A rare sense of something truly new hangs in the underground air of Audio as we await London think tanks new-born, The Vaccines. Supported by an accomplished The Vaudeville and SOURCE favourites Pope Joan the visiting four-piece needed to live up to the hype; ‘Hype’ being the definitive word. We often see ‘Hype’ bands, or ‘the next big thing’, but rarely do we witness a group take to our conscious with such pace.
Having filled every muso-mag and blog around, appearing on ‘Later With Jools Holland’, making the reputable NME tour line-up and in general wander up the UK music ladder, all off the back of one bloomin’ EP. The face that leads this earnest assault is that of Justin James Hayward-Young, otherwise known as Jay Jay Pistolet, a swooning singer-songwriter success story from the British Folk invasion of previous years.
That was then. Tonight, as he takes to the stage in the recognisable timidity of his previous guise, we are met with a new stern expression, that in an instant flicker says ‘I smashed and burned my banjo over a year ago!’ Eyes darting across the large and eager crowd, Young takes his microphone in hand and nods to his three counterparts. Plunging into the minute and a half long beaut that is ‘Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)’, Young, anxiously crouched over the mic, makes his metamorphosis known; ‘Hi, we don’t play for long’ and takes to the next equally infectious track, ‘If You Wanna’, with the same animosity and desperate drive as before. Four songs in and they are churning through the set, jumping from short Ramones style beer spillers to Mumford-esque pleas, it is almost uncomfortable to watch, as his Fabrizzio Moretti look-a-like lead guitarist looks on in seeming anxiety to a front-man on hyper-drive.
This guitarist, actual name, Freddie Cowan, sits perfectly next to Young’s constricted stare, with his elastic rhythm parts and breezing bounce across the boards – there will inevitably be Libertine comparisons drawn over the coming months with the two’s on stage ego-clash (but I wont say a thing). The group are on stage for just over twenty minutes and the crowd appear unsure as to what they have just witnessed. Am I hyped, is he for real, will they accomplish what at times sounded like a truly talented rock and roll band? We hope so.
The Vaccines
Audio
Monday 15th November
Words By Tom Sargeant
Photography by Mi Bewick
www.mibewick.co.uk
