With a knack for combining garage
rock, punk, and indie rock musical sensibilities with pop hooks that are
politically charged, VANT are a four piece group from London who are on the
rise. Hot on the heels of the release of their debut album “Dumb Blood” just
two weeks prior, VANT performed a set that lasted just under an hour to a very
active and excitable crowd. Whilst the set only lasted just under an hour, it
didn’t feel this way due to the band’s preference for fast, shorter jams and
the crowd was very appreciative of this as the mosh pits started from the first
song and didn’t stop.
The members of the band were solid
with their performances and the music sounded good throughout the gig but it is
quite clear that this is currently the lead singer Mattie Vant’s show as he was
really the only band member who had the chance to show off his individual
talent. This may be choice by the band but for me personally I would like to
see other members get to show off their individual skills so it feels more like
a VANT show instead of Mattie Vant and his mates. Also this was only the fourth
show of this tour and you could tell when the band got mixed up with what song
they were about to play and them turning the house lights on during the break
before the encore, causing some people to leave the gig
This didn’t stop the songs from going down well with the crowd though because when you have great songs like “Do You Know Me?” and “Parking Lot”, it makes it very easy to forget any grievances you may have when everybody is dancing and singing along. There were some forgettable songs throughout the setlist but this is to be expected when a band only has their debut album and a couple singles under their belt. It also helped that Mattie Vant helped foster a good vibe throughout the night telling his loyal fans to respect one another, not touch girls inappropriately, and to stop crushing the people at the front. This culminated with him waving off the security guard, allowing about 20-25 people on the stage for the final song for him to jam with, which was a very powerful end to an impressive show.
More information on VANT and their
current tour can be found at http://www.wearevant.com/