The Vaccines, Royal Albert Hall, gig review: A band full of charm and swagger

An endearing band whose tracks are given a new lease of life on stage

Justin Young of The Vaccines at the Royal Albert Hall (Rex Features)

As an iconic home of classical music, the Royal Albert Hall is not a place you would normally find bands such as The Vaccines. When the two worlds combined for the Teenage Cancer Trust, it shouldn't have worked, but for the indie quartet and all their charm, it did.

With their Levi jeans, glitter balls, and songs many will declare to be the soundtrack of their adolescence, the night felt special. From the impressive light show which accompanied opening number ‘Handsome’, from 2015’s English Graffiti, all the way to the huge hit ‘Nørgaard’, from debut album What Did You Expect from The Vaccines? which closed the show, the performance felt personal, meaningful, and most importantly, happy.

Tracks such as ‘Give Me A Sign’, from English Graffiti, were given a new lease of life; the chorus more anthemic live than on record, making it an unexpected hit. Other tracks were given the thrashing you would expect, the crowd responding to ‘Wreckin’ Bar’, ‘If You Wanna’, and ‘20/20’ by starting huge mosh pits in the historic venue.

The undisputed highlights were provided by frontman Justin Young. In the conversation about best British frontmen of the current era, the same names will come up time and time again. In the future, spare a thought for Justin Young; he may not be an indie dreamboat like Alex Turner or even The 1975’s Matt Healy, but he's full of swagger. From walking off stage as soon as the crowd had finished singing ‘All In White’ back at him to performing a beautiful acoustic rendition of ‘No Hope’ alone, he doesn’t try to be anything that he's not, which makes watching The Vaccines even more endearing.

Perhaps the Albert Hall and The Vaccines were always meant to be; something steeped in tradition colliding with something proud to be a bit rough around the edges. Regardless, the charm of The Vaccines will earn them a place in many hearts, which is no more than they deserve.