I expected the sell-out gig to be packed with throngs of keeno teeny boppers. To my surprise, the crowd was mostly middle aged and balding. The very same bunch who get their hip-tips from the national media – not the ideal demographic.
The Vaccines swaggered on stage, like boxers to a ring: classic rock entrance song blaring out accompanied by epileptic flashing blue lights. They were very faithful to their studio album, which is an all too rare thing. But it felt a tad clinical. All had in-ear monitors, all played in perfect time and all looked like they had dollar signs in their eyes. The lead singer, Justin Young, shamelessly wore a varsity jacket with a large ‘V’ on the front and an even larger ‘THE VACCINES’ on the back. Really?
Their songs have a definite punk aesthetic: short and effective. ‘Wolf Pack’ and ‘Norgaard’ were the stand out songs from their otherwise homogenous catalogue. The reaction from the crowd was immediate, which would have been exciting were it not for the three blonde 30-somethings standing in front of me, jumping demonically and (ooh, ooh) waving their water bottles in the air (ooh, ooh) like they just don’t care.Â
Support band, Howler, played a competent, but bland set. Simple re-hashings of generic indie that has been done many times before. Overall I feel that The Vaccines are doing good things for mainstream music, but they still have a way to go if they are going to be a truly impressive and original band in the studio and on the road.
