The Vines - Camden Barfly @ Monarch - 7/3/02
4/5
By: Toby L
The presence of high expectations is certainly within the confines of a smoky Camden Monarch this evening.
The audience has just enjoyed a triumphant and blistering set from a further hotly-tipped act, The Libertines, and are hunching up together tightly, moving ever closer nearer to the front, in order to try and absorb the excitement that the onstage arrival of The Vines is emitting on to the sold out room.
Then, suddenly, they crash into sound, not wasting a moment to allow their opening number and current single, 'Highly Evolved', to descend into an anthem of orchestrated chaos and pure, undiluted energy as it halts after just a minute and a half. The attendees scream and applaud enthusiastically and it's clearly evident that tonight is one of those nights: the kind of concert that everyone will be talking about for some weeks on end, probably regarded fondly by many as the major stepping-stone in The Vines' grapple for success.
This Australian act has already reaped the kind of praise usually reserved for acts that have hit their stride after three albums into a career. The typical critical-lauding of their material generally is that The Vines will be the new Nirvana. Now, whether this is the case or not, let's make it clear right from the beginning: Nirvana and The Vines are two very different bands. Whereas the former classic US influence made their reputation on limited ability, yet a packed supply of melody and creativity, The Vines have the talent for both strong and distinctive song-writing and competent musicianship. Plus, in frontman/guitarist Craig Nicholls, they have a star. He is an immensely lively chap, whose ear-straining, screeching vocals, dangerous guitar-flinging antics and seemingly endless array of general solo-noodling, are the oddest though most welcoming onstage antics to view in new live music today.
The set they play in tonight's debut London performance for the group - indeed, their second ever UK show following last night's sell-out Brighton club-show appearance - is very different. Whereas other contemporary rock-acts will stick to their guns and massage a similar song-format throughout a whole performance, The Vines, suitable to their name, grow and progress unexpectedly, veering off into every potentially unexpected avenue. This is why, when they announce the performance of a cover of Outkast's 'Ms Jackson', preceding to play the hip-hop tune to a fine, slowed-down and almost touching standard, it doesn't really strike you as a bizarre concept.
Where people may find similarities between this group and others out there currently is through their vision; only the Super Furry Animals and Radiohead tend to move off musically into such strained and epic vocal-arrangements, whereas - instrumentally - The Vines are as tight and accomplished as you could expect from any other act currently on the scene. Yet, when they end fantastically - with a guitar not functioning anymore - and wander offstage with a parting 'thank-you' to the people in attendance, it's clear they possess all the confidence and persona of a truly manic punk band.
Whatever, The Vines are currently everything people are promising them to be: epic, bold and refreshingly unusual. And these three characteristics are best summed up on their astounding mid-set, acoustic-led 'Country Mile'. The lyrics within the song reveal a line, 'I really don't need to change', and this sentiment, incidentally, perfectly sums up The Vines and their present direction. May they remain so unique forever-more.
Artists in this article: The Vines
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