Theme Park at Heaven

Having released their self-titled debut album last month, London boys Theme Park are embarking on their first UK headline tour, which appears to be going phenomenally well, selling out at Soho’s venue Heaven last night. 

Bare and brick-walled, the underground venue is inhabited mainly by polo-necked, leather-clad youths – a fitting indie atmosphere which consumes the arena as the band emerge on stage as four silhouettes against the dim blue lighting. Suddenly the whole stage is alight and the boys, all in black jeans, are greeted with cheers. The turnout is “amazing on a school night!” exclaims front-man Marcus Haughton as the four-piece play Jamaica – well received by the crowd who are already fist-pumping and bopping along to the groove of the funky guitar licks. 

Theme Park are enjoying this performance as much as the audience: the lead, who performs like a natural indie star, puts down his guitar to dance to Mountain Of Love. The singer possesses a remarkable vocal range and exhibits his impressive falsetto voice (comparable to Klaxons’ Jamie Reynolds) for the band’s latest single Tonight, which inspires moshing, frantic waving and jumping from the crowd. The lyrics “Come on baby let’s fly tonight, let’s get high tonight” appearing to appeal to the carefree audience. 

The boys are met with screams and applause when the opening riff of Milk is played. It’s clear the audience adore this band, however, newer, unfamiliar tracks such as Still Life are not met with the same physical enthusiasm, with many beer-soaked teens making a bee-line for the bar. Nonetheless, every person in the room sings and dances along to the final song Two Hours, before Marcus concludes that the night has “been amazing”, to which the audience all most certainly agree. 

Verdict: •••

Gemma Whitfield

Photos: Arnaud Stephenson

For further information about Theme Park and future events, click here.

Watch the video for Tonight here