 | | Young Love |
Thankfully, the American triple threat making up the bill provided musical stylings suitable for all genders. First up were NYC’s Young Love, who, after delivering a frankly disappointing debut album, made complete sense live. Elements which sounded flat on record were transformed into the perfect amalgamation of indie, electronica and pop in the live setting. theAUDITION, hailing from Chicago were next up. Taking more than a few cues from their more successful neighbours, Fall Out Boy, and adding a little more bite, the band’s emo pop sound is a little tired, but it’s undeniably fun and, more importantly, catchy.  | | theAUDITION |
And let’s face it, nobody in the crowd seemed too hung up on such dry matters as originality, making the atmosphere for the entire set electric. But the very mention of the headline act’s name proved the audience’s elation was nowhere near maximum. Sure enough, the second The Academy Is… took the stage, every girl (and a fair few boys) were trying to see just what their lungs were made of. Now, TAI never put on a show that is going to knock you off your feet. However, the beauty of these Chicago natives is the level of consistency, the sheer quality of the songs and the ‘show within a show’ from frontman William Beckett.  | | The Academy Is... |
Part Adam Lazarra, part Prince, Beckett is just utterly captivating. The set consisted of all the songs you were expecting from debut Almost Here, coupled with new material, from the as-yet-unreleased follow-up, Santi. Whilst not careering off in a bold new direction, the new material sounds confident, mature and packs a more prominent rock edge. But, until Santi is ingrained in the minds and hearts of the fans, it fell to old favourites Black Mamba and set closer Checkmarks to really get the crowd in a frenzy. There’s every chance that with the release of the new album, this band’s career could be heading skyward fast. But whatever happens, given their razor sharp hooks and the chiselled good looks of Mr Beckett, the large volume of the fairer sex in the crowd is guaranteed to grow and grow. | 
