Live Review: The Vaccines, The Belligerents, The Jensens @ The Triffid

Currently on the road with Mumford & Sons and blowing minds around the country, The Vaccines graced The Triffid stage on Sunday for a one of Brissy sideshow. Joined by local bands The Jensens and The Belligerents, they gave a brand new meaning to Sunday kick ons.

After a weekend full of gigs and parties, I dragged my sorry self to the Triffid reminding myself over and over again – “you love music, you’re doing this because you love music”. And upon walking through those big black doors to the live room I was hit by a wall of sound that confirmed my affirmations. The Jensens were playing hard to a sparsely filled room, a disappointing sight for the local Brissy boys but one that they played on despite of. Signature drawling vocals courtesy of lead singer Joe White gave the illusion of an old school 80’s infused rock band. Just in time to catch their new single ‘A New Hope’, The Jensens sound was heavy laden with guitar and filled the room effortlessly.

Next up, quirky kings The Belligerents took to the stage. Psych-rock a plenty, the reverb masters proved that they are able to bring life to even the dullest of rooms. They performed a handful of songs we’ve now come to know and love such as ‘Voices’ and ‘In My Way’ and brought some of the greatest dance moves in history onto the stage. We were also privy to their newer material from recently released Outside:Inside EP.

Finally, in one of the earliest headline spots we’ve ever seen The Vaccines took to the stage at a tame 8pm to a packed crowd. Kicking off the set with ‘Handsome’ a track from their newest album, fans tentatively danced and sang along… it was the equivalent of dipping toes into murky waters. What followed were some older tracks, ‘Wrecking Bar’ and ‘Ghost Town’ which soon saw the band slowly start receive a warmer reception.

Full of English swagger and a slight air of arrogance that comes with the territory of being an English rocker, they dove headfirst through a handful of material both new and old. ‘Wetsuit’ proved to be a crowd favourite, for the first time you were able to hear the crowd singing along and I wondered if this was what we had been waiting for all night. At times, they sounded reminiscent The Strokes with that signature guitar line that cuts above the noise.

Personally, a fan of the old school-late night drive vibes from The Vaccines older album ‘Come Of Age’, it was interesting to see that the newer material was received well by the crow. Easily spotted amongst a sea of old school rock tunes – new songs such as ‘Dream Lover’ and ‘Melody Calling’ were identifiable by their significantly pop-ier edge. Perhaps this was an attempt to make the band more marketable and easier to swallow by the masses, but who am I to question their integrity.

There was no doubt that classic tunes ‘Bad Mood’ and ‘Teenage Icon’ took the night to the next level. With undoubtedly the best guitar faces I’ve ever seen, and slight worry for the health of lead singer Justin Hayward-Young (because he just goes THAT hard) we were rocking on in what was one of the longest sets I’ve seen – necessary for a band with such an extensive catalogue of music. When the encore rolled around we were finally able to see Justin showcase his solo talent, treating us to an acoustic version of ‘No Hope’. Rounded out with ‘Blow Your Mind’ and ‘Norgaard’ The Vaccines bid farewell to their Brisbane fans… for now.

It’s undeniable that these guys are wildly popular in the UK, and whilst they still seem to be building their fan base over here, they’re slowly getting there. With such an energetic live set and supporting some of the biggest names in the world, it’s not going to be long before we see The Vaccines make a name as one of the most popular, if not prolific, rock bands of our time.