It feels good to still get that buzz when autumn and tour season comes around again. Liverpool is great this time of year and a big part of that is EVOL shows.
There’s still an old school romance to searching gig listings, picking out bands that intrigue and excite you and heading out into night to watch them in club basements and dingy spaces with a hearty squad of likeminded souls, all firmly believing you’ve found a gem.
The cause for tonight’s excitement and thursday night trip was a lovely trio from Ireland – Whenyoung.
Support came from Glasgow’s promising sons Rascalton, a pretty wicked, pulsating punk band who rattled their way through an impressive half hour set and seemed to make a few new fans in doing so. One to keep an eye on.
Whenyoung then took to the stage in fabulous red, blue and yellow boiler suits (when you see them you’ll want one) and instantly made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside with their quite lovely blend of pop melodies and punk scuzz.
The Shipping Forecast is a lovely venue for gigs like this. The sound is great and everyone hugs up towards the front and makes it feel really cosy and intimate.
Tracks like Heaven On Earth, Actor and Pretty Pure are just majestic and the latter comes across even better live than on record which is always a good sign and they even chucked a few raw newbies in which went down a treat, alongside new release Given Up.
You get the feeling just a few songs in on their debut headline tour that this is a band with serious potential, that can go far. They excite you. You want to buy a tee (or one of those wonderful boiler suits) and walk round proud with their name on your chest. You want to buy their records, and you sure as hell want to see them live, again.
Being glad you’ve gone to a gig is a great feeling and tonight all who headed down to see Whenyoung will have left knowing they saw one of the finest emerging bands around.
