SWEATY, atmospheric and utterly ecstatic.

It will be one of those nights that goes down in folklore.

Of course, the numbers claiming to have been at The Joiners last night will grow over the years.

But for those lucky few who really did enjoy the band of the moment in such intimate surroundings, they won’t forget it any time soon.

It was certainly different to the last time I saw The Vaccines, rocking 55,000 at Isle of Wight Festival. This time there were less than 300 revellers but they partied just as hard.

The band are riding high with a number one album, huge tour dates and an impressive array of awards nominations.

But frontman Justin Young hasn’t forgotten his Southampton roots and jumped at the chance to help the venue when bosses revealed they were struggling to stay afloat.

He told fans he was glad to be back at the iconic venue where he played some of his first gigs.

 

 

There was sheer abandon and a raucous atmosphere as the retro rock n rollers performed Teenage Icon and No Hope from last year’s second album Come of Age early on.

Hits from their first album What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? like Post Break- Up Sex, If You Wanna and Wreckin’ Bar already feel like classics despite only having been around for a few years and inspired an impressive singalong.

With warm up slots from Our Time Down Here and Hares, the audience, who had sung, danced, thrown beer and leapt around to every Vaccines number, needed a little snowstorm as they left to cool them down.

Considering the four-piece are set to play their biggest gig to date at London’s 20,000 capacity 02 Arena in just a few months time, they’re unlikely to ever play to less than a few hundred again.

It was anthem after anthem and the rapturous crowd savoured every moment.

A gig that will live long in the memory.