Black Lips battled through a series of technical problems in the early hours of this morning (May 17) at Club NME at the Barfly in Brighton. The band were closing the second day of musical action at The Great Escape festival.
The band took the stage at 1:55am (BST) after having to play an extended sound-check just before their set, after technical difficulties had delayed their start time.
The problems persisted throughout the set, but fans in the rammed venue still responded with mass singalongs, crowd surfing and stage invasions. Singer/guitarist Cole Alexander asked the sound engineers for "a bit more magic" between songs to ensure the electricals were all working.
Everyone in the venue was sweltering, with hundreds of fans queuing outside hoping for a chance to see the band. After Black Lips played 'I Saw A Ghost (Lean)', three songs into the set, one fan passed out due to dehydration and had to be carried to safety by a security guard.
Later in the set, during 'Bad Kids', one male crowd member managed to get on stage and dance manically with the band, before being dragged off by security. He then went to the back of the crowd and crowd surfed all the way to the front, much to the delight of the band, who dedicated the song to him.
The show was a raucous end to the second day of the festival in Brighton. Just before their set London four-some Ipso Facto had played a less frenetic, yet highly-engaging set at the venue.
Their Horrors-esque melodic indie rock went down well with the fans, the band braving the heat to dress in their trademark smart black attire. They were watched by friends including band members of Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man.
Earlier in the day, at Concorde 2, the similarly-garbed White Lies had played an impressive set of Editors-esque rock, taking the stage at 8pm to an already-busy venue.
The band were followed by Reading's Pete And The Pirates, who showed off a small trophy before playing their set, which included 'She Doesn�t Belong To Me' and closer 'Come On Feet'.
The trophy was for winning a penalty shoot-out they had taken part in earlier in the day. The band had beated the likes of Young Knives, Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man and The Wombats in the shootout, for which DJ Zane Lowe played in goal.
Earlier in the day Johnny Flynn apologised to fans for queues that had come to characterise the festival. "Sorry you had to queue" he said to fans who managed to get into the Pavilion Theatre venue by 7:15pm to see his set.
However, the atmosphere was lightened when several audience members loudly confessed their love for Flynn's cellist, Joe Zeiltin, much to the amusement of the rest of the band.
After Johnny Flynn and his band played a set including 'The Box', 'Cold Bread' and closer 'Tickle Me Pink' the crowd shouted loudly for more to no avail.
Later on at the Water Margin venue London art-rockers Hatcham Social played a well-received set of taught, Joy Division-esque rock including 'Berlin', 'Wishing Well' and 'Postcard In Colours'.
The band were clearly a hit, with many crowd members waiting patiently to congratulate the band and offer their thanks for the show.
Over at the Honeyclub The Cock 'N' Bull Kid played an early five-song set featuring a fetching glitter-covered guitar. Songs including 'On My Own' and 'Matters Of The Heart' got the crowd dancing to the glamour-pop show.
Sergeant's show at the Brighton Dome didn't go so smoothly, with the band having to halt after just one song due to problems with the PA. However, after engineers fixed the problem the band managed to wrap up their eight-song set.
Alphabeat proved a huge hit with festival-goers. The Hector's House venue, where they played at 11pm, was so full security staff could not close the venue doors.
The windows became increasingly steamy at the band played the likes of '10,000 Nights' wearing multi-coloured baseball caps and t-shirts, much to the delight of those who could make it inside.
The action continues tonight with the likes of Glasvegas, Crystal Castles and The Subways all set to perform. Check NME.COM to keep up with events.
