The Vaccines + Thus Love @ Le Studio TD

For a polar vortex on a Monday, Le Studio TD is remarkably packed; the floor section is tough to navigate, and even the balcony is open for business! The holiday hibernation is officially over this week, as the gig calendar starts to fill again, and tonight is a killer way to start it!

First up are Vermont’s Thus Love and their brand of scuzzy synth post-punk, analogous to how Fontaines D.C. have started to sound lately. Come to mention it, with those tattoos and outfits, they look similar too, though singer Echo Mars sounds vocally somewhere between Alex Turner and Midnight Oil’s Peter Garrett. The swirling dream pop is an interesting contrast to the directness of the headliners, but it works, and the 30 minutes fly by.

And so to the main event, London’s The Vaccines, incredibly playing their first-ever headline show in Montreal in their 15th year of existence. It’s actually only been around 10 months since their last visit, opening for The Kooks at MTelus in March 2024 (LINK HERE STEVE), a stark contrast to the 13 years that passed since their last show before that. Suddenly, it’s a comparative Vaccines feast!

Arriving on stage to Live and Let Die by Wings, they soak up the cheers for a few seconds before tearing into the frantic Love to Walk Away and Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra) to start the set, just as they did back in March.

Frontman Justin Young is an engaging presence, smiling throughout and holding eye contact with different members of the audience as if he’s serenading them alone; heck, he even grins for my BeReal when I take one! He chips in on guitar duty on various occasions too, such as I Can’t Quit and No Hope (and its BLINDING strobes!), before switching to an acoustic on Handsome and Heartbreak Kid.

Guitarist Timothy Lanham has got that 70s moustachioed vibe down to such an art that he looks like Paul Rudd’s Brian Fantana from Anchorman and is holding it down all night, though his killer riff on Jump Off the Roof is definitely his signature moment. Teenage Icon is an unexpected highlight too, with the pummelling drums of Yoann Intonti and churning bass of Árni Árnason melting together to ferocious effect.

While the whole set goes down a storm, of course, it’s the old songs from their 2011 debut What Did You Expect from the Vaccines? that get the loudest reception. The sleazy Post Break-Up Sex gets the first anthemic singalong of the night, and Wetsuit sees Justin drop off the mic entirely to let the crowd sing at one point. A brave move for a first headline show, but he’s rewarded as the crowd is more than happy to take over vocal duties.

If You Wanna is massive, with an extended drum intro building anticipation until the song explodes with the floor jumping along, before the main set concludes with a triumphant All In White. A Lack of Understanding even makes its tour debut in the encore, making it six songs from that record in total. Only right for a debut headline show!

After a frantic, fast-paced encore, the epic 80-minute set ends with Justin effusive in his praise: “Montreal, you’ve been amazing; we’ll see you soon, maybe in the summer!” A hint to Osheaga, perhaps? One can only hope…

Setlist

Love to Walk Away

Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)

I Can’t Quit

Post Break-Up Sex

Wetsuit

Your Love Is My Favourite Band

Discount de Kooning (Last One Standing)

The Dreamer

Headphones Baby

Jump Off the Top

No Hope

Handsome

Heartbreak Kid

Teenage Icon

I Always Knew

If You Wanna

All in White

Encore

Sometimes, I Swear

A Lack of Understanding

Lunar Eclipse

All My Friends Are Falling in Love

Review – Simon Williams
Photos – Alex DiStaulo

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