JAWS, Nai Harvest, VYNCE: O2 Academy 2, Liverpool

Jaws at the O2 Academy 2

Not quite moshing but more than dancing, Getintothis’ Lowri Gronow braves the JAWS crowd at the O2 Academy.

Arriving at the doors there was already a queue formed, waiting in anticipation. Troopers on such a cold winters night. One thing’s for sure, it is an army of topknot-wearing, Fred Perry-types at the O2 Academy tonight.

VYNCE were the first act to hit the stage, playing a few of their own tracks. The audience seemed to be in high spirits, especially when the band covered The Weeknd’s I Can’t Feel My Face. Nai Harvest followed suit with only their second ever preformance in Liverpool, turning up the volume for a set om the experimental side of pop-rock.

As JAWS took to the stage, I noticed that behind me the crowd had parted, creating a circle of space; a no-man’s-land. As soon as the first song dropped, the whole area exploded. At one point, a girl exited the crowd after what looked like a pogo colision. Fortunately she returned moments later, dancing away to her heart’s content. We couldn’t really describe the crowd as moshers, but they were sure as hell trying to be, the persistent strobes only encouraging them.

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It may have been a relatively small crowd, but there was a lot of love for the band. They screamed along to every song and even cat called vocalist Connor Schofield (letting him know in no uncertain terms how “fit” he is).

Even new material from the band’s forthcoming second album went down well, despite the lack of familiarity with the crowd.

Reaching the climax of the gig, the band told the audience to “feel free to lose your shit“. They wholeheartedly took on the task. They may not have been moshers, but they were certainly a rowdy bunch.