The Show:
I saw The Vaccines on Friday, March 8th, 2024, at MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston. As one of my top all-time favorite bands, I was really interested to see them tour off of “Pick up Full of Pink Carnations,” because to me, it was really their comeback album that let their long-time fans know they still got it. It was so comforting to hear their old sound again. And I don’t mean that they didn’t evolve their sound at all in this album, it was fun new music and different from every other album. Most similar to Combat Sports, if I had to compare. But the songwriting from Justin Hayward-Young was back to its reliable consistency with catchy choruses, relatable lyrics, and overall the sound didn’t cross the line from alternative rock to pop rock, like “Back in Love City” did. This was a really good alt rock album from The Vaccines in my opinion, with songs that rival some of their older hits.
The Setlist:
I was really intrigued by the setlist. They played some songs I never thought they would play live (on this tour). They opened with “Love to Walk Away,” which wasn’t a surprising one. Got off to a kind of humorous start because the (new?) guitarist, Matthew Hitt, jolted the opening riff, but it seemed like his amp wasn’t on because Hayward-Young sang the first lyrics, “All night —” then the whole band stopped abruptly and looked back at Hitt. Something got messed up there. Anyways, it was just a minor mistake that happened to happen on the first song.
Loved that they moved right into Wreckin’ Bar. I feel like they have to play this song at every show because of how short it is and how good it is. One of their best songs and is so uniquely The Vaccines. They moved into more old hits after that: I can’t quit, post break up sex, wetsuit, and Your Love is My Favorite Band. Then, Hayward-Young made a mention of the new record and they followed that with “Discount De Kooning,” which I was not a huge fan of on first listen of the album, but will admit it sounded great live, then bopped into “The Dreamer,” which I think is one of the best songs on the album. A catchy gem. Hayward-Young did sound a little deeper in his voice for this song. In the studio recording he seems to be higher-pitched, but he was really bellowing the speedy lyrics of the song live. They then played Headphones Baby (boo), and I was pleasantly surprised to hear Jump off the Top after that. I did not like the studio version of that song at all on BILC (they turned up the “pop radio” on it too much for my liking, drowning out The Vaccines’ sounds ), but I always thought the live recordings of it were great. If it were recording for WDYEFTV or Combat Sports, it probably would’ve been a lot better in studio.
Lunar Eclipse came next, and I believe this is one of their best songs and most defining song of this new album’s sound. It was wonderful live, Lanham’s guitar riff ringing loud and carrying the song as it does in the studio recording. At the end, however, in “We took a trip, out to the Lunar Eclipse, the road fell and twisted, into cracks in our lips…” it seemed like they turned Hayward-Young’s mic down and Lanham’s up, one of the few times he provided backing vocals. You could faintly hear Hayward-Young singing the higher-pitched lyrics, and Lanham muttered softly the same ones. It was fine, but I would’ve rather them let Hayward-Young belt it out over Lanham’s backing. Listening back to the studio recorded, you can hear Lanham, but Hayward-Young still powers the lyrics out over him in a higher pitch.
I was pleasantly surprised to hear “Handsome,” and “Teenage Icon.” I don’t know this for a fact, but I would’ve never guessed The Vaccines have played either of these songs too much live, especially Handsome. I saw them in 2018 off the Combat Sports tour, and they didn’t play either then. They extended Teenage Icon, as Lanham repeated the very catchy riff while the band subtly jammed over it and Hayward-Young introduced the members of the band. Classics “I Always Knew,” “If You Wanna,” and… All My Friends Are Falling in Love closed the show. That was my only complaint. Although, much like Jump off the Top, I think the studio recording of All My Friends Are Falling in Love is a little too “pop radio” and not enough “The Vaccines,” it does sound a lot better live. Hitt thrashing the rhythm guitar on a 12-string was interesting. That being said, how do you close on that song over the all-time great “All in White,” perhaps the greatest Vaccines song ever. That was my only disappointment, my only pain point. Call me crazy, but I think most fans of the band would agree that closing with All My Friends Are Falling in Love over All in White is a criminal mistake.
