Tonight Alive + The Summer Set + Chunk, No Captain Chunk! @ The Institute, 28th November 2014
We’re now well into gig season, with chances to catch some great live music coming left, right and centre and tonight has a particularly juicy offering in the form of one of the real success stories of the past 12 months; Australian outfit Tonight Alive. Since releasing their fantastic second album ‘The Other Side’ this time last year they’ve really taken off, touring the world and putting in an impressive shift at this year’s Reading and Leeds festivals, so it’s little surprise to see a sold out Institute ready to celebrate with Jenna McDougall and co.
First up is Parisian pop punchers Chunk, No Captain Chunk! whose vocalist is a dead ringer for Marty McFly from the Back to the Future films. While this French Marty might not be shredding his way through Johnny Be Goode tonight, he certainly showcases a mighty vocal range, seamlessly switching from singing to gutturals at will. The only downside is his band’s song structures don’t quite get the best out of their talented frontman and the result is some heavy pop punk that is generic and too predictable. The early arrivals in the crowd don’t seem to mind though, lapping up each song with relish.
Next is American outfit The Summer Set, who give an incredibly polished 45 minute set that again goes down a storm with the ever-growing crowd. The Summer Set’s trump card is without doubt frontman Brian Logan Dales, who has the looks, style, voice and dance moves of an American Idol contestant and is certainly entertaining to watch. In fact, there is nothing particularly bad about The Summer Set, other than a severe lack of originality. While they have hooky choruses and twinkling melodies, ultimately they come across as a Maroon 5 wannabe, but with some slightly questionable lyrics.
And so to the headliners, who just over a year ago sold out this same venue’s smaller downstairs room. Fast forward to 2014 and they’ve not only been upgraded due to demand, but they‘ve managed to sell out the room again, and as soon as they launch into opener The Edge it is full of dancing fans and big choruses.
Quite simply, they are a class live act, with a pounding rhythm section and crisp guitars topped off with McDougall leading them and showing herself to be one of the best rock front persons you are likely to see. She is energetic, charming and has a phenomenal voice, nailing every note. With songs as great as Don’t Wish, Hell and back and The Ocean, it’s not hard to see why their popularity has boomed.
Midway through the set, they drop the energy levels to allow McDougall to take to the stage alone, with just a mic and an acoustic guitar for company. She fondly remembers her last visit to the second city and meeting (and drinking) with the inspirational Stephen Sutton, and downs a shot in his honour before delivering a flawless performance of the beautiful Amelia.
Her band then retake the stage and fly through the rest of the set, with the closing pair of What Are You So Scared Of? and Lonely Girl emphatically underlining just how talented a singer McDougall and how tight a band Tonight Alive is. They come back moments later for a frantic Breaking and Entering before rounding off the night with a triumphant and euphoric rendition of The Other Side.
This is band on the up who have the potential to be huge; don’t be surprised to see them selling out an even bigger venue next tie they come to Birmingham – they deserve it and, more importantly, they have the talent to do it.
Review – Ellie Musson
Photography – Dave Musson