Elder emos congregated in a sweaty Stereo on Friday night to celebrate the return of Saint Vienna, live, following their April release of Lonely Ghost.
The Glass Key
Four piece alt rock band Glass Key opened the show, unfortunately I missed their set however, I seen from their socials they have been in the studio recording so I’m looking forward to checking the releases out when they are ready.
December Tenth
I made it in time to catch the last few songs from December Tenth. A five piece band who are on the heavier side of alt rock and were the second band to brave the sweat box stage at Stereo on Friday. A band I hadn’t seen before but with their catchy sing – a – long chorus they never felt ‘new’. Front man Ross has a powerful voice and within a crowd who know their music you could tell they would have the crowd hyped.
The Endless Summer
These guys come with headliner energy! Chants of ‘Endless, Endless, Endless F*cking Summer’ echoed through Stereo, evidently the band brought some excited fans along for the ride!
I instantly felt transported back to 2008, hearing You Me At Six’s Take Of Your Colours album in full and feeling that absolute love for what they were doing. Having just dropped their latest single Little Things you could tell these guys were ready for a good time.
This 5 piece know their craft, straight up punk rock. Think BMTH with huge choruses, cool as break downs and some screaming. Despite some real technical difficulties throughout these guys left it all on the stage. It was my first time seeing these guys and I’ll absolutely be going out to catch them again, ones to watch I think!
Saint Vienna
Saint Vienna pride themselves on writing music that connects with their crowd, whether thats about mental health, neurodiversity or being a new parent. Having reviewed their latest single Lonely Ghost I was invited along to see the show. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse, as I really enjoyed the single and listening to the rest of their music released on Spotify.
It had been a long awaited return to the stage (15 months give or take) for the band and fans alike as Saint Vienna stepped on stage at Stereo for their first home town headline show. I heard on the grapevine that it was nearly a sell out which is nearly 300 folks. No mean feat for an independent band!
For anyone that doesn’t know, Saint Vienna are a 5 piece alt rock band who are all about releasing the inner elder emo in us all through their music. They came dressed to impress all in black and white which is so appealing on the eye, stage get up can make a show in my opinion. The band are creative and pay close attention to detail, there were beautiful flowers wrapped around mic stands that match the album artwork from the single ‘flowers’. It also appears there is a strong love for Fender amongst the guys, all coming matching in beautiful white instruments, extremely cool to see Telecasters used in music like this – showing they are far more versatile a guitar than given credit for!
There is a lot of chemistry on that stage amongst band members which projected well to those in the audience. Bassiest Stephen Ladds and drummer Scott Johnston stole the show for me though, these guys are very much the strong back bone for the band driving that rock sound. The drummer has a super sick snare sound that resonated around Stereo in such a huge way on every hit! I noticed his little stick spins too, he was so much fun to watch. Stephen has energy I can only dream of having and how he managed to jump around the stage, in that heat, for the whole set is beyond me, mad credit to him.
Nic Mason (lead vocalist) and Ryan Kane (guitar and backing vocals) work exceptionally well together. Nic has a really great voice suited to the genre and their songwriting style, with Ryan adding some real depth to the choruses with his backing vocals. At times throughout the night there was some real obvious mistakes with vocal lines and I felt Ryan stepped in and helped recover these well. Unsure whether it was excitement of being back on stage or nerves took over but it’s a learning curve for any band to hide such mistakes in their set – especially for first time crowd members like myself who aren’t familiar with their set.
David Lennon is probably the most reserved member of the band however pay close attention to him, his lead guitar parts are intricate, making the songs come to life with the riffs that get stuck in your head.
Saint Vienna are talented, fun and write music that matters. Their sound is nostalgic and comforting and makes for easy listening (in the best possible way). I hope they continue writing about issues that affect us all as a way of connecting and supporting their listeners through music. As this, to me, is as powerful as music can get.
