Review – The Vaccines, Bristol O2 Academy, February 15th

It was your average damp and dreary day in Bristol, but I couldn’t help but notice a slight buzz in the air, maybe it was the thatcher’s at spoons beforehand, or maybe it was the trailing crowds of people walking across the central plaza on the way to the iconic o2 academy venue, walking at pace to reach the prime spot in the queue to reach the barrier to greet industry giants; The Vaccines.

Supported by outstanding emerging brit talent ‘Divorce” and aussie legends in the making “ Teen Jesus and the Jean teasers” the crowd were well and truly warmed up for The Vaccines mammoth twenty one track set, many of which were from their electric sixth studio album “ Pick up full of pink carnations” which has already been met with national acclaim with its killer riffs and front man Justin Hayward Young’s’ renowned vocals.

Starting the night off with the second single released off the new LP with the track “ love to walk away” the guitar heavy song rings with nostalgia and uncertainty for the right direction the speaker should be heading in. Despite the sadder undertones of the track, it was the perfect song to lead the crowd into the night, with Young strutting around the stage pointing and waving to the ecstatic audience.

Having been brought up with the bands earlier discography, I was thrilled to see that the indie Goliaths stayed true to their roots, playing many fan favourites such as “I can’t quit” with its blatant rawness and aggressive lyrics, the crowd truly got jumping to its catchy hook. Crooning “your love is your favourite song” Young has this incredible ability of seemingly being able to make eye contact with every single person in the venue, gliding around the stage like he was born to be there- which after the release of this sixth album, holds a lot of truth.

My own personal favourites “ headphones baby” and “if you wanna” had Young stripping off his striking suit and sunglasses combination, allowing the audience to sing parts of the songs as he took much needed drinks of water in the sweltering room. In terms of the “perfect gig” the vaccines surely have it nailed, with perfect stage set up, pink carnations streaming around the sides of the drum kit and piano stands, the attention to detail towards the new album really made it come alive, and I have no doubt it will age just as well as their former LP’s.

A standout from the new album for me had to be “ heart break kid” played around the middle of the extensive set. The euphoric track is littered with the bands original sound and brought me back to when I was younger and falling in love for the very first time ( or getting my heart broken)

Like the true legends they are, the band played not one, not two but four encore songs to the delight of the roaring crowd. My friend and myself noticed that the calls for an encore were not as ravenously loud as some gigs we’d both been too, but we realised it was because the fans had such confidence in the bands desire to keep playing, that they hardly needed to waste any energy. Young bounced back into the stage as if he had just had a four hour nap and played iconic songs “ all my friends are falling in love” “ Nogaard” and new tracks “ sometimes, I swear” and “lunar eclipse”. It was the perfect collection of songs to bring such a wonderful night to an end, and i have no doubt in my mind that I will be seeing this band again very soon, their fiery stage presence and outstanding stamina over the 2 hour set really sets the bar for younger bands hoping to reach the big leagues just like the vaccines, who are definitely reigning champion over the indie sound still, years after their debut album.

Rosie Risdale

Portrait and Music photographer