Inoculated

Vaccines at Brixton Academy. Wasn't going to bother to write my thoughts on this one. "Storming punky sounds playing to the crowd. Not a psychedelic lick in sight but who needs those when you have raw rock n roll". Ah, if only...

Arrive before 8 with my beloved to catch Frankie and the Heartstrings. I'm getting over a cold so have sore throat and feel spacey (all those Tunes!) and Debs is just getting hers. So we agree that the mosh pit is out of bounds and to pace the drinking sensibly. Strangely quiet with low volume sound system and minimal stage lighting. No atmosphere at all. First band come on and not Freddie. They either call themselves Arnie or their drumkit has their name: Sex Pop Ltd. Sounds like he's from stateside and then go right into old time sleazy rock and roll. First song sounds like Sid Vicious or Eddie Ten Pole singing fake american on the Great R&R Swindle. With a Stray Cats / Cramps backing. So a good start then. We go through a number of classy swampy rock and roll numbers and I'm well impressed. Debs says they're like the Psychedelic Furs.Pity so few punters in to gee up the atmosphere but they go down well. Frankie (see next) tells us they're Howler which Debs read a rave review about in the Guardian so our instincts are in line with the leftish trendy meeja.

Next up, after a quiet but brilliant DJ set including Crass' Do They Owe Us A Living (course they effing do) and Only Ones Another Girl Another Planet, Frankie and the Heartstrings who we wandered into at Bestival but didn't stay as too much else to see. Similar tonight - competent performance reminding me a bit of 80s agit pop all jangly but for me nothing compelling or interesting. If there was another tent or room I'd wander there.

After one promise down (booze) we await The Vaccines getting closer to the front in anticipation... Ramones Rock and Roll Radio comes on with juke box like lighting and the band appear. From there it goes downhill. Churn out their hits. Pose around. Drummer keeps standing up with tight white T and waving. Getting bored we wander to the back. Quite a few seem to be enjoying themselves - looking like they're at early office parties. Even the brilliant Post Breakup Sex seems to have no magic. After the last song we wander out without waiting for the inevitable encore. I've not done that for many bands. Thinking it may be us just not in the mood but a LOT of people leave at that time and we hear a few lads on the tube saying it's the worst gig they've been to. So why have they changed since Debs saw at Kings College (small gig) and me at Glastonbury Other Stage (big gig). They can traverse both big and small but seemed to have lost their mojo in Brixton.

So enough material for a blog, well I think so. A basic band on the up, one wavering on the brink and another seemingly losing it's way. The Vaccines certainly prevented any infection of the rock and roll kind - but I feel that with bands like Howler we'll not be able to shrug off that bug too easily.