Vanilla Sky
Live @ Qube

THE REVIEW

It goes without saying that when a concert is free, it is judged with a certain leniency...

The young quartet takes the stage at precisely half-past ten, precisely an hour and a half late: better late than never. Not being a fan of the band (I know three songs), I really didn't know what to expect: a copy of Finley? Or something better? Or something worse...?
I would finally have my answer: the singer greets the audience and they kick off with "Nightmare."

First and foremost, you can say anything about these poor guys but not that they don't know how to put on a solid show: both in terms of the (impeccable) execution of the pieces and the visual satisfaction, there's nothing to say.
The guitarists jump, move around, pass the guitar around their backs, repeatedly invite the audience to go wild, and prove to be excellent entertainers, and the singer even knows how to really sing...!

It's a shame, however, that all this is not enough to overshadow the fact that the tracks they play are all 1) terribly similar to each other 2) similar to at least a hundred other songs 3) quite mediocre overall, though it pains me to say it because the guys are nice and also show they can be self-ironic in the interludes between one song and another.

In the end, the concert flows smoothly, copycat song after copycat song, thanks to the catchiness of the pieces offered (and especially thanks to a bearded 35-year-old man who went crazy like the worst of the teenagers, even pretending to play an imaginary guitar), reaching its peak with the cover of "Ocean Avenue" by Yellowcard, until they bid farewell to the audience and suddenly leave the stage.
Of course, after a few minutes, the singer returns to the stage amidst applause (not too much to be honest..) and plays a rather bland acoustic piece. And finally, after so much waiting, the announcement I was waiting for. "The next one is a cover..." Finally "Umbrella!" We listen to it with smiles on our faces, the kids start moshing again (ahaha!) and as soon as it's over, my two friends and I hurry away with the smile still on our faces.

Had we had to pay even just 1 euro, we probably would have left in a huff, but never look a gift horse in the mouth...