Following twelve years residence on the Isle of Wight, White Air Extreme sports and Music festival, as its somewhat unwieldy moniker suggests brings three days of adrenalin, music and disregard for personal welfare to a new home on Brighton’s Madeira Drive, and in terms of musical selection, Friday is the day to beat. Despite an element of slightly nauseating commercialism in the air, and the presence of armed service recruiters trying to pass off soldiering as an ‘exciting career choice’ (as you might have gathered, I’m not too keen on the military industrial complex. Daily mail readers look away now) the event exudes an exuberant and excitable vibe that leaves this correspondent almost tempted to pick up a board and kick off from the nearest ramp. Almost.

Stage openers This City take full advantage of the complementary sweets being dished out around the site in a bid to attract additional punters to hear their effervescent brand of danceable indie-punk, to limited success. Beginning at 1:45 on a weekday may have more than a little to do with tumbleweed-inviting scene that greets the hometown boys from the audience area, but to their absolute credit the band persevere throughout, and likely win over those audience members who had yet to encounter their music. Today Brighton, tomorrow the world?

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Fellow Brightonians Lyrebirds face similar scenes, but like This City convert a large segment of the crowd with a brief set of brooding indie, boding well for their upcoming tour dates supporting The Maccabees. While it must be said that picking a winner in the UK indie/alternative scene is somewhat like searching for a remarkable stone on a beach, in the fact that every stone is interesting in its own right but there are many million others vying for attention, Lyrebirds display a degree of potential that shows them to be more than worthy of note.

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Rejecting the stifling confines of the so-called ‘screamo’ scene to tread their own, decidedly more interesting path, Flood Of Red appear to intrigue this afternoon’s sparse congregation with a set that is equal parts fragility, grace and ferocity. A sunny afternoon on the south coast may not be the most fitting of environments for their thoughtful sound, and fails to deliver the intimacy that their sometimes understated tunes really demand, but the band are sure to have touched a few hearts today, and sometimes that’s all that matters.

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It remains to be seen how the energetic indie-pop of Doll and the Kicks will go down with Morrissey diehards when they play main support for the gloom-meister himself on his upcoming tour, but today at least the quartet’s sunny disposition and eminently danceable beats are right on target, prompting a much needed boost to the numbers of on-looking revellers. As our excitable hosts (DJs from Brighton’s Juice FM) remind us, we are in the presence of ‘Brighton boys (and gal) come good, and on today’s evidence it’s hard to imagine that this will be the last we see of this lot. Despite an electronic meltdown during the conclusion of their set, Doll and co get the party started in earnest... a fact attested to by the alcoholic beverages beginning to pop up all over the crowd, late afternoon or not.

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Considering their legendary status in the alternative music scene, Evan Dando and the current iteration of The Lemonheads have drawn quite a crowd this evening, producing a set that leaves fans in rapture and newcomers converted, spanning their twenty three year history in fine style. After returning from an extended break in 2005 the trio have released two fine albums that give much indication to their continued vitality and relevance, but in the live arena Dando et al are indisputably powerful, squalls of distortion lending their bittersweet, dark hewn anthems a quality of rawness and unpredictability which can only truly be captured live. The Likes of ‘My Drug Buddy’ are timeless and as powerful today as when they were written...Make sure that you’re there next time they cross to our shores.

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British Sea Power have their work cut out in following that, but on a foliage adorned stage the Brighton genre hoppers have few problems holding their own, blasting out a well crafted selection of songs to a more than amenable audience. Surprising many with their deceptively ear-busting delivery, BSP strike a balance between immediacy and experimentation that proves poignant as the sun begins to set over Brighton seafront.



It’s sad to note the hail of missiles and derision that meets the roadies attempting to prepare the stage for White Lies 7/10, as unexplained technical issues delay their set by around an hour. Despite the frustrating situation, the bad spirit from the crowd is unwarranted, but this seems to dissipate as the band launch into a heavily cut down set. ‘Farewell To the Fairground,’ ‘Death’ and ‘To lose My Life’ channel the crowd’s negative energy into a feverish reaction... nevertheless though, tonight’s show remains little more than a taster.



Biffy Clyro have become almost untouchable of late, finally receiving the popular recognition that they have long deserved while keeping their endearing quirkiness and idiosyncratic nature intact. Tonight, the Biff are nothing less than stunning, treating Brighton to a smattering of new tracks among a setlist almost exclusively pulled from ‘Puzzle’, with ‘Living is a Problem Because Everything Dies,’ ‘Who’s Got a Match?’ and last year’s hit ‘Mountains’ sounding colossal this evening, losing nothing through familiarity. Opening with recent single ‘That Golden Rule,’ the trio roar out of the blocks and never look back, with mass singalongs, ear to ear smiles, and gratuitous pogoing the order of the day crowd-side. Those who have gawped in bemusement at new track ‘The Captain’ can rest assured that it makes perfect sense in a live environment, while single pre-‘Puzzle’era track ‘Glitter and Trauma is, as always, a great crowd pleaser. Departing at the conclusion of a set that seems all too short, Biffy leave their audience a tired, sweaty, happy mess... spellbinding.

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