Eastbourne Festival Live - Part 2 - 24th April

We Shoot Foxes
The Artic Monkeys have a lot to answer for; their style has been echoed up and down the country by many a-student band. We Shoot Foxes are no different. There were hints of The Hives in the front man’s performance, but without the Swedish craziness and arrogance. Generic indie-pop, We Shoot Foxes will satisfy the skinny jean brigade and, I suspect will win many fans. However, this is a band on their third outing, and all things considered, they did remarkably well. If we weren’t told this was their third gig - the first being the heats of SDC Rocks at the Via bar, you would be led to believe they have been together for much longer. Although not winning on the originality front, the band must have done something right. They won the battle of the bands competition, with the prize being a £300 worth of recording time at Serafina Studios. This is a young band who can afford – no needs to experiment if they want to set themselves apart from the rest. Lets hope they use their prize wisely.
7/10

Friendly Fires
When I heard that Friendly Fires were on the bill at Eastbourne Festival Live, I could hardly contain myself. Having heard their album constantly on my iPod I wondered if they able to deliver, and wondered if I was expecting too much from them. They in fact sounded exactly like I was listening to my iPod, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. At least I could actually dance to them with everyone else in the crowd dancing too. I did, however, feel like there was something missing. Maybe a bit of banter would have made it a bit more special. Ed and co looked like they were fully enjoying themselves on stage, and rightfully so because this reflected on the crowd. Their hit tracks “Paris” and “Jump in the Pool” got the biggest cheers all night and got everyone up into frenzy and just hearing that live made up for the lack of banter.
8/10

Acusis
Maybe one of the more original bands of the evening, Acusis not only brought guitars and drums, but also their vocoda and MacBook. They are certainly not a PC. When I first heard the name Acusis, I thought we might be treated to a bit of rock or even a bit of heavy metal, but was pleasantly surprised when glow sticks started to appear around various pieces of kit. The band were unlucky to have The Maccabees playing on the main stage at the same time, which is a shame as they are really rather good. Hearing their songs back on MySpace doesn’t do them any justice. Their live version sound a lot better. They write very catchy little choons which make you not only want to sing, but also dance your night away. The girlies will love it.
8/10