Daiana Feuer on October 1st, 2018

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After waiting five years since the band’s last visit across the pond (and a nearly five-month delay from the originally scheduled show in May), Los Angeles finally received the Vaccines at Teragram Ballroom on Sunday night, the first of a two-night run. The experience proved well worth the wait. Walking on stage to a sold-out audience singing along to “Dancing Queen,” the English band took command and immediately ripped into a lengthy 20-song set. Currently touring behind their latest record, “Combat Sports,” the set included a wide selection spanning their entire discography. Midway through a new song, “Let’s Jump Off the Top,” frontman Justin Hayward-Young halted the band and insisted on restarting due to a technical issue, saying the crowd deserved better.

Hayward-Young spent most of the night bounding about, standing on the edge of the stage and singing intensely with the fans near the front, who matched his energy with their own. While introducing his band mates (Freddie Cowan on lead guitar, Árni Árnason on bass, Timothy Lanham on keys and Yoann Intonti on drums), a fan yelled out “We didn’t get your name!” Hayward-Young responded by smirking, pointing to himself and saying “You know my fuckin’ name,” which received an eruption of laughter from the packed venue.

The openers did introduce themselves, though. “We are Mourners. Lets get depressed,” said frontman Jarrod Gorbel early on in their set. The trio could be described as sad-Weezer, in the best possible way. They were thrilled to open for the Vaccines, with Gorbel stating that they’ve all been huge fans for some time. (Mourners headline the Hi Hat on Oct. 18.)

Setlist: Nightclub, Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra), Teenage Icon, 20/20, Dream Lover, Wetsuit, Out on the Street, Your Love Is My Favourite Band, Post Break-Up Sex, Nørgaard, Let’s Jump Off the Top, Take It Easy, Handsome, No Hope, I Always Knew, If You Wanna, I Can’t Quit. Encore: Surfing in the Sky, A Lack of Understanding, All in White

Photos and words by Samuel C. Ware