3. NME Awards Ceremony, London, 18.02.15
As a devout and brainwashed loyal reader of the NME, the NME Awards Ceremony is something which always intrigued me. I’d thought of it as a sort of drunken, alternative gathering of who’s who in music rather and sort of a ceremonial piss-take; after all, their award itself is a fake gold-encrusted middle finger. When it is announced in the week leading up to the ceremony that they’d added The Vaccines, Royal Blood, and Run the Jewels to the live bill and my friend said she’d treat me to a ticket since I was letting her stay in my flat, attending it is a no-brainer.
Held at Brixton Academy, the whole night is bizarre; we’d run into the whole of Interpol getting interviewed on the red carpet, and from where we are standing in the pit, we are in front of tables that host Peace, The Vaccines, and Peter Crouch. Yes, Peter Crouch. It’s not something I’ll get too in-depth in here, but… Peter Crouch is indie royalty. Peter Crouch as in the Stoke footballer who does the robot on the pitch. He is sat centre-front, and across the night he is hugged and greeted by the likes of Carl Barat and Frank Turner. He is apparently bezzies with Kasabian as well, as during their acceptance speech, lead singer Tom Meighan makes sure to include Crouchy in his list of thank-yous, even before mentioning his wife. But that is a whole conspiracy theory for later.
The Vaccines perform second after Royal Blood, a mesmerising rendition of new track ‘Dream Lover’ that douses the whole of Brixton with neon and lights from a shining, elevated disco ball (yes, disco ball). If ‘Handsome’ draws similarities to the songs from the Vaccines’ debut, ‘Dream Lover’ is an entirely different specimen, with dark, psychedelic, electro-punk vibes and a ‘Do I Wanna Know’-esque guitar riff. It is a dazzling spectacle from start to finish, one of many strong song showcases that will no doubt lead to a promising upcoming album.