What did I expect from The Vaccines at 2pm on a Sunday at The Leadmill? A chilled acoustic set? Na! A full-on energetic show of bangers and they did not disappoint.
There might not be anything groundbreaking about what The Vaccines do, but they do what they do well, which is why they are still doing it after more than 10 years when the rest of the scene faded away.
There was plenty of energy in the room for The Vaccines who were playing an intimate show to celebrate the release of Back In Love City, the band’s fifth album. Hosted by Bear Tree Records, it felt like a celebratory moment as the 5 piece were as happy to be on stage again as much as the crowd were buzzing for live music.
I was onto The Vaccines early, I remember reading about their debut gig at The Flowerpot and went to pretty much every London gig in the early days. I’d already seen, and was a fan of The Vaccines frontman Justin when he was going under the name Jay Jay Pistolet, a great singer-songwriter who I remember being incredibly nervous on stage. The Vaccines were a huge change in sound and Justin was still pretty awkward but that changed after relentlessly touring.
I can’t remember the last time I saw The Vaccines but from the moment they strolled on stage there was a confidence about them, not in an arrogant way. They knew what they were doing and they were here to have fun. Justin was unrecognisable to the performer I’d seen in the past as he danced around the stage with shades on whilst his bands performed with smiles on their faces.
The hour long set featured material from Back In Love City, which came out on Friday as well as fan favourites from the previous 4 albums. Wet Suit, If You Wanna and All In White from debut album What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? caused mass sing-alongs however material from the new album was greeted just as warmly.
The Vaccines are a band that consistently create great energetic indie songs with big chorus’ and as a live band they are tight, enthusiastic and give the crowd what they want. They are a band who are criminally underrated.
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