Cave Painting, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar
SOURCE cover stars Cave Painting didn’t disappoint, as the hundreds of people rammed into Sticky Mike’s basement will attest. Despite the temperature being way on the wrong side of moist, no-one was leaving this show. Their catchy pop-indie tunes are instantly recognisable yet irresistible – the kind of songs you’ll want to sing along to the first time you hear them. Single ‘Gator’ sounds even better live, with harmonies rougher, drums louder, and the lilting vocals transporting the listeners to much more salubrious surroundings. (JMM)

Forest Swords, Pavilion Theatre
Hotly-tipped by too many people to miss, Forest Swords welcomes in the witching hour with beguiling electronica, live bass, and a highly appreciative audience. Despite not having released anything since the much praised 2010 EP Dagger Paths, tonight’s show’s a mixture of new and old songs, most of which have the crowd toe-tapping and brow-furrowing. As one of the few venues without queues over the horizon, there are many just dropping in, which damages the atmosphere at the back, but not enough to distract the dedicated fans. (JMM)

Loney, Dear, St Mary’s Church
Swedish indie pop icon Loney, Dear has been on the lips of devoted fans for years, but it’s only with his last album ‘Hall Music’ that he got the global audience he deserves. Delightfully accented and warmingly plaintive in the way that only Scandanavian bands seem to be, his voice caresses the crowd. Soft hit Loney Blues has everyone singing along under their breath, and aloud when encouraged. St Mary’s Church is the ideal venue: atmospheric, seated, full of contemplative fans and no one telling you off for drinking beer in the pews. (JMM)

Madeon, Corn Exchange
At the tender age of seventeen, Madeon quickly garnered a popular following for remixing tunes such as Pendulum’s ‘The Island’ and Deadmau5’s ‘Raise Your Weapon’. It’s hard to imagine that this young prodigy played his first live performance just over a year ago in his native country France. But when you see him dramatically twisting knobs, tapping away at his Novation Launchpad and jumping about whenever his hands were free, you’d think Madeon has been at it for years. The set was definitely well-received; limbs moved to the beat of familiar remixes such as Daft Punk’s ‘Aerodynamic’ as well as his lesser known ones like Blur’s ‘Song 2’. (MY)

Milk Music, Horatio’s
The NME was mighty proud to be giving Olympia grunge punks Milk Music their debut UK show this evening, and they had the right to be, even if word hadn’t spread in quite the same way that the previous night’s roadblock Horatio’s gig by Friends had. Put this down to a buzz-unfriendly lack of pretension on Milk Music’s part. The band’s slacker soloing placed them in a clear lineage (Crazy Horse, Dinosaur Jr, Teenage Fanclub, Yuck), but with a fresh enthusiasm and some solid gold tunes. Not the next big thing then, of course, but a great new one. (SH)

Novella, Audio
London quartet Novella’s first Great Escape show this weekend had been for Maxïmo Park’s Dome gig, but without a ticket for that it took us another couple of days to chance across them. Even without the copious amounts of free beer we were glad we popped by, as the group thrilled a packed early crowd with their melodic, motorik guitarpop. Hollie Warren and Sophy Hollington’s dreamy six string interplay had a hint of Sonic Youth at their most sensuous, making for a hypnotic, multi-layered set. (SH)

Seams, Corn Exchange
Taking to the stage after a surprise show by Adam F, Seams effortlessly made the transition from chart drum’n’bass to his hypnotic, bass-driven melodies. He’s been around for a couple of years now, but if this show at the Corn Exchange is anything to go by, his Great Escape show will be one you’ll be bragging about being at by 2013. Flicking his hair like a Hollister model possessed, Seams whipped the crowd into an appreciative state, equally loved by the journos, hen parties and glow-stick wavers. (JMM)

Visions of Trees, Fortune of War
By Saturday night, most Great Escapers have been awake for days and are either ten people away from a packed bar or passed out on the beach. Unlucky for them, because Visions of Trees were at the Fortune of War making the kind of music you shouldn’t be missing. Pretty girl-boy duo Sara and Joni have transcended the witch house label and their blend of haunting, soft live vocals and synth-dripping beats make for a truly lovely sound, both unique and memorable. (JMM)

The Great Escape, Saturday 12th May 2012
Read our review of Thursday here
Read our review of Friday here
Words by Stuart Huggett, Matthew Yau and Jessica Marshall McHattie