The Band:
Justin-Hayward Young is mighty fun to watch perform. He’s very satisfying to look at as he strut/stumbles around the stage and thrusts his out to the crowd to emphasize certain lyrics of each song. He looked genuinely happy to be performing, sporting a welcoming grin as they first took the stage. I will say, though, the band performs well together, but they seem a little disconnected. I was still hearing The Vaccines, but I feel like I was seeing “Justin Hayward-Young and the Couple Other Fellas.” Not a discredit to the talent of the rest of the band, just a comment on how they looked on stage. Maybe this is how every band looks with a powerful lead singer and songs that carry a lot of lyrics in a short period, and I’m just being silly. But I saw what I saw. I know the band has undergone some changes, with the additions of Hitt and Tim Lanham to replace the very talented original lead guitarist Freddie Cowan. I believe Arni Árnason (great name) on bass and Yoann Intoni on drums are original members of the band. My point is, this is probably this group’s first big tour together, and it may take some time for them to look more like a complete band. Again, they still sounded like The Vaccines, which is all that really matters.
Hitt provided the very fast-paced and violent rhythm guitar, and some keys. Lanham is clearly a key piece and worthy replacement of Cowan on lead guitar, he was very smooth and had a great and confident look about him on stage. Looks like he is from the 80s, more like a member of Boston than The Vaccines, with his green suit jacket, 80s-type hair and mustache. More importantly, he supported Young really well on guitar and they performed great together, and he delivered some impressive solos. It was funny, after the second to last song of the set, Lanham tossed his pick to a member of the crowd in the front row and put his guitar down, only for Young to come over and whisper to him and Lanham to realize they had one more song left. Young walked over to the mic and gestured towards Lanham and said “He thought we were done.”
Arnason was entertaining, banging his head around like a pendulum to the bass rhythm of several songs, and Intoni is fantastic on the drums. Added some awesome fills to many of the new songs, and of course, the pounding, thunderous, garage-type drums are essential to The Vaccines’ sound in many of their early hits, and he added quite the exclamation point to their performance of those songs live.
Back to Hayward-Young. He’s an awesome frontman. Really underrated I think. Like I said, he was a little deeper live, really bellowing and yelling, but that is truly him I think. He’s mastered that and made it a talent. I don’t think that’s too inconsistent with past performances I’ve heard. He stepped in on rhythm guitar for a handful of songs, that classic red and white one I think I’ve seen him use in past years. He was without an instrument for more songs than not, though.
For an opening act, The Vaccines are a bargain. A steal. An absolute treat as an opener. The Kooks are objectively a great band and I’m sure The Vaccines are happy to be touring with them, but I wish (and think they deserve) to headline their own shows at venues the size of MGM Fenway. Those mid-sized, but not small venues are perfect for them. When I saw them at their own show in 2018, it was at The Rock and Roll Hotel (hint: it’s not a hotel), a venue that filled about 250-300 people in Washington, D.C. It was fantastic and I’m not complaining about it, but I think the band is better than that. They have quite the resume of bands they’ve opened for over the years, though, including the Rolling Stones and the Arctic Monkeys.
The Opener:
Daisy the Great were the opener ahead of The Vaccines. I arrived early to ensure I would not miss The Vaccines and happily watched their whole set. They were a little weird, but the two singers were lovely together and the guitarist rocked on the songs that allowed him to. They had a bit of a dark sound, and were a little hippy-esque in their look. Don’t have much to report on them other than that, but I thought they were a quality live performance, caught my ear with a couple of songs, and were worth checking out on Spotify after.
If you were at this show or have seen The Vaccines on this tour, let me know your comparison to the performance you saw. Tell me I’m dead wrong, tell me I’m right. Tell me I’m slightly off. Tell me something about The Vaccines and I’ll be happy.
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