The Vaccines played The Brighton Centre on the 19th November 2015. They were supported by New York’s Sunflower Bean and Lambeth’s Palma Violets. The tour was in support of their latest album, “English Graffiti”, which was released in May this year. The stage was lit in the colours of the French flag to begin with in memory of those who had lost their lives in the Paris attacks last week.
The Vaccines are a band I love seeing live. There’s always such a great atmosphere- Especially when they play hits that everyone knows, like Teenage Icon or If You Wanna. I saw them play Banquet Records earlier this year following the release of “English Graffiti” (to a few hundred people) and again at Glastonbury (in the pouring rain to a few thousand people). This was totally different to either experiences, but nonetheless incredible.
Despite Justin Young’s (lead singer) lack of voice (and he looked like he was struggling at some points) the show went on. They played many songs from English Graffiti, such as singles “Give Me a Sign”, “Dream Lover” and “Handsome”. People seemed to know these songs- which was nice to see- and therefore sang along. I think their latest album attracted new fans, many of which were at the concert.
As well as this, they played songs from both their older albums (What Did You Expect From the Vaccines? (2011) and Come of Age (2012). They played songs like “Wetsuit”, “Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)” and “Post Break-Up Sex”. Most of the audience knew these songs and people sang and danced to them as well as jumped (there were a few mosh pits too). This brought together new and old fans and the atmosphere was buzzing.
The Vaccines played a three song encore. Young played, solo, under a spotlight, an acoustic version of “No Hope” with the help of the audience. This was special as the audience sang along loudly with him in order to aid his poorly voice. Then Árni Árnason, bassist, took lead vocals on “Blow Your Mind”. This was an interesting way to mix up the set and the audience, although slightly bewildered, enjoyed this. They ended, traditionally, with “Nørgaard”. The audience went crazy (many had chanted “Nørgaard” throughout). It was an incredible way to end the set and made the night memorable.
Not even illness can stop The Vaccines- They were as incredible as ever.
Undercover Mixtape 
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