The Vaccines with San Cisco at the Triple Rock Social Club 2/09/13

Tour Dates

 

Australian buzz band San Cisco took to the stage Saturday night and was greeted by a buzzed near capacity Triple Rock crowd. The indie-pop band has only been active a few short years, but has managed to create a fervor of interest world-wide with their pleasantly catchy songs. It should also be noted that the band is still quite young (they started when members were still in high school); lead singer/guitarist Jordi Davieson has the baby-faced good looks of a Jonas Brother. But their youthful presence gave the performance a more vibrant and innocent feel and even made a grouch like me forget I’m turning 30 in a month.

 

Davieson, with his bandmates Josh Biondillo on guitar/synths, Nick Gardner on bass guitar and tiny, but fierce Scarlett Stevenson on drums/vocals, effortlessly showcased a collection of well-crafted pop to an audience eager to dance. Songs like “Golden Retriever,” “Reckless” and hit single “Awkward” were effervescent and sunny and combated the freezing cold beyond the door. San Cisco and UK headliner the Vaccines share similar pop sensibilities; they both write insanely catchy tunes, although lyrically, the Vaccines seem to tread slightly darker territory.

Much has happened in the world of the Vaccines since they were last in Minneapolis, nearly two years ago opening for the Arctic Monkeys at First Avenue. Their wildly hyped, but well-received debut 2011’s What Did You Expect From the Vaccines? took them all over the world, touring with acts like The Walkmen and Arcade Fire. After two EPs, the band put out their second record Come Of Age in September 2012, working with famed producer Ethan Johns, son of Glyn Johns who produced 70s giants like Faces and the Rolling Stones.

Pardon the pun, but I was expecting great things from the Vaccines as they hit the stage and I was not let down. They opened with jangly disaffected raver “No Hope” and crowd-pleasing “Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra),” the latter complete with fist-pumping and head banging. Bearded frontman Justin Young had a lot of energy and was enjoyable to watch as he moved around the stage, occasionally dipping his head into the frenzy of people to sing. One intoxicated fan made several semi-successful attempts at crowd-surfing, which considering the venue’s punk-rock roots, isn’t all that inappropriate. But pogo-ing seemed to be movement of choice for this fun and noisy kind of rock and roll and Young encouraged plenty of hand-claps and sing-alongs.

“Teenage Icon,” the poppy second single off the new record, kept the fans bouncing; bassist Árni Arnason grinned and grooved on stage right while Freddie Cowan worked that bright guitar tone behind Pete Robertson’s irresistible drum beat. Amidst a slew of bobbing heads, Young sang his cheeky lament, “I’m no teenage icon/I’m no Frankie Avalon,” a lyric that made me smile as I watched him bask in the glow of adoring outstretched hands.

People were calling out lots of songs during the set, but a clear favorite was “Post-Breakup Sex,” off
of their last album What Did You Expect…, and my personal favorite. “I think I’m losing my voice,” Young confessed before asking fans for a little vocal assistance. “Help me out!”  This crowd was more than happy to bulk-up the areas the frontman’s voice couldn’t fill (myself included), loudly slurring the infectious track’s alliteration-riddled chorus: “Post-breakup sex/That helps you forget your ex/What did you expect from post break-up sex?”

Hopefully, Young and the band didn’t catch one of the 3 million flu virus strains that have been attacking the Twin Cities since December. Morphine’s Mark Sandman once said, “Someday, there’ll be a cure for pain.” Until then, we’ve got a pretty great Vaccine!