The Vaccines – 16 October 2024 (Sala Apolo – Barcelona)

Few bands are as safe a bet for the writer of this article to see live as the British band The Vaccines. We’ve had the pleasure of seeing them live more than a dozen times, and their show has never failed to impress, whether in theatres or at festivals. Their visit to Barcelona to present their excellent new album, Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations (2024), is also their first tour without their original guitarist, Freddie Cowan, who left the band last year.

The Vaccines, Sala Apolo Barcelona 2024 – Photo taken by Víctor Ramos Santafé for Indieofilo^©

Six years after playing to capacity at the Sala Razzmatazz, Justin Young‘s band came to Barcelona’s Paral-lel to sell out the Sala Apolo once again. And what better way to start the concert than with the amazing guitars from ‘Love To Walk Away‘! A clear statement of intent to begin with one of the most dynamic songs of their recent record, followed by ‘Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra Ra)‘, ‘I Can’t Quit‘, ‘Post Break-Up Sex‘ and ‘Wetsuit‘ for a great first few minutes.. Just over 15 minutes in and they had the crowd in their pocket, chanting and sweating like it was August.

Justin Young of The Vaccines, Sala Apolo Barcelona 2024 – Photo taken by Víctor Ramos Santafé for Indieofilo^©

It was impossible to keep up this pace until the end of the show, so on ‘Your Love Is My Favourite Band‘ we missed Freddie Cowan’s charisma and guitar accompaniment, as Timothy Lanham seems not to have left his former role of backing guitarist and is still more comfortable in the shadows than in the spotlight of the foreground. ‘Discount De Kooning (Last One Standing)‘ continued in this quieter vein, probably the only minutes of respite for a supreme Justin Young, who relied on a reverb effect that was sometimes a little too much.

Timothy Lanham of The Vaccines, Sala Apolo Barcelona 2024 – Photo taken by Víctor Ramos Santafé for Indieofilo^©

From here it was back to cruising speed, with Justin himself swapping acoustic and electric guitars to intersperse new songs with hits from their extensive discography. So ‘The Dreamer‘ was not out of place among karaoke anthems like ‘Headphones Baby‘ or the wild concatenation of ‘Jump Off The Top‘, ‘No Hope‘ and ‘Handsome‘ after the band’s introduction… A little more than 35 minutes into the show and the train was already moving at full speed with no brakes, a situation in which the band from London seemed to find themselves like a fish in water.

Justin Young of The Vaccines, Sala Apolo Barcelona 2024 – Photo taken by Víctor Ramos Santafé for Indieofilo^©

The first single from their new album, ‘Heartbreak Kid‘, proved that it’s already in the band’s hit list, and then took us back more than 10 years to when we first saw them at Sant Jordi Club as part of Primavera Club 2012, with an apotheosis of ‘Teenage Icon‘, ‘I Always Knew‘, ‘If You Wanna‘ and ‘All in White‘. Guitars, jumping, Justin Young’s uncontrolled faces… 1 hour of concert and many were already on the verge of aphonia, having not stopped singing the whole time.

Justin Young of The Vaccines, Sala Apolo Barcelona 2024 – Photo taken by Víctor Ramos Santafé for Indieofilo^©

The crowd was hungry for more, especially some of the more up-tempo tracks from their latest album. We would have to wait for the encores to enjoy the best of them with ‘ Sometimes, I Swear‘, probably the most solid track of the night from the incredible drums and keyboards that gave the song an extra point of power which was rewarded by a room that ended the song with a rousing ovation. ‘A Lack of Understanding’ was the gift to a fan in the front row who insisted on having it, while the last tracks of the concert were a sure thing with ‘Lunar Eclipse‘, a track from their new album that shows more continuity with their most successful tracks from a decade ago and, above all, the invitation to dance that is ‘All My Friends Are Falling in Love‘, with which they closed the concert.

The Vaccines, Sala Apolo Barcelona 2024 – Photo taken by Víctor Ramos Santafé for Indieofilo^©

A little over an hour and ten minutes of music that proved that The Vaccines are still at the top of the British indie rock pile, both for the number of hits they have had in the past and, above all, for their brilliant present with a stratospheric last album. It is worth noting that, despite the short duration of the concert, I didn’t hear anyone complaining about the rush of time, on the contrary, everyone left the Apolo with the feeling of having experienced one of the great concerts of the year in Barcelona.