The Vaccines were back in Manchester on February 6, playing to a sold-out Manchester Academy 1. This was the second UK stop of their tour for the latest album Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations, only released earlier this year.
After taking to the stage to Wings’ Live and Let Die (and a huge cheer), the band launched into their most recent single Love to Walk Away. It was warmly received by the crowd – who already seemed to know all the words – as were the selection of older tracks that immediately followed, with particular enthusiasm shown for Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra) and Post Break-Up Sex from the band’s first album. The audience was clearly in the mood for a party and the jumping and screaming started early.
This set the tone for the evening, with the setlist veering between the old and the new. Both the band’s first and most recent albums were best represented but the biggest hits from those in between were all present and correct too. The Vaccines clearly knew what their fans wanted and were rewarded with what felt like the whole Academy singing along to almost every word. Impressively, this was true for the newest material, too, which isn’t always the case for bands with back catalogues the size of the Vaccines. Discount De Kooning (Last One Standing) and Sometimes, I Swear already look like they’re well on their way to becoming fan favourites.
Despite the generally enthusiastic reaction from the audience, there were a few lulls in the set – after all, you can’t scream every word for 20 songs straight. New album track The Dreamer received a muted reception and, surprisingly, the rocky No Hope didn’t quite get the crowd moving in the way it maybe could have. But the set fizzed along with so much energy that even if one song did fall a little flat, another solid bop was only ever 3 minutes away.
Frontman Justin Young was engaging throughout, showing he is an equally skilled performer as he is a songwriter. He effortlessly played the role of rockstar, striking poses, picking out audience members, and letting the audience take over vocals at exactly the right moments. His charisma lent a bit of irony to hit Teenage Icon – it’s not hard to imagine that at this point Young may actually be a hero to some of his fans. Talk between songs was kept to a minimum as the priority was clearly the music, but there was just enough time to let the crowd know they had been the craziest on the tour so far – a compliment warmly received by all inside the Academy.
It is now 13 years since the release of the Vaccines’ debut album but the band has continued crafting great indie-pop records and as a result, seem to keep picking up fans. The variety of ages represented in the crowd was impressive, ranging from 10 year-olds on parents’ shoulders to groups of 60-somethings to those somewhere in between getting stuck into the mosh-pit. It was great to see and underlined the universal appeal, and consistency over the years, of Young and co.’s output.
That consistency did lead to a certain amount of repetitiveness among the songs. The setlist launched from sing-along indie anthem to sing-along indie anthem, with was no time for ballads, slow numbers or five-minute guitar solos here. But to quote the title of the band’s first album, What Did You Expect from The Vaccines?, if you wanted a well-curated selection of hits old and new, all delivered with energy and style, then you wouldn’t have left this gig disappointed. It certainly seemed to satisfy everyone who was there on the night, and a fair few punters left humming the catchy chorus of set-closer All My Friends are Falling in Love.
