REVIEW: THE VACCINES (PLYMOUTH PAVILIONS) 15/11/12
Rock & roll. Remember that? Loud, sweaty and exciting, and appreciated by thousands of mentalists under one roof. The aforementioned mentalists show their appreciation by going apeshit and screaming along to every last word from the singer‘s mouth. The band look great. They’re having a blast. Yes, The Vaccines tick every box. A fresh injection, proving that popularity does not have to go hand-in-hand with mediocrity? You betcha. And let’s not call it “indie rock”. Do people even bother to ask themselves what the fuck that term actually means? Does it mean anything? Er…no. Punk rock, yes: because punk isn’t a trip to the fancy dress shop. The true spirit of rock & roll was captured by The Vaccines tonight, fuelled by the energy and raw grittiness of punk. It’s there in the lyrics, it’s in the music and it’s in the way they go about what they do. Again, you can’t get away from the incredible response from their audience, when you’re reflecting on the band‘s Pavilions show. What’s really incredbile is the way that they’ve built up a diehard fanbase after such a short time. And this has happened the honest way and the respectable way: through hard work, fantastic songs and great records. There’s no hype here. This ain’t Oasis with their tiresome antics, or pathetic, meaningless stunts.
Tonight’s gig was The Vaccines’ first date of their tour, and I don’t think the band were prepared for such a crazy reaction. Justin said it himself: “I never knew Plymouth was so much fun!” And the songs in the set were from both albums, no prizes for guessing that. Songs like Post Break-Up Sex and If You Wanna went down like they were old classics, despite the fact that the band’s first album, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines is only just over a year old. The same reaction and singalongs came for songs from this year’s album, Come of Age. When they opened with No Hope, I thought there would be a riot. And the sound mix was just fine tonight. The drum kit was nice and loud, with plenty of kick. It was a proper booming sound. What do we now expect from The Vaccines? More of the same please.
Words: Arash Torabi
Pictures: Angie Knight
