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The Maccabees, Dananananaykroyd, My Latest Novel - Great Escape Blog - Part 1

Laura Prior 18/05/2009

After pretty much begging for my press pass, My Great Escape adventure started off by drinking shit red wine (two for £5 is NOT a measure of quality) in a backpackers hostel with my friend Claire and an Australian guy who looked like The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke. As Claire is from New Zealand - the thinking person's Australia - and I a Scot, it was a night of melodic, trustworthy voices and flaming galaas all over the freakin' shop.

None more so than My Latest Novel, a bunch of multi-instrumented Glaswegiens who sound like six bands playing at once. Four of these bands are Arcade Fire, the rest a mix ofMogwai, The Delgados and a less virginial Belle and Sebastian in a haunted house. Playing a packed Honeyclub, songs from their forthcoming new album Deaths and Entrances were lush in every sense of the word, but A few more oldies wouldn't have gone amiss.

From there, we attempted to see Dananananaykroyd, but the pesky queue put a stop to that. I could have used my laminated wanker pass, but somehow skipping the queue to see Dana's lovely, energetic madness would feel like pushing a granny down the stairs, just a bit mean, you know? In the meantime, I realised I was unpleasantly drunk. I insulted a hipster in the queue and laughed at him for tossing his hair too much and pretending to be Jarvis Cocker.

Actually made it into the Corn Exchange to see The Maccabees, but as I entered the venue, quite alone, Claire having wandered off in favour of ladz, I was left to realise "Hang on a minute... I hate the Maccabees! Their public-school Felix/Ollie/Reginald-style poo pop does nothing for me", but it was too late!

It was ages before they were due to start though. I sat cross-legged on my own for a while trying to guage whether I was too drunk to get up and walk out without incident; after one false start, I succeeded and went home, ate leftover Pad Thai and was sick. Oh well. Onwards and upwards!