It’s a Sunday night, and the final night of Good Neighbours’ Adolescence UK mini tour. Crushed into a sold out Kola tonight the crowd have an electric energy which only builds as the venue fills and anticipation for the evening grows.
Cambridge born Yuneki opens tonight with her haunting vocals and lyrics sharp enough to cause some serious damage. While clearly nervous she holds her own with as a presence on stage way beyond her years, especially considering that she completes her entire performance without any in ears, which is a feat in itself.
Opening with Like Honey and storming her way through a 6 song set including her newest single When will this body be mine, Yuneki holds the crowd in the palm of her hand. She will definitely be a talent to watch going forward, and I for one can’t wait to see what she does next.
Now the main act and the reason we have gathered here tonight, Good Neighbours bring their brand of electronic pop to the stage, giving energy that would make MGMT proud.
Flying onto the stage and blasting straight into the as yet unreleased Kids Can’t Sleep‘ you can tell that they are very much in their element on stage. Their energy and excitement is palpable in every corner of the room. Rolling straight into Bloom and Ripple, with a brief interlude to sing happy birthday to Charlie the most handsome tech guy in the business, they hold the crowd in rapt attention. Skipping Stones and Walk are more new songs for the audience however with the energy they are feeding back to the band you would never know that most people in this room had never heard these songs before. Their newest song Starry Eyed with it’s upbeat guitar and immaculate vibes plays with a huge sing along from the audience. With an apology to all the boyfriends who have been dragged along tonight we go into the very sweet ‘Weekend Boy’ which is clearly a fan favorite. Smashing through Small town, Keep it up and People need People they keep the energy going. The viral hit Home is a good reminder of the song that sparked everything, as Oli leads the crowd in a sing along of the chorus that drowns the band’s vocals nearly completely. To round out a stellar set tonight we end on Daisies the song that I have not and will not be able to shift.
But what is a gig if there is no encore I hear you shout, the bad news is they have no more songs the good news is that Good Neighbours have got just the thing Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter which they had covered for Triple J sessions is the encore of choice and honestly what better choice could you make.
These boys led Portsmouth tonight in a uproarious rendition of there small yet excellent catalogue of absolute earworms, which I will undoubtedly be singing to myself over the next week.
9/10
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