“It’s such a perfect day. I should have spent it with you.” (Perfect Day. Lou Reed)
Yesterday could have been a perfect day. The only thing stopping it was Leeds United Football Club. And typically they did just that!! So after getting soaked and having to endure our second home defeat on the bounce it was with heavy hearts that we escaped to Billys Bar. A few pints later, a taxi into town, a few more pints and we are in the venue waiting for Frankie & the Heartstrings to get our day back on track. Today as I write this review it is anything but a perfect day. This morning after waking with an awful hangover I was genuinely shocked and saddened to learn of the death of a true Leeds legend; Gary Speed. I don’t want my sadness to cloud my review of last night but it is hard to think of anything else.

This is how I began my review three weeks ago!!! And due to the sad and untimely death of Gary Speed I’ve only just gotten round to finishing it!!! I can hardly remember much about it but it was a great gig. Frankie & the Heartstrings were great, as usual. New songs sound as good if not better than the old. It is difficult being the support band but Frankie and the boys pull it off easily. I’m sure they have gained a whole heap of fans on this tour.
This was the third time I’ve seen The Vaccines. The first two times were in tiny venues before they’d released anything. Tonight is the first time I’ve seen them since the album was unleashed and the first time at a big venue. But, you know what? They’re as good if not better than before. They have so many good songs and so much confidence in themselves that I’m sure they’ll be headlining festivals by the time they release their second album. The band I see them most like are The Arctic Monkeys, who they’ve recently been supporting. I followed the Arctics from before they released a single and watched them grow into the monster they are now. They did so by having great songs, no hype, no attitude, just great songs that people want to see being played live. The Vaccines are the same. I can see a similar rise in their fortunes. They do all the debut album plus a few new songs that bode well for the future. It seems amazing how far they have come in the past year. 2012 promises even better.

LINKS:

THE VACCINES: http://www.thevaccines.co.uk/gb/home/

FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGS: http://frankieandtheheartstrings.com/

By peter on December 18, 2011