The Vaccines and San Cisco delivered a stellar show at Paradise, performing a fantastic collection of songs straight off of the post break up mixtape of an endearingly disheveled, broding, beanie wearing boy sulking down the streets of Allston.
Australian based indie band San Cisco opened with an entertainingly quirky and upbeat set. Beneath the fluorescent green, blue, and gold lights, two skinny, friendly faced boys in Hawaiian t-shirts slurred raw songs, the subject matter ranging from getting over somebody (duh) to trying to get very far away from somebody; their infectiously catchy hit song titled ‘Awkward’ features a chorus of ‘I thought I saw you last night / Get out of my life you’ve been stalking me for days’, followed by a series of cheerful ‘do do do’s. The vocal talent was mostly pleasant, but at times the boys would enter a dangerously yelplike territory and the female drummer would unhelpfully contribute to the songs by shouting key phrases like an overeager cheerleader. However, these slight vocal annoyances were trivial, and the overall set was still quite enjoyable, thanks to San Cisco’s skilled instrumental accompanists; light guitar riffs contributed a nice beachy feel, the drummer, who should maybe stick to drumming, struck steady and dynamic beats, and a psychedelic electronic keyboard accompaniment was attempted, but unfortunately marred by The Paradise’s notorious sound quality.
The Vaccines dove head first into their set with a classic rock and roll entrance: heavy and infectious drum beats and headbanging guitar riffs beneath flashing strobe lights. The crowd did not stop jumping after that, encouraged by the fierce rebellion in lead singer Justin Young’s alluringly deep vocals. While I was a bit disappointed that Young’s signature darkly intense British accent was less apparent live than on album, he was not any bit less of a moody British punk rocker than I had hoped. Árni Hjörvar on bass, Freddie Cowan on guitar and Pete Robertson did the the ‘Rock Club’ portion of Paradise supremely well, with charged guitar riffs loaded with energy and striking drum beats that leapt inside of your throat. The budding band covered almost their entire discography during the show, with memorable songs featuring the melancholy ballad of ‘Post Break Up Sex’, to the animated anthem-like ‘If You Wanna’. The band radiated a contagious spirit, as Hjörvar and Cowan repeatedly leapt on top of Robertson’s drum platform, engrossed in their guitar and bass harmonies. Between songs, Young’s joy was uncontrollable, as grinning and beaming, he announced that this was their first ever show in America, and how awed and grateful they were that the show had sold out. I had been of the unlucky few to have to suffer the consequences of not making it to coat check on time, but even with my at least 6 pound army of winter clothing in my arms, I was still jumping and waving my arms to the music. You just couldn’t help yourself.
The Vaccines first album is titled ‘What Did You Expect From The Vaccines’, and to answer their inquiry, you can expect powerful guitar build ups resulting in highly satisfying body shaking guitar riffs, a fair amount of jumping, drunk girls with long hair and all black sneakers moshing while precariously waving beer bottles, and all in all a smashingly fun show.
Photo Credit: Luke Boelitz