The ‘Revive Live’ scheme has been organised by the Music Venues Trust, in conjunction with the National Lottery - which is contributing £1 million to help grass roots venues get back on their feet after 18 months of near inactivity.

More than 20 tours will be staged with this money, featuring the likes of Olivia Dean, Twin Atlantic, The Magic Gang and The Futureheads, Pip Blom, Wolf Alice, Frank Turner and Bob Vylan at venues across the UK.

 

Tonight, it was Exeter Phoenix that played host to The Vaccines, a band that have kept their heads above the sonic waterline with a plethora of hits from 5 albums since 2011.

 

The venue was busy, scrub that, the venue was packed, it was the busiest I’ve seen it for a long time and it was a joy to see so many people enjoying themselves, drinking, chatting, laughing and looking forward to the evening’s entertainment. Exeter University’s ‘Freshers Week’ took place the previous week but as I wandered through the city en-route to the venue, I caught at least 10 groups of youngsters dressed up in various different outfit including a bunch of doctors and saucy nurses, Reservoir Dogs, The Flintstones and Smurfs. What else is there to do during the first couple of weeks of Uni anyway? You may as well get hammered on a Monday night and ring Mummy the next day as you’ve pissed half of the terms allowance up the wall already….

 

Anyway, back to the show.

 

Opening up was Icelandic DIY-pop duo BSÍ, formed of Silla Thorarensen (drums & vocals) and Julius Pollux Rothlaender (bass guitar & toe-synths), they released their debut album, ‘Sometimes depressed… but always antifascist’ to acclaim earlier this year.

 

The driver behind their music is to combat oppressive hierarchies such as sexism, racism, ableism, antisemitism, homophobia and transphobia. Not only do BSÍ want to be a part of fighting all these different structures of oppression – they want to do so dancing, singing fun lyrics and not taking themselves too seriously.

 

Their set was laden with pop fuelled tracks which did the job of carrying their message to the room who may have been expecting something a little heavier based on the fact that they are a duo and other duos such as Royal Blood and The White Stripes are rather noisy!

 

BSÍ will be the main support for The Vaccines throughout the remainder of the ‘Revive Live’ tour until early October.

 

After a short break, it was time for the main event, the act that everyone had come here for, a band that formed back in 2010 and have just released their fifth studio album ‘Back in Love City’, yes folks, I am referring to The Vaccines….

 

They took to stage with the opening track to Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, titled ‘Misirlou’ (by Dick Dale) echoing around the auditorium, cheers went up as the lights dimmed and the band took to the stage.

 

Tonight was about reinvigorating live music venues, allowing people the chance to see huge acts at mid-sized venues up and down the country and the people of Exeter welcomed The Vaccines with open arms as they launched into their set.

 

They opened up with ‘Wanderlust’ from their 2021 long player ‘Back in Love City’ and it was surprising to see that the set list comprised of no less than seven of the thirteen tracks from the new album, a gutsy move for any band but having heard the tracks, I can see why they chose to play it this way, they are all belters!

 

Justin chatted to the room between songs and explained that he has just recovered from Novovirus which is never a good thing but somehow picked up a cold so would need some assistance hitting the high notes, the audience were in fine form and were eager to assist wherever they could!

 

Intertwined with the new album tracks were the classics including ‘Wetsuit’, ‘Post Break Up Sex’ and ‘If You Wanna’ which hoodwinked the audience into believing it was a Saturday night and to dance like nobody was watching, I certainly wasn’t, I sincerely hope nobody was watching me as I threw some shapes at the back of the room.

 

The band looked comfortable on stage, Justin walked the stage as the band stayed in position doing their jobs. I’ve come to the decision that Freddie was born to be a guitarist, his instrument just fits him so well, either that or the guitar was made for his body, the way he controls his instrument is something to admire as he effortlessly pores through the set list, adding his own unique style to proceedings.

 

After a short break, they were back on stage for the final two numbers, ‘Wreckin’ Bar’ and ‘All in White’ which really was the perfect way to end such an intimate and cosy gig in the heart of Exeter.

 

The set really did include something for everyone, there were classic anthemic sing-a-long songs, acoustic led tear jerkers and even a couple of future classics lifted from the new record which is available NOW to purchase at all good record shops.

 

It truly was a treat to see a band that have probably not played in Exeter for a LONG time, I did try Googling it (other search engines are available) but all I got was a load of info on the COVID-19 vaccination programme for Exeter! I bet they’ve played at The Cavern before and maybe up at the University, maybe someone can confirm and let me know offline so I can sneakily update this review without anyone finding out…..?

 

I sat in the bar of The Phoenix afterwards to make some notes, as I was typing away, Freddie from the band appeared and met up with some friends for a drink before heading out to the bus to drive to the next venue on the ‘Revive Live’ tour. They recently announced April 2022 headline dates including shows at Wembley Arena and the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow, two classic venues that I am sure will be amazing shows. For all other Vaccines related goings on, head to the socials where you’ll find them on just about every conceivable channel known to man and beast.

 

Steve Muscutt