SwayBlog

If you’ve seen The Vamps live recently it’s likely you know just who The Tide are. This California quartet is signed to the bands Steady Records label and fresh from supporting them on their Wake Up world tour have embarked on their first headline run of shows. Taking place over half term, this led to all shows selling out within minutes but lucky for us we snagged ourselves tickets to the London shows and we truly had the best Thursday we’ve had in ages!

After getting into the rapidly filling venue there was a true sense of excitement buzzing around the room which didn’t stop once support act New Hope Club appeared onstage. Both bands have become close during The Vamps tour, but this was the first real chance to see the trio perform their own set. Opening with a cover of Rest Your Love by The Vamps it was a move which saw the crowd singing, dancing and clapping along from the onset. What we love about NHC is that George Smith, Blake Richardson and Reece Bibby all flaunt phenomenal voices and these all get highlighted during the short set.

We’d been hoping that this could be our chance to hear an original track from the guys and lucky for us Perfume became the track to do this. Bibby started by teaching the crowd the simple yet catchy lyric of “My room still smells of your perfume” but everyone and we mean everyone already knew the drill causing the trio to become confused.

Bibby even commented “Well it appears you already know it,” with a cheeky smile on his face.

Heads up boys, social media means after one live performance every fan will check it out and proceed to learn the lyrics off by heart. You can’t help but admire not just their musical talents but also how genuine their friendship is which in turn makes their performance even stronger and more loveable.

Closing with an acoustic guitar-driven cover of DNCE’s Cake By The Ocean the vibe in the room is one of fun, upbeat and dance energy leaving everyone with a smile on their face whilst singing along. We’re predicting a lot of good things from New Hope Club in the not so distant future, proving they aren’t just a covers band but one with powerful, sing-along tracks of their own and performance skills in the bucketloads.

So far the show had felt more like one big get together with friends during half term, which just happened to include some live music and this was a theme which followed when headliners The Tide took to the stage. With this being the quartet’s first London headline show the crowd honestly couldn’t have been louder and more excited for what was about to occur.

Bouncing onto the stage and straight into What You Give, the crowd was jumping and the band were in their stride from the start. Vocalist Austin Corini exhibits everything a frontman needs; emotion filled vocals, captivating eye contact with the crowd and bold, passionate onstage movements. You can’t help but watch on in awe from the get go. Performing a set of both new and old material it highlighted not only the sound change The Tide have gone through but also just how many fans here have followed their whole journey.

Three new tracks in succession followed; Click My Fingers, Reason To Stay and Last Day of Summer. The Tide specialise in making each track tell a different story with a different sound to them all keeping it fresh and exciting. Click My Fingers and Reason To Stay saw the band tone it down to sing of the feelings of feeling powerless in situations and missing those special people when they’re away from them. It’s relatable music which explains just why onstage you could see within guitarist Drew Dirksen and bassist Levi Jones’ eyes that they were feeling each word being sung by Corini.

A small Q and A session followed in which it was revealed that when they’d been recording in LA, it had been building up to an album release. Cue a lot of excited screaming from everyone in the room (including us!). This gave drummer Nate Parker his chance to shine away from behind the drum kit as fans questioned the band on places they enjoyed playing, if they’d marry them and their favourite parts of being in the UK. It also gave way for tour news including that they’re going to be back in August/September for their ‘Click My Fingers tour’ and that the setlist will include fan favourite Falling In Love Tonight The news we’d been waiting for!

Today also happened to be the bands tour manager’s birthday. Having already had a fan led Happy Birthday sung to him Davey couldn’t escape a full on stage spectacle. Called up onto stage by the band with his face going bright red, the 600 strong crowd recited the popular song in unison for a man who plays a vital role in The Tide and their journey. Once again happy belated birthday Davey Dreads, you’re the best!

Now we know we shouldn’t really be biased but having heard it for the first time on The Vamps tour, we couldn’t help but be extremely excited for Last Day of Summer. Its fiery singalong vibe lit up the room as everyone danced along and the quartet couldn’t have looked more at home onstage alongside each other. Throughout they’ve shown their friendship is actual goals  It’s impossible to not have fun when you watch The Tide as they never stop giving it their all.

As the set began to draw to a close older track Rest Of Us sadly received the poorest reception of the day, the spark seemed to be lacking the power and punch we’d become used to. This also showed within the band as they appeared to tone down their onstage mannerisms in line with the calmer crowd which had developed. If we had to find one negative moment that would bet it and truly the only one of the night. However, it did feature an inflatable shark called Stephen bouncing around the venue for the whole track, by request of the band inflatables were a key part of the show adding to the party, holiday vibe.

After a slick show (except when Corini broke his microphone) it led to latest single Young Love to close the night on a high. Every last bit of energy was used as the band had asked for everyone to lose all their cares a command which was answered. Throwing into the mix a dose of Drake‘s Hotline Bling it added a sassy edge to the singalong track. With the addition of CO2 cannons on stage you could see The Tide were truly comfortable lapping up all the well-deserved love as headliners.

We can honestly say the smile on our face didn’t once leave during the set and both bands deserve nothing but praise for the passion, energy and soul put into their sets. Both signed to The Vamps, Steady Records label this is the perfect musical combination and one we hope to see gracing a stage in the not so distant future.

If you haven’t already check out The Tide and New Hope Club to see just why we and so many others are absolutely loving them. Were you at any of the fanfest shows? What were your favourite moments? Tweet us @CelebMix so we can reminisce together!

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