the lockdowns. But the lockdowns seem to have affected the pipeline of new bands. I guess we will see them slowly appearing as the music scenes around the country build up their momentum again. But overall, I think the quality was an improvement on last year.

I’m in a quandary about my continued engagement with TGE. As a music review / photography site we aren’t big enough to get photo passes. That’s fair enough, we are small or is that ‘boutique’? While we have already grabbed an early-bird ticket for 2024. I’m not sure TGE is value for money anymore. As standard festival ticket holders, we are now second-class citizens. I arrived early on Friday and Saturday to get to the front at a venue as they opened, to then have the delegates waltz up five minutes before doors and walk in before me. Throughout the weekend they had priority in queuing situations. Why is this the case? They paid for a conference which comes with a TGE music pass. They shouldn’t have priority for the live music part. Many haven’t paid a dime for the tickets. Their companies have. Why do paying customers get handled as we do? It is getting to the point where you see more music by sticking to a single venue and if that’s the case, some of the free events have higher quality day line-ups. The joy of this type of festival is being able to move around and see new artists.

I guess my main issue is the cost of staying in Brighton. I have always had an issue with the venue creep and the lack of bands I see at TGE. When it was relatively cheap, I learned to treat the weekend as a short break with some music. Sadly, the hotels are now a rip-off. Nearly £600 for four nights in a Premier Inn. Looking at next year’s prices, several hotels are quoting £1000 for four nights when they were quoting £500 four years ago. Brighton is pricing itself out of this game. Is it really worth £150 a day to spend half your time queuing? If somehow TGE could make this year’s Saturday happen every year. I wouldn’t think twice. While I have a ticket for next year, I am in two minds if it is worth booking hotels or to pass on the ticket to somebody else. I don’t know. Maybe with clear light of day, I might change my mind. But at the moment, £600 would cover the cost of two festivals elsewhere. I suspect I will be back next year. But it will probably be my last unless there are some serious changes.

Artists at TGE and Brighton Festival

Day 0 – Yuanfan Yang, Moon Idle, Maximillian, Porchlight,
Day 1 – Katie Phelan, Reb Fountain, Connor Mac, Minas, The New Cut, Cowboyy, Freak Slug, Deadletter, Coach Party, Benefits, Pax Cultura, Lael Neale, Navy, Ruth Lyon, Storry
Day 2 – Annie Taylor, Luke RV, Baby Cool, Benefits, Sleeper, Lilo, Penelope Trappes, JFDR, Hinako Omori, Maria Chara Argiro
Day 3 – Anna B Savage (x2), Rainbow Frog Biscuit, Soak, Ombigizi, PABST, Nadia Sheikh, Sophie Jameson, Flossing, Butch Kassidy, Nice Biscuits, Ann Lu Cannon, Pencil, Anna Wolf

The UK is in an odd position. The working-class have voted for a party that hates the working-class. The reason, Brexit.

Having seen their standard of living and opportunities for their children and grandchildren get worse under successive governments. They have accepted the line that that closing the door and being proud of a fictional idea of ‘Great’ Britain will improve their lives. ‘Take back control’ has become their mantra. Many have signed up to this act of self-harm voting for a party who hates them, but will ‘get Brexit’ done.

People like me. University educated working-class, don’t want to call them racists. I blame the middle-classes. Their refusal to accept their own privilege. They have a history of voting for parties who cut taxes, rather than spending to help those unfortunate to be born in areas with less opportunities. If the middle-classes have punched down on them. Are the working-class doing anything different to their middle-class cousins? So I try to justify their prejudices and argue that we need to invest in improving the post-industrial north.

Working for a Uni, I have access to all the academic papers documenting the negative side of uncontrolled immigration that our side pretended didn’t exist. I know that our side on the Remain side told lies from a perspective of a person living in post-industrial town. When you are working on zero hour contracts and your town has 1 person in every 180 who is an asylum seeker. Your picture of reality is very different to somebody living in an affluent area not effected by either. If you are fed lies in the media it have some element of truth – it is easy to see them as completely true. Sadly, we have lost nuance from British politics. Everything is black or white. Sensible people being dragged to the extremes because we won’t acknowledge their difficulties.

As you can see. My approach to all of this is that there is systemic inequality that needs fixing. I try to justify their self-harm.

Benefits have taken a different and much more direct line of attack. Yes, your life is shit, but you have made it worse. I am starting to think they might have the right idea.

Benefits through their intense angry songs, have created a mirror for the working-class. Showing the ugliness of their decisions in an effort to force them to see how they are accepting the manipulation of wealthy elites, who are encouraging them to punch down, not up.

This is angry music. Chaotic industrial music. Full of feedback and manic drum stabs. With a shouty angry Northerner trying his hardest to shake us awake. Tonight, at the spiritual home of punk, they put in a true punk performance. Kinglsey stalking angrily around the stage spitting out his tirades on modern life with such passion, the performance is visceral and music uncomfortable. But it is also necessary.

On Oxford Street the flags were out for the Coronation, adding a stark reality to Benefits songs. The idea of what is patriotism permitted all their work. Songs like Warhorse, Traitor and Flag seemed especially relevant tonight. We are being portrayed as traitors because we don’t think hanging a flag up fixes problems.

But it was a song that had passed me by on Nails, their recent album, Council Rust stood out. With a change in tempo and a chance for Kingsley to dial back the anger. It almost seemed nostalgic.

Sadly, Kat was unavailable tonight. Rick McMurray from Ash stepped in with Kingsley acting as conductor increasing and decreasing the ferocity of Rick’s drumming. Rick did a fine job to hold on for the ride.

With an album with a black cover and a constant stream of new drummers, the band could be confused for Spinal Tap. But there is nothing amusing about their message.

Every Benefit performance seems to be special and unique. There seemed to be a shift in tone tonight. The release of an acclaimed album bringing a confidence in their material and creating a foundation to the set list. Moments of ‘quieter’ reflection seem to be permeating the set. These brief pauses only intensify the anger of the rest of the set. But added much needs moments of reflection and positivity. Brief moments for us to reflect that we can win this fight. Things can be better.

Tonight at the spiritual home of punk, the most punk band around, showed how music can still be vital and relevant. It is Benefits are also an amazing piece of social art.

• Marlboro Hundreds
• Empire
• Divide
• Shit Britain
• Warhorse
• Council Rust
• Thump
• What More Do You Want
• Flag
• Traitors
• Taking Us Back

Support was from Meryl Streep who also have a lot to say about modern society and the excellent Scrounge.

Tonight was their second London show at the larger Oslo and for me, another special show.

Since they last played London, they have changed drummers. Enter stage right, one of our favourite drummers, Cat Myers. I have to admit, I was really surprised, given the bands Cat has drummed for, to find her drumming for one of the most DIY bands around. She must clearly see what we see. Unusually, this isn’t going to be a review of the band, this is about how great a drummer Cat is!

Benefits are noise and poetry. Kingsley’s well observed lyrics on the selfishness and intolerance of modern society are spat out with equal part venom and despair. Behind him, the band create a wall of industrial noise / music.

I think many will be scared away by the noise. But there is music in there. Like modernist ‘classical’ composers like Xenakis, they are manipulating our primeval ability to see patterns in randomness.

The words Kingsley spits out are central to the band. Every single word has meaning. Pieces like Flags, questions patriotism. As a patriotic socialist. I believe a country’s strength comes from how it looks after the most deprived in society. Flag explores how the ‘Right’ sells an idea of patriotism to the working-class that keeps them deprived and those with the money in power. This is vital and serious stuff and is also the reason why I love the band. They are willing to put their heads on the chopping block, in the hope the music they create, changes society. Their music challenges the listener both musically and intellectually.

So why is this a review of a drummer?

A message is great. But a message with no listeners is just a mad man shouting into the dark. A message has to be heard. Punk achieved this through three minute long songs you could jump around to. Dylan achieved this through cleverly written songs. People like Tom Robinson (a big fan of the band) and Billy Bragg achieved this through expertly written pop song.

One of the barriers to Benefits growing, is their insistence on challenging the listener. Cat is a vital addition. She introduces a different musical mentality where she drives us to dance. Her drumming is alway ‘powerfully sublime’. Cat hits the drums as hard as any drummer. She is pure rock. Bonham would be impressed. But she has something most power drummers don’t have. She has a a subtle touch that isn’t necessarily obvious unless you are ‘down at the front’. What differs Cat from may drummers is that she adds subtle little sub-beats to her drumming that are closer to dance music than rock.

Tonight I was dancing to Benefit’s music.

I will repeat that….

I was dancing to music intended to make me stop and think!

Benefits, the noise merchants, the band that have set themselves up to challenge you. Tonight, had danceable music. That is a vital and important change.

People like me. People with a political persuasion similar to the band, who will happily listen to industrial music (or Xenakis) and enjoy ‘anti-music’, aren’t the right audience. The message has to be more widely heard. Adding a drummer who only knows how to make you dance, creates a bridgehead. Before you know it. You are dancing and the message is seeping into our numb-skulls. This is a genius move by the band. I only hope given a few support slots in 2023, this will catapult them into the big time and they help us change society.

I am not really the right person to review the vitalness of tonight. As a working-class lad from Teesside, one of the most deprived areas of the UK, I am surprised Benefits are one of the few bands challenging Tory austerity/Brexit Britain head on. I do not understand why more bands aren’t screaming like Kingsley, about the injustice of modern society. Sadly, I guess it is just a reflection of how southern middle-class our music is. Benefits should not be the flag wavers of the resistance. But by god, they are. Tonight, they again proved how vital they are and I just bloody love them for trying to change things.

Support tonight was from Straight Girl, who probably should be categorised as an EDM artist, and not really my thing. But tonight at least, I bloody loved her set.

Not a bad evening of thought. Thank you Benefits and Straight Girl, for making me think.

I have to admit, I thought twice before going to this gig. I know so many people who have picked up COVID at gigs in the last month. While I still mask-up with FFP2 masks and I had Omicron at Christmas. I debated the risk. It is one thing going to gigs and taking on the risk myself, but it is another thing taking the risk into my parents home. In the end I decided to go and I hope to god I don’t regret this decision. But I decided to be more careful than usual to reduce the risk.

I reviewed Benefits in February. I found them to be a vital and visceral experience. Since then, they have announced their first physical release through Yard Act’s new label and with this announcement received more great press. Hopefully, with so many people posting positive reviews and the Yard Act boost, they are going to continue to grow. 

Tonight, with a sold-out home crowd and with friends in the audience who undoubtably have similar political persuasions. It was the perfect audience for their brand of noise poetry. The people in songs like ‘Flags’, with their working-class nationalism sold to them through the lie of a red, white and blue ‘Great Britain’, are Teessiders we all know. Friends or relatives who faced with fewer opportunities are turning towards a Britain that never existed for the working-class. A Britain that generations of our families fought against to change – to give us the rights and protections we have. That sadly the working-classes are being fooled into giving up by voting for a Brexit that keeps the wrong people in power, who will never fix their problems.

Like in February, the angst was still there. We were bombarded with a wall of industrial noise and Kingsley machine-gunning the audience with his angry lyrics. I just wanted to open the windows and let everyone in Middlesbrough listen. But sadly, I don’t think many would.

As I was taking it easy and I thought Kingsley might be ill, I moved to the back for the last few songs to reduce the risk. Unbelievably, people at the back we chatting making it difficult to hear. What is it with these people? There is somebody with a message on stage and they are not listening. This shows the uphill struggle Benefits have. Their political message will appeal to those who want to listen. But most will switch off. They are in the main shouting at people who already agree with them and are nodding along earnestly in agreement. Meanwhile, those who probably should be listening, chat about the weather and blame foreigners for all their ills, and not those in power who are responsible for them. It is sad. This will limit how big they will grow. But at least Benefits are trying. If one person left tonight reflecting on what it means to be British in our post-Brexit country, then that has to be a good thing.

Support was from Straight Girl and MEMES.