The Vaccines

• Posted: Fri 9 Dec 2011
• By: Kev

After meeting Frankie And The Heartstrings backstage for an interview an hour before they were onstage, it seemed a touch surreal watching them walk out to a sold out crowd at Leeds 02 Academy.

These are good days for the North East lads though with a well received album (Hunger) released earlier this year and a series of tours and gigs that has seen their stock rise considerably with the indie kids in Britain.

This though was my first opportunity to catch them live and while a support slot isn't always the ideal way to judge a band, it was an opportunity I wasn't going to pass up. From the chat earlier though I sensed the band weren't about to be overawed by the size of the venue, a crowd that were generally here to see the headliners, or by the fact that this was an opportunity which could really shape their destiny for the next twelve months and beyond. 

Striding confidently out they seemed immediately at ease with their surroundings and as they worked their way through their set of hook laden, modern indie meets rock no roll tracks the crowd were visibly warming to them  as well.

After 30 minutes it was over all too soon, a very well received set and yet more converts to the cause for the band, next up for them is their new single and then a follow up album next year, I for one will be back to see them live again in the near future for definite.

We then get treated to an inexplicably long delay between sets (I guess the venue needs to make its beer money) before The Vaccines are on. Now i'd see them on the NME Tour at the same venue earlier in the year and hadn't been overly impressed, tonight though was a different kettle of fish.

Probably due to the fact that it was their own gig with their own fans this time round, they were far more engaging with the crowd and the atmosphere was almost celebratory for both the band and their fans as this tour caps off what has been a remarkable 18 months for the group.

Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra), If You Wanna, Post Break Up Sex, are obvious high points, but its All In White and Norgaard that are the highlights for me from a personal point of view and show a bit more depth to their songwriting than they probably get credit for.

I'm still not sure how long they'll be around in the long term as bands who rise quickly don't always have the longevity, but if they can mantain the quality of nights like this they'll definitely have a good live following for years to come